These procedures are intended to make use of the PATT Grant as simple as possible, while retaining the necessary level of financial recording required for accountability, both to Oxford University and PPARC. The current Principal Investigator is Katherine Blundell (KMB) and co-Investigator is Gavin Dalton (GBD).
The PATT Grant may be used to fund observing trips providing the following conditions are met:
you are a permanent member of staff, research fellow, a PDRA employed on a research grant, or a student who is a bona fide experienced observer (i.e. the observations should not be part of your DPhil project, and you have used the telescope on two or more occasions).
you have been awarded observing time on a PPARC-owned or PPARC approved telescope and your PATT award letter specifies that funding for an observer is approved.
if you have been awarded observing time on a non-approved telescope, that is a telescope not on the approved list, you will need to seek approval from PATT via KMB. Please supply her with a copy of the original proposal, the time allocation announcement, and a case explaining why it is essential that you attend to conduct the observations. This should be done six weeks prior to the planned travel.
Please could you advise us as soon as possible by submitting your Travel Plan Form early(!), of likely dates and expenditure which you anticipate being charged to the PATT grant. This will be a great help to us in assessing our projected expenditure.
As soon as possible, you should complete a Travel Plan Form ensuring that your proposed budget complies with the PATT guidelines, for subsistence rates, number of nights and permitted travel costs.
You then need to have your Travel Plan form signed by KMB or GBD - when you've completed this please leave it with Sue. [If both KMB and GBD are out of town, you can send us a completed version of this emailable form, which we will check out then confirm as appropriate so your travel arrangements can continue to be made.]
Note that it may be cheaper to book your own ticket taking advantage of internet rates with your credit card, in which case you are welcome to claim this expenditure at the time of booking (rather than waiting until you return) by completing the Expenses Claim form and giving it, together with your receipt, to Sue.
Useful internet sites to search for cheap tickets include: Opodo, Expedia, Cheap Flights & Travelocity.
Should it be necessary to rent a car as part of your observing trip, please be sure to make the reservation on-line before you leave as it will be much cheaper that way. Please ensure that at the same time you arrange sufficient insurance cover. Useful web-sites in this regard are: Thrifty, Budget, National, Avis.
Please claim any expenditure within one week of your return, by completing the Expenses Claim form and giving it, together with your receipts, to Sue. To assist with currency conversion, you may wish to use the Universal Currency Convertor.
Oxford Astrophysics practice is to reimburse expenses (e.g., travel costs, hotel, food) against actual costs which are supported by receipts.
The PATT grant doesn't support student training.
Support for observing on non-PATT telescopes varies from time to time. If in doubt, please check the current approved list.
The company providing travel insurance for us is now Zurich Municipal Insurance Ltd. Details are available here.
If you have any questions, feel free to email KMB.