STFC Resource for GridPP7 Operations Call

Resource grants for funding for GridPP7 operations that underpin the UK particle physics programme.

The Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) has issued the Resource for GridPP7 Operations Call for funding for GridPP7 operations. The GridPP Collaboration is a community of particle physicists and computer scientists based in the United Kingdom and at CERN whose vision is to create and manage the evolution of the computing infrastructure needed to maintain the UK’s position as world leaders in particle physics.

GridPP is in its operational phase supporting the deployment of the UK grid as part of the Worldwide LHC Computing Group (WLCG) infrastructure in direct support of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments. It provides computing resources, expertise and training to other particle and high energy physics, and an array of other experiments. GridPP must underpin and enable the UK particle physics programme by providing an efficient and lean service built around:

• Physical hardware and infrastructure.
• Software running on physical hardware and infrastructure, and WLCG federal responsibilities.
• Middleware and interface to experiments, and experiment ‘customer’ support.

Proposals to the call should identify and describe the most efficient delivery of the above and explain any significant differences to GridPP6. The proposal should set out the international context of the GridPP7 phase and its contribution within global initiatives, and the synergies and coordination with STFC investment in other digital research infrastructure, particularly initiatives such as SWIFT-HEP.

The efficiency and sustainability of GridPP as a service should be preserved, and so research and development activities should be included in the proposal. It should set out planned developments and innovations for GridPP7 and the future, including how the collaboration will use new technology and software to develop more efficient and cost-effective operating methods.

Funding is for resource grants only. A capital submission will be invited later in 2023.