Socio-economic impact of research infrastructures: European XFEL ICRI, 4 October 2016 Claudia Burger

European XFEL - a leading new research facility The European XFEL (X-Ray Free- Electron Laser) is a new research facility in Northern Germany. From 2017 on, it will provide scientists and industrial researchers with an outstanding new tool to investigate the structure of matter as well as important problems in medical research, new and sustainable energy sources, and the development of materials for new technologies and a better environment. Claudia Burger European XFEL GmbH 4 October 2016

European XFEL - a leading new research facility Established as a non-profit corporation in 2009 on the basis of an intergovernmental Convention Supported by 11 partner countries Germany covers 58% of the costs; Russia contributes 27%; each of the other international shareholders 1–3% Total budget for construction (including commissioning) 1.22 billion € at 2005 prices 670 M€ contributed in cash, over 550 M€ IKC 300 staff members (+240 FTE at DESY) Claudia Burger European XFEL GmbH 4 October 2016

Visible progress in construction and installation of equipment Claudia Burger European XFEL GmbH 4 October 2016

Opportunities: biology, medicine, pharmacology Molecular movies reveal biochemical processes Causes of protein misfolding  treatments for Alzheimer’s, BSE, etc. Understanding enzymatic action in greater detail  better medicines, fewer side effects Viewing mechanisms of infection High intensity X-rays show structures in greater detail Searching for weaknesses in viral and bacterial outer coats Claudia Burger European XFEL GmbH 4 October 2016

Opportunities: chemistry and materials science Atomic-level imaging can uncover action of catalysts Better catalytic converters lessen impact of emissions Less toxic production processes Studying structure and properties of materials as never before How properties (e.g. durability, conductivity, magnetism) manifest Reducing atoms needed to store digital information  ultrahigh-capacity hard drives Claudia Burger European XFEL GmbH 4 October 2016

Opportunities: many other areas Photonics Photosensitive materials for computers, lasers, transistors Nanotechnology Structure and behaviour of nanomaterials Environmental research Energy sources based on photosynthesis Studying structure and activity of pollutants Energy research Better energy transfer  more efficient solar cells Claudia Burger European XFEL GmbH 4 October 2016

Socio-economic impact: Questions faced Internal vs. external evaluation Local level Regional International Global Ex ante vs ex post Construction vs operation phase One-off evaluation vs. continous monitoring Compete for public funds Strategic decision-making Identify common indicators Problems: Causality, time lag, opportunity costs Claudia Burger European XFEL GmbH 4 October 2016

Socio-economic impact during the construction phase Direct benefits Employment (internal and at cooperation partners) Revenues for suppliers and cooperating institutes Indirect benefits Innovation through procurement and in-kind contributions (success stories!) Staff turnover (technology transfer through human capital) International cooperation! Internal project to identify induced innovation during the construction phase Effect on income Kind of knowledge transfer Claudia Burger European XFEL GmbH 4 October 2016

Socio-economic impact during the operation phase Expectation: Main socio-economic impact of the European XFEL will result from the scientific output of the facility (new knowledge) that intentionally “spills over” to the economy/society (utilization of new knowledge  new technologies, new goods) Possible indicators for direct and indirect benefits (some initial ideas): Employment and staff turnover (technology transfer through human capital) Suppliers: revenues and induced innovation through procurement New applications of patents, license and correlated income at the industry Spin-offs Citations in industrial and technology publications Dissemination via social media and website visits … Claudia Burger European XFEL GmbH 4 October 2016

Socio-economic impact via EIROforum members: some examples CERN Where the World Wide Web was born ILL 1/3 of public scientific proposals for experiments were directly or strongly linked to industrial / commercial application (2015 study) ESRF ~ 40% of academic users state that the research they carry out at ESRF has applications in industrial R&D Proprietary research in structural biology and X-ray imaging dominate beam time sales EMBL Scientists solved the atomic structure of the fundamental enzyme for influenza virus replication, resulting in new opportunities for anti-influenza drug design Claudia Burger European XFEL GmbH 4 October 2016

Conclusions We strongly support the approach to make the socio- economic impact of research infrastructures visible. We observe long-term impacts and complex causal links. It‘s tempting to concentrate on the „easy-to-measure“ indicators but they might not be the most relevant. It‘s necessary and challenging to find meaningful indicators, based on a common concept and a common understanding on the limits of the applied methodology. There will be no one-fits-all standard model due to the heterogeneity of research infrastructures. Claudia Burger European XFEL GmbH 4 October 2016