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Fig. 143: Public user visits, 2016 to 2023, split into onsite, remote and sample transport reimbursement. N.B. Figures for 2023 are up to 31 December; they do not include the user visits that will continue to

take place in the remainder of 2023/II.

Fig. 142: Number of shifts requested, allocated and delivered, 2016 to 2023. N.B. Beamtime delivered for 2023 is up to 31 December, it does not include the beamtime that will continue to be provided

in the remainder of 2023/II.

Fig. 144: Number of publications appearing in refereed journals reporting on data collected either partially or wholly at the ESRF, 2016 to 2023. The number of publications for 2023 is

not final at the time of going to press.

In certain fields, users exploited the remote access capabilities that were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic to allow the facility to continue its research programme. This was particularly the case for MX and commercial users, but also for short or feasibility test measurements. In addition, users exploited the possibility to carry out hybrid experiments, which is the name given to experiments with a mix of onsite and remote users. Only essential participants needed to come onsite, while other team members participated remotely.

The annual number of public experimental sessions and user visits since 2016 are shown in Figure 141. In 2023, 24% of all public user visits were remote, an almost identical level to 2022, and 27% of all public experimental sessions were carried out fully remotely, i.e., with no onsite users (compared to 30% in 2022). A further 9% were carried out in hybrid mode. The great majority of fully remote public sessions (97.5%) were for MX experiments. The growth in the number of remote user visits as well as in the number of sample dewars and parcels paid for in place of user travel during the COVID era can be observed in Figure 143. The final level of exploitation of remote access in 2023 is expected to be very similar to 2022 as most users continue to prefer to come onsite for their experiments.

The yearly ESRF publication statistics are shown in Figure 144; these are publications accepted in peer- reviewed journals that result from data taken either wholly or partially at the ESRF, or which include ESRF staff as authors. The yearly publication output from the ESRF is typically at a level of over 1800, with around 400 every year published in high impact- factor journals (IF > 7). While the figure clearly reveals the expected impact on the total publication output of the 18-month dark period for users in 2019-2020 for the ESRF-EBS upgrade, along with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, it also shows that the number of high impact-factor publications has remained constant, and now constitutes one third of ESRF publications each year. At the time of going to press, 1182 publications had so far been registered for 2023, with 425 in journals with an impact factor higher than 7, and this figure will continue to evolve well into next year.