Successive Pathway

Many technically feasible proposals narrowly miss the merit cut-off for beamtime and are resubmitted with minimal changes, undergoing full technical and scientific review again. The Successive Pathway allows eligible proposals to be carried forward into the next round without undergoing re-review. Proposals receive a small positive score adjustment to maintain competitiveness.

Background

Over the years we have received numerous requests to allow unsuccessful proposals to carry over into the next round. This functionality had been limited by the User Portal, but in 2025/2026 the Australian Synchrotron has devised a method to allow users to highlight a proposal they’d like to resubmit and make eligible in the latest round. This would not allow dual resubmission of a proposal through the Successive Pathway and normal merit scheme. You may only submit the proposal through one of these methods.

In 2026/3 we are trialing this system for the XAS and MEX1 beamlines. The trial will run for three rounds: 2026/3, 2027/1, and 2027/2.

Eligibility:

A proposal qualifies if it:

• Was feasible in the Technical/Safety review,

• Has not previously used the Successive Pathway, and

• Scored close to the cut-off (within 1 standard deviation) in the previous round

• Eligible PIs will be invited by the User Office

Guidelines:

• No changes allowed: Only co-proposers may be updated. Samples and methodology must be the same as previous submission. If you wish to submit proposals through both schemes due to advances in your research but which are on the same topic, please combine them into a single proposal and submit through the new normal round.

• Score adjustment: Improvement to the previous PAC score.

• Review: Proposals retain previous Technical & Scientific reviews and are not reviewed by the PAC a second time. Please refer back to the feedback comments on the original submission if you wish to improve the proposal in subsequent rounds.

• Carry-over: Proposals can be held for one additional round only.

• Duplicate submissions: Only one version per proposal per round is allowed. See guidelines on allowed changes above. If you’re not sure if the proposals are different enough to qualify for both schemes, please contact the User Office.

How to apply:

• If you have an eligible proposal, you will receive an invitation from the User Office.

• Create a new proposal in the round labelled ‘INVITE ONLY - XXXX/X Successive Pathway’.

• Enter the proposal ID of the original submission and attach its PDF from the Portal. Please give the new proposal the same title as the original.

• The requested number of shifts must not change.

For more information, please contact the User Office at user.office.vic@ansto.gov.au