Financial Assistance

• Users affiliated to universities and publicly funded laboratories of ESRF member countries (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom),
   
• Users from non-publicly subsidised laboratories (i.e. private companies) of ESRF member countries participating in a peer-reviewed experiment.

IMPORTANT:  It is mandatory to have created and submitted a Travel Request at least 14 days before your outgoing (to ESRF) travel date in order to be eligible for reimbursement. Without an approved travel request, it will not be possible to submit an Expense Claim and no contribution to costs from the ESRF will be possible.

Note:

• Users from a laboratory located in Grenoble are not eligible for the reimbursement of their travel and accommodation expenses.
   
• The ESRF provides financial assistance only for subsistence expenses incurred during the experiment (meals during the trip are not paid by ESRF)
   

Users who do not receive financial assistance must still be registered on the A Form to be accommodated at the Guesthouse on site:

• they will finance their travel expenses
• they will pay directly their stay at the Guesthouse
• they will have to charge their site entrance badge at the cash desk of the restaurant, for meals taken at the restaurant.

The ESRF will pay either for a user to travel to the ESRF or for a parcel of samples to be sent to and from the ESRF, up to the maximum number of users/parcels allowed for the experiment type considered:

• Up to 3 users/parcels : for Standard proposals, MX-BAG proposals, SANS-SAXS proposals (ILL/ESRF Joint Proposals), MX Rolling proposals except for CryoEM;
   
• Up to 2 users/parcels : for CryoEM Rolling proposals;
   
• Up to 4 users/parcels : for Long Term Project proposals, HUB proposals, BAG (non-MX) proposals and experiments rated as 'Red experiments' by the Safety Group, when the presence of more than three users is necessary to ensure the effective use of the beamline;
   
• For an offline experiment that is directly linked to an approved ESRF proposal, the ESRF contribution is limited to one user/parcel.

Notes:

Reimbursement for users and parcels may be mixed, e.g. it is possible to request reimbursement for 2 user visits and 1 parcel of samples for an experiment session.

The request for reimbursement of either user visit or parcel shipment costs is made in the "Users" tab of the A-form for the session by the Principal Investigator.

Additional users may be included in the experimental team, but these persons will not benefit from any reimbursement of expenses by the ESRF.

Please refer to the complete information on our Travel information web page, and in the "Travel Rules for ESRF Users" (Article 23 - Travel).

The ESRF will cover either the travel expenses for an eligible user to visit the ESRF or the cost of shipping a parcel of samples to and from the ESRF, within the limits of the maximum number of users or parcels allowed for the specific experiment type (see sections 1 and 3 for more details).

Please note that this financial support is strictly limited to the transport of samples and does not cover the transport of any other goods such as equipment or chemicals, even if directly related to the experiment.

Additionally, the reimbursement for sample transport is subject to the same conditions as for user travel in that the users are expected to comply with good management of public funds (i.e. costs that are reasonable and cost effective). The ESRF reimbursement will be based on the most economical solution and, in all cases, will not exceed the cost equivalent of user travel from the same country to the ESRF.

Visitors invited for experiments will be accommodated in the Guesthouse (users affiliated to a laboratory located in Grenoble: see "Travel Rules").  The Guesthouse has 114 single bedrooms and 20 twin rooms. Where this is not possible, the ESRF Reception Office will book hotel rooms to be paid directly by the ESRF.

Users receiving financial support from the ESRF

The costs of the room and breakfast will be paid directly by the ESRF provided that the booking is made by the ESRF.

Users not receiving financial support from the ESRF

The request for accommodation arrangements must be made through the A Form, as for the reimbursed users. However they will have to pay their stay directly at the Guesthouse (in cash, by cheque on a French bank or by credit card).

The prices per person are as follow (tax included):

• 56.42 € per night
• 3.60 € for breakfast

NB: the ESRF does not cover/reimburse accommodation (hotel) expenses that occured during the trip to/from the ESRF.

Detailed information in our information web page "Travel Rules for ESRF Users" (Article 24 - Accommodation).

The site entrance badge is used for the payment of meals at the ILL/ESRF common restaurant.

• Breakfast is served in the Guesthouse (3.60 €).
   
• Other meals are served in the joint ILL/ESRF restaurant on site (EPN campus website restaurant information).
   
• The site entrance badge carries the canteen credit.
   
• The restaurant uses a points system: the cost in points of each dish is displayed in the canteen.

Users receiving a contribution towards expenses
 

• The badge is charged by the ESRF.
   
• Users are allocated a meal allowance corresponding to the number of meals covered by the ESRF during the period of the experiment, with a limit of 25 points per meal on average.
   
• If all pre-paid points are spent by the user before the end of the stay, the user can add extra points by crediting their card at the cash desk located in the entrance hall of the restaurant: any credit remaining on the badge at the end of the stay can be reimbursed by the restaurant.

Note: the ESRF will not cover/reimburse restaurant expenses occured during the trip to/from the ESRF

Users not receiving financial support from the ESRF
 

• The user credits their badge at the restaurant cash desk (entrance hall of the restaurant), before the first meal.
   
• Credit remaining on the badge at the end of the stay can be reimbursed by the restaurant (see below).

Reimbursement of credit remaining on the badge

If the user charged their badge, any credit remaining on the badge at the end of the stay can be reimbursed:

• from Monday to Friday by the restaurant cashier in the entrance hall of the restaurant during opening hours (11:30am -13:30pm);
• during evening and week-end services, the cash desk in the entrance hall of the restaurant is closed: the refund of remaining credit is made at cash desk inside the restaurant;
• the refund must be requested on or before the departure date;
• exceptionally, if the user forgets to recuperate the credit before leaving, he/she has 30 days after the departure date to request the refund by sending an email to the ESRF Travel Office. After this time, the refund will no longer be available.

Additional information in our information web page "Travel Rules for ESRF Users" (Article 25 - Meals).

It is mandatory for Users to submit their travel request and expenses claim via the e-travel application, SAP Concur. All information on how to use SAP Concur, including how to make an expense report (reimbursement claim) can be found here.

Download the paper reimbursement claim form ONLY for the reimbursement of sample shipments for Non-Structural Biology samples (since no associated travel request exists). All other reimbursements must be done via SAP Concur. 

• The paper reimbursement claim has to be sent no later than 30 days after the visit, to the following address :
  ESRF
  User Office
  CS 40220
  71 avenue des Martyrs
  F - 38043 Grenoble Cedex 9
   
• The paper reimbursement claims will only be processed when all written proof of expenditure is attached (please paste your receipts on separate blank sheets of paper), and when the site badge has been returned to the security staff at the site entrance.

Note:

• Accommodation (hotel) and/or restaurant expenses during the trip to/from the ESRF are not reimbursed by the ESRF.

Expenses are paid by bank transfer provided that full bank details have been supplied in the User Account (tab 'Reimbursement Data'). The user will be responsible for any charges incurred on their bank account in relation to such transfers.

Additional information in our information web page "Travel Rules for ESRF Users" (Article 26 - Reimbursement Procedure).

Last modified 2 October 2024

Please send any questions or comments to useroff

Download the file 'Reimbursement regulations' (PDF).

Eligible users will be subsidised for travel, accommodation and subsistence expenses for a period including the duration of both the SAXS and SANS experiments, plus an interval of up to 4 days between experiments, plus an additional allowance of 3 days (e.g. for setup).