Summary

1. Check eligibility criteria
2. Select a research infrastructure
3. Check proposal submission deadlines
4. Draft your proposal (Scientific Case and Experimental Plan)
5. Submit your proposal via Ready-PV GATE (external link)
6. Wait for approval
7. Plan and conduct your experiments
8. Submit your report
9. Request travel reimbursement (if applicable)

Eligibility Criteria

To qualify for access, your proposal must meet the following requirements:

1. Transnationality

Ready-PV provides transnational access to physical research infrastructures for selected user groups, led by a user group leader. Transnational access means:

• The user group leader and the majority of users must work in a country other than the one where the physical research infrastructure is located.

Exceptions:

• Applicant is an International Organization, the JRC, or an ERIC: such users are exempt from the transnationality rule and may apply for TA to any Ready-PV facility, regardless of their own location.
• Host facility is an International Organization: within Ready-PV, this applies to the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) and the Institut Max von Laue – Paul Langevin (ILL), both intergovernmental research organizations rather than national infrastructures. Because these facilities are not “national”, the transnationality rule does not apply to any user applying to them — including users based in the facility’s host country, France.
• Remote access to installations located in different countries offering the same type of service.

Note: This criterion does not apply to virtual infrastructure access.

2. Freedom to Disseminate Results

Only user groups committed to scientifically disseminating the results generated through Ready-PV infrastructure access are eligible to apply.

Exception: users working for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) or conducting proprietary research, see the section Industrial Users below.

Selecting a Research Infrastructure

Select the infrastructure that best fits your needs and contact the responsible personnel. Detailed information about all physical and virtual Ready-PV infrastructures, including contact details, is available at the Infrastructure Catalogue.

Note: when submitting your proposal, ensure you select the correct abbreviation for the requested infrastructure in the GATE application system.

Ready-PV Calls for User Proposals

Ready-PV announces annual calls for user proposals, with submission deadlines and evaluation phases held quarterly, according to the calendar below:

• January 1st – 28th February, 28th
• 1st April 1st – May 31st
• July 1st – August 31st
• October 1st – November 30th

Industrial Users

Industry professionals—regardless of company size—are welcome to apply for Ready-PV access, either as individuals or as part of a larger user group (e.g., with academic teams). Access is free of charge if the results are published or disseminated, with the exception detailed below.

SME User Groups

Users working for SMEs may use results generated within Ready-PV for proprietary research. Proposals from SMEs undergo the same technical feasibility check and scientific evaluation as all other Ready-PV proposals.

Drafting Your Proposal

Proposals for Ready-PV infrastructure access must include:

1. Scientific Case — a concise description of the research question, its relevance, and expected outcomes.
2. Experimental Plan — details of the samples, parameters, methods, and estimated time/resources needed at the requested infrastructure

Guidelines for the Scientific Case

This must be written in English and be 1 page of A4 paper (minimum 12pt font). In the scientific part you should address the following topics:

• Scientific context: give a clear account of the aims of the experiment and set it within the broader scientific context.
• Expected results: give a short description of the results you expect.
• Publications: list the 3 most important publications in this field of science, in order to show that you are aware of the work of others.
• Choice of specific instrument/station: give reasons for your choice of instrument. Justify why it is necessary to use this instrument.
• Preliminary work: if possible, give results of preliminary work carried out in conjunction with your proposed experiment and demonstrate sample quality.

Experimental Plan

Give a detailed description of the experiment, including sample and parameter changes. You should justify the amount of time you asked for in the technical part.

List:

• the number of samples
• the details of the samples (size, composition, substrate, handling requirements, …)
• the experiment conditions (range of parameters: thickness, wavelength, spectral, …)

Specific things:

• Available material volume for solution processes
• Estimate the time per one sample and calculation for the entire experiment
• Need characterization tools? Describe the characterization “plan”
• Estimate the experiment computing time for each sample, or sample condition, to show how you calculated the overall time requirements

For a complex series of experiments, please show how you reach your final time request. Also include any time needed for equipment setup and sample equilibration. Ask the instrument scientist/station manager for help if needed.

Example for time calculation: real simulation example with time estimation — 2 samples with 3 different thicknesses.

Note: if more instruments are planned, one experimental plan has to be uploaded for each technical part (i.e. each instrument that is asked for).

Submitting Your Proposal

To submit your proposal:

1. Refer to the Infrastructure Catalogue for the technical description of the physical and virtual research infrastructure.
2. Access the Ready-PV GATE single entry point and:
   • log in or sign up if you are a new user
   • read the Terms and Conditions and the proposal application guidelines
   • identify the abbreviated name of the Ready-PV infrastructure you are requesting
   • create a new proposal, upload your Scientific Case and Experimental Plan, and provide the required personal details
   • specify the Ready-PV infrastructure you are applying for
   • if there are members of the Scientific Selection Panel you prefer not to review your proposal, indicate this in your application

After submission, you will receive an automated confirmation via email.

Proposal Evaluation

Proposals are evaluated by a Scientific Selection Panel of internal and external Ready-PV experts through a transparent, non-discriminatory, and fair process, managed via the Ready-PV GATE platform.

