Core Facilities Management and Utilization

The Efficient Management and Utilization of Core Facilities

Core facilities funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), as well as other federal agencies, are increasing in number, complexity and cost. At the same time, there are academic institutions that are in need of the services of core facilities but cannot readily access them. To address these issues, NCRR has taken a number of steps, beginning with soliciting specific concerns from the extramural research community, convening a widely-attended conference to explore the issues in greater detail and creating a working group to consider follow-up actions.

Meetings

July 14 – 15, 2009 - NCRR and the NIH Office of the Director's Office of Extramural Research (OER) convened a two-day meeting in July 2009, entitled, “The Efficient Management and Utilization of Core Facilities” to address the issues of cost efficiency, management and access. The agenda was guided by the responses to the Request for Information (NOT-RR-09-003) that NCRR issued in February 2009. Participants discussed: finding and accessing core facilities, government policies governing managing and reporting, managing core facilities, training core directors and quality improvement.

Slide Presentations

The speakers at the July 14 – 15, 2009 conference included academic institution leadership, scientific investigators, core managers, and representatives from NIH and the Office of Management and Budget. ACCESS THE PRESENTATIONS >>

Future Steps Under Consideration

The National Center for Research Resources has begun steps for addressing many of the concerns raised by scientists and administrators at the July meeting. They include plans for:

Related Publications

The following publications provide information related to the efficient management and utilization of core facilities.

Contact Information

Gregory K. Farber, Ph.D.
Deputy Director
Office of Extramural Activities
National Center for Research Resources
6701 Democracy Boulevard, Room 904
Bethesda, MD 20892-4874 (20817 for express mail)
Telephone: 301-435-0778
Fax: 301-480-3659
E-Mail: FarberG@mail.nih.gov

Louise E. Ramm, Ph.D.
Deputy Director, NCRR
Office of the Director
National Center for Research Resources
6701 Democracy Boulevard, Room 902
Bethesda, MD 20892-4874 (20817 for express mail)
Telephone: 301-435-0879
Fax: 301-480-3658
E-Mail: RammL@mail.nih.gov

Sylvia L. Parsons
Program Analyst
Office of Science Policy
National Center for Research Resources
6701 Democracy Boulevard, Room 988
Bethesda, MD 20892-0860 (20817 for express mail)
Telephone: 301-435-0860
Fax: 301-480-3654
E-Mail: ParsonsS@mail.nih.gov