The “ILL 2020 Vision” user meeting was organised in Grenoble on 15-17 September 2010 with the aim of discussing with the neutron user community the development of a programme of upgrades to the ILL instrument suite and infrastructure for the period 2013-2017 and beyond. Taking ILL further into the millennium.

More than 300 participants from over 30 countries joined this stimulating meeting to help set the future course for ILL and the science it serves. Those in attendance included ILL scientists and users, heads or representatives of 11 other neutron scattering facilities, members of the ILL governing bodies, former directors, and heads of neighbouring institutes in Grenoble.

The ILL has been at the forefront of neutron science for almost 40 years. A key factor in this success has been the successive renewal campaigns to ensure its instruments enable the community to perform the best possible science.

The latest project – the Millennium Programme – has completed its first phase (2001-2008), and is well into its next phase (2007-2014). It has already delivered 14 new or radically upgraded instruments, increasing the average instrument detection rate by a factor of almost 20. The current phase will deliver 7 more new or upgraded instruments, as well as supporting infrastructure.

The meeting gave an overview of what the upgrade programme had delivered to date. However, the main thrust was forward-looking, and aimed to develop a strategy to provide the very best tools for tackling key scientific problems in the period up to and beyond 2020.

ILL scientists outlined proposals for new or upgraded instruments, as well as various forms of infrastructure. These, together with additional proposals from the user community, were all presented by “project champions” during the meeting, and highlighted the breadth and creativity of the contributors.

One of the enduring memories of this highly successful meeting are the words of Michael Steiner, ENSA chairman, who towards the end of the conference encouraged ILL to ‘be strong’ and to continue to enable the community to carry out world-beating neutron science throughout the next decade and well beyond.