Evaluation Procedure

1. Technical Feasibility Check (by the infrastructure responsible):
   • “Feasible” proposals proceed to scientific evaluation.
   • “Not feasible” proposals are not considered further at this stage. Users are encouraged to revise and resubmit in the next round.
2. Scientific Evaluation (by the Scientific Selection Panel) based on the Scientific Case.

Scientific Selection Panel

D2.2 List of Internal and External Reviewers (PDF)

• Physical research infrastructure access: evaluated by a panel of four external experts and additional Ready-PV internal experts from the perovskite and silicon PV community.
• Virtual research infrastructure access: evaluated by the provider or technical support of the specific virtual infrastructure.

Evaluation Criteria and Prioritization

Proposals are ranked based on the Scientific Case. Access is granted if the majority of reviewing experts recommend approval.

If a proposal is not granted due to:

• lack of scientific originality or importance: users are encouraged to revise and resubmit for the next round, incorporating feedback from the panel
• over-requested infrastructure: users may be recommended for equivalent Ready-PV infrastructures or placed on a waiting list for the next round

then priority is given to:

• users or groups who have not previously used the requested infrastructure (new users)
• users working in countries without equivalent research infrastructures
• applicants from Widening countries, and underrepresented groups
• non-EU users, to whom up to 20% of access is reserved

Academic and SME users are eligible for travel reimbursements.

Conducting Your Experiments and Submitting the Report

Once approved:

1. Plan your trip and prepare for experiments.
2. Each approved proposal is assigned an instrument scientist (or equivalent local point of contact) at the host infrastructure. This person is the user’s main contact for:
   • finalizing experimental details and confirming feasibility of the agreed plan
   • practical arrangements (site access, equipment availability, sample requirements)
   • answering technical questions ahead of the access period
   • users are encouraged to reach out to their assigned contact as early as possible after confirmation to ensure a smooth start
   • link to instrument scientist contact list: https://www.helmholtz-berlin.de/media/media/user/GATE/ready-pv/list-abbreviations-in-gate.pdf
3. Coordinate with your local point of contact (infrastructure responsible) regarding any administrative steps.
4. After completing your experiments, you will receive an automatic request via GATE to submit your experimental report.

Travel and Subsistence Reimbursement

Users may request reimbursement for travel expenses from Ready-PV EU funding if:

1. access to the infrastructure was granted through the evaluation process
2. experiments at the Ready-PV infrastructure were completed
3. an experimental report detailing outcomes was submitted via the GATE reporting system

Reimbursement limits:

• Travel: up to €600 per trip
• Accommodation: maximum €150/night (hotel/hostel)
• Daily allowance: maximum €40/day

Reimbursement requests must be submitted to and processed by the Ready-PV partner where the experiments were conducted.

Terms and Conditions

By submitting a proposal or accessing Ready-PV facilities, users agree to the following:

1. The Selection Panel reserves the right to evaluate and rank proposals based on established criteria.
2. Decisions of the Selection Panel are final and non-negotiable. Inquiries or disputes regarding these decisions will not be considered.
3. Users certify that all information provided is true and accurate and agree to comply with Ready-PV, EC, and national rules and regulations, including safety protocols.
4. Users confirm that no member of their group is involved in providing access within the Ready-PV project.

Revisions to Terms of User Agreement

The Ready-PV consortium may revise these terms at any time without prior notice.

User Obligations

This section summarizes the obligations that apply to all Ready-PV users once access has been granted, covering dissemination, data management, funding acknowledgment, and general conduct.

1. Dissemination of Results

Users are required to scientifically disseminate the results obtained through their Ready-PV access except where an exemption applies International (Infrastructure/User, SME proprietary research).

This obligation is separate from the short administrative experimental report; dissemination refers specifically to the public communication of scientific results.

Where possible, users are encouraged to:

• Publish results in Open Access journals
• Deposit publications and, where applicable, datasets in recognized repositories such as Zenodo, arXiv, or NOMAD

2. FAIR Data Management

Ready-PV is committed to Open Science and to making project-related data FAIR — Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable.

Users are encouraged to manage and document data generated during their access using the platforms provided by Ready-PV, including:

• NOMAD Oasis — for structured collection, harmonization, and sharing of experimental and characterization data
• ELN (Electronic Lab Notebook) — for standardized documentation of experimental procedures
• JupyterHub — for interactive data analysis workflows

Data deposited through these platforms is, in the first instance, accessible only to the user; broader sharing follows the project’s FAIR and Open Science principles. Training on the FAIR data platforms is available to all users (see Section 2.5.3).

3. Acknowledgment of Ready-PV / EU Funding

For users publishing results obtained through Ready-PV access (e.g., in peer-reviewed papers, conference presentations, or other public outputs), users are asked to acknowledge that the work was supported by Ready-PV and cite the project’s Grant Agreement number:

“This work was supported by the Ready-PV project, funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No. 101293084.”

Users are encouraged to also mention the specific host infrastructure(s) used, in line with the acknowledgment practices of that infrastructure, where applicable.

4. Compliance and Conduct Rules

In addition to the obligations above, users are expected to:

• comply with the host infrastructure’s health, safety, and (where applicable) radiation-protection regulations
• provide accurate information throughout the application, access, and reporting process
• disclose any conflict of interest relevant to the evaluation of their proposa
• use Ready-PV infrastructure and support solely for the purposes described in their approved proposal