Of relevance to UK-based people only!

Sent on behalf of Keith Wilson, Paul Freemont, Dave Stuart with apologies for cross-posting.

Inaugural meeting of the Instruct UK Structural Biology Forum
Location: Wellcome Trust Offices, 215 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE

Aim of the Meeting
==================
To formally establish the Instruct UK SB Forum to represent all our interests, agree a governance structure and terms of reference, and arrange nominations/elections for the key roles in the Forum. Define the relationship of the Forum with the Instruct hub given its independent status and role.

Invitation to register
======================
*	Please register on the Instruct web site, go to: http://tinyurl.com/bt6jedj and follow the instructions to register for the meeting before 31st May 2013.
*	The objective is to get good representation of the community in terms of both subject area and geographical location. If more than 80 people register to attend, places will need to be allocated selectively based on these criteria, and it may be necessary to restrict attendance to 1-2 PIs per Institute. A small panel independent of Instruct management will be set up to do this.

Please help widen the representation
It is important that we have proper representation of all sections of the UK SB community at this meeting, so please broadcast our message, inviting colleagues to register. It is important that the Forum should be a democratic organisation under the full control of its membership.

Programme
=========
11:00 Status of Instruct. Dave Stuart (Oxford/DLS)
11:15	Structural Biology in the UK: Tom Blundell (Cambridge)
11:40	UK XFEL consortium. Jim Naismith (St. Andrews)
11:55	CCP4: A paradigm for UK SB collaboration. Martin Noble (Newcastle)
12:10	DIamond status and vision. Martin Walsh (DLS)
12:25	UK SB forum. Background, survey and proposals. Keith Wilson (York)
12:30	Buffet lunch - chance to discuss Forum plans
13:30	UK SB needs for large-scale facilities. Jane Endicott (Newcastle) 
13:45	EM centre at DLS - an Instruct led success. Helen Saibil (Birkbeck)
14:00	Establishment of CCPEM. Martyn Winn (STFC)
14:15	A plan for National and Regional NMR resources. Ernest Laue (Cambridge), Jen Potts (York)
14:40	Biophysical Methods: Carol Robinson (Oxford) 
14:55	Breaking news: new science update. TBA
15:10	Tea
15:30	Open structured discussion: aims, statutes, role, election process. Paul Freemont  (Imperial)
16:30	Meeting ends

Background
==========
The UK User Group arose from a meeting of representatives of the UK SB community held in London in 2011. At that meeting, Keith Wilson and Paul Freemont were tasked with taking this forward to establish the demand for a nationally organised group that could have meaningful input into strategic decisions impacting on the field. In late 2012, a vote was organised through Instruct regarding the establishment of a UK Structural Biology Forum. The resulting votes included good representation from several SB disciplines and a reasonable balance between senior and junior group leaders with 69 PIs registering their vote. The outcome was 1.5% for Status Quo (i.e. no Forum); 75.3% for the UK community to unite behind the UK Instruct user group; and 23.2% for a UK SB Forum independent of Instruct. Given the not insignificant number of votes for an independent Forum, it is essential to develop an inclusive remit such that the whole community can be represented with a valid mandate.
Although the Forum will be independent, it will benefit from the contacts and activities that Instruct has already established both UK-wide and at the EU and use of the Instruct digital interface via www.structuralbiology.eu to administer some of the activities. A major benefit of having a strong relationship between the Forum and Instruct will be to strengthen links with the European community, major strategic and funding bodies in the UK, and the EU initiatives that are being undertaken as part of Horizon2020. It will also be well placed to help ensure that UK infrastructure is properly aligned with the requirements of the user community.


*
*   Dr. Martyn Winn
*   STFC Daresbury Laboratory, Daresbury, Warrington, WA4 4AD, U.K.
*   Tel: +44 1925 603455 (DL)   or   +44 1235 567865 (RcaH)
*   E-mail: [log in to unmask]       Skype: martyn.winn
*



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