General Interest-NIH core facilities request for information;
deadline Feb. 20, 2009
Request for Information (RFI): Improving Core Facilities
Notice Number: NOT-RR-09-003
Key Dates
Release Date: January 6, 2009
Response Date: February 20, 2009
Issued by
National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), http://www.ncrr.nih.gov)
Purpose
The National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)
provides laboratory scientists and clinical researchers with the tools and
training they need to understand, detect, treat, and prevent a wide range of
diseases. Along with many other Institutes and Centers at NIH, NCRR
supports core facilities. The purpose of this RFI is to solicit input on
how to improve NIH
funded core
facilities. Funding for these facilities can come from either NCRR or
from other NIH Institutes and Centers. Specific areas of interest include
ways to encourage optimum use of cores and ways to provide access to core
facilities to investigators who currently lack that access.
Background
For the purpose of the RFI, a core facility is defined as
a centralized shared resource that provides access to instruments,
technologies, services, as well as expert consultation to scientific
investigators. NIH generally provides start up instrumentation and/or
partial salary support for staff members in such facilities. Often, NIH
support is supplemented by annual support from the institution or from other
funding organizations.
Core facilities allow researchers access to tools that
they would otherwise not be able to use, but they do require significant
resources from both NIH and from the host institution. In this RFI, we
would like to obtain information about the current state of core facilities as
well as suggestions for improving them.
Information Requested
NCRR invites interested parties to submit the following
information. It is anticipated that the information received will be used in
two ways. First, the information will provide a useful snapshot of the
state of NIH funded core facilities. It is hoped that both the successes
and problems with those facilities will become apparent in the responses.
Second, NCRR plans to conduct a public meeting in July (see below) to follow up
on the information received. Some of the information that you provide may
be useful as case studies at that meeting. As a result, the information
provided will not be considered confidential. However, NCRR does not plan
to release specific details about problems that are reported in response to
this RFI.
1) Describe your interest in core facilities
Please describe how you are associated with core facilities. Such roles
might include (1) current users of core facilities, (2) former users of core
facilities, (3) potential users of core facilities, (4) managers of core
facilities, (5) principal investigators on NIH awards that support core
facilities, (6) institutional officials that oversee core facilities, (7)
organizations interested in clinical or biomedical research, or (8) other
interested parties. If you are a current user of core facilities, please
indicate the type of facility that you use. If you are a previous user of
core facilities, please indicate what sort of facility you used and why you no
longer use the facility. If you are a potential user of core facilities, please
indicate what sort of core facilities would be helpful in supporting your
research.
2) Describe how you access core facilities
Please describe your ability to access core facilities that would be helpful in
supporting your research. Please indicate how you locate needed cores, if
a national registry of cores would be useful to you, if your experiments would
allow you to travel to another institution to use a core facility. If you
have discovered institutional barriers either within your organization or on a
regional basis, please describe the details. Comments concerning whether
some types of cores are more amenable to sharing would be welcome.
3) Value of core facilities
If you are a current or past user of core facilities,
describe how your use of the facility improved your ability to perform
research, or failed to do so. Describe any examples where the core
facility enhanced collaborations with other scientists either within or
complementary to your expertise. Describe any examples where the core
facility was significantly involved in training users and whether such training
was valuable. If appropriate, please provide specific examples of
multi-disciplinary or interdisciplinary interactions that arose through the use
of core facilities and resulted in publications.
4) NIH policies
Indicate whether NIH policies or the terms and
conditions for particular awards make it difficult to fully utilize core
facilities.
5) Core consolidation
In instances where there are multiple similar cores at
a particular institution or in a small geographic area, describe ways that NIH
could aid in core consolidation. In those instances where an institution
has successfully consolidated cores, describe best practices or lessons learned
that can be shared. In those instances where an institution has
unsuccessfully attempted to consolidated cores, describe the reasons that the
attempt failed.
6) Issues associated with Funding Opportunity
Announcements
Describe any issues involving NIH funding opportunity
announcements (FOAs) that encourage the creation of new cores that ultimately
are not fully utilized. If such issues exist, list suggestions you have
for altering FOAs that propose core facilities. Indicate whether the NIH
peer review process for applications with core facilities encourages the
creation of new cores rather than the use/expansion of existing cores.
7) Management plans for core facilities
Describe any management plans that you are aware of that encourage full
utilization of core facilities. Such plans might be concerned with
institutional oversight, cost recovery schemes, and access to facilities.
If available, please provide links to information about the core facility using
the plan you describe. Describe any management plans (such as cost
sharing requirements) that discourage the use of core facilities. In
either case, indicate whether the management plans are imposed by the core
facility, by the academic department, by the host institution, or by a funding
agency.
8) Other issues
Describe any other issues involving core facilities
that would improve them.
Public Meeting
NCRR anticipates that the responses to this RFI may require a meeting to
further explore issues that are raised. We have tentatively reserved the Natcher Auditorium on the NIH campus in Bethesda (http://www.nih.gov/about/visitor/index.htm
) on July 14 and 15, 2009 for such a meeting. Everyone who responds to
this RFI will receive information about the meeting. Details about the
meeting will also be posted on the NCRR web site (http://www.ncrr.nih.gov ). Such a
meeting, if it is held, will be open both to those who respond as well as to
any others.
How to Submit a
Response
Responses will be accepted through February 20, 2009. Responses by e-mail
are strongly preferred. Please use the address ncrrcorerfi@mail.nih.gov to submit a
response. The submitted information will be reviewed by NCRR and will be
shared with other NIH Institutes and Centers that have an interest in this
matter.
Inquiries
Inquiries regarding this notice may be directed to:
Gregory K. Farber, Ph.D.
Division of Biomedical Technology
National Center for Research Resources
6701 Democracy Boulevard
Room 960, MSC 4874
Bethesda, MD 20892-4874
Telephone: (301) 435-0788
FAX: (301) 480-3659
Email: farberg@mail.nih.gov
This RFI is for planning purposes only and should not be
construed as a solicitation for applications or an obligation on the part of
the government. The government will not pay for the preparation of any
information submitted or for the government’s use of that information.