Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How do I acknowledge OPTICON support?

A. Please add this sentence to your paper or other publication:

FP7/2007-2013: The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement number RG226604 (OPTICON).

FP7/2013-2016: The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2013-2016) under grant agreement number 312430 (OPTICON).

Q: Where can I download FP7 logos for my presentations, posters etc.

A: http://ec.europa.eu/research/fp7/index_en.cfm?pg=logos

Q. How do I claim travel expenses?

A. Please refer to the travel page: link to the Travel Page

Q. In the past, I've received OPTICON support from time to time. Usually, I knew only after proposal acceptance if OPTICON funds were granted or not.

A. This has changed. OPTICON is no longer retrospectivly allocating funds to runs assigned by various national TACS. There is a dedicated OPTICON TAC to allocate all the time OPTICON is able to support.

Q. If I fill in the OPTICON proposal do I have to enter the same proposal during the telescope's regular call in addition?

A. No, if you want OPTICON support you ONLY apply to the OPTICON call. If your proposal is accepted by OPTICON this news and your proposal will be communicated to the telescope director for scheduling.

Q. When do we know if support is granted?

A. Allocations will normally be done by mid-late April and mid-late November, ahead of all the national allocation meetings. You should recive a message soon after the TAC meeting.

Q. Can I submit the same proposal to both OPTICON and to a national panel for the same telescope to avoid potential rejection?

A. You can apply to the same telescope using the national procedures if this is allowed by the telescope in question. However, time granted via any national TAC will not qualify for OPTICON travel support. The national allocation committees will be informed of successful OPTICON proposals to avoid scheduling the same proposal twice.

Q. What happens if the OPTICON TAC rejects my proposal or it is judged by them to be scientifically OK but impossible to schedule with the OPTICON resources?

A. As with any other observatory, your project will regrettably fail. Proposals not funded by OPTICON will not automatically be sent to the national telecope committee for a second try.

Q. Can I request ToO overrides?

A. Target of Opportunity Projects may only be requested for CFHT, TNG and LT. However, they will not override existing observations in progress so are not suited to very rapid response targets like Gamma Ray Bursts. Approved ToO projects will be done during the next available queue scheduled block.

Q. Northstar doesn't recognise me/my password but I'm sure I've registered.

A. You must register with the OPTICON version of Northstar. The user databases are not shared with other Northstar applications, for example it cannot see the Radionet or Dutch national community versions.