Case study: Centralized management of shared research equipment through the BioCore at the University of Colorado Boulder

Abstract

Operating in a neglected niche in research equipment sharing, a new program has shown to reduce individual laboratory expenses (i.e., cost avoidance on research equipment purchases) and is enabling researchers to conduct experiments that may otherwise be beyond their reach due to lack of equipment. While core facilities offer access to specialized instrumentation and services, the BioCore at the University of Colorado Boulder centralizes management of small- to mid-scale shared equipment in three biology departments to a single point of contact and a single manager. In the first 18 months of operation the BioCore has connected 60 researchers to existing shared equipment, leading to a significant cost avoidance of more than $850,000 total in equipment purchases. Within two shared laboratories (1,800 ft2), 85 instruments are managed and open to researchers, with training available and no fees for usage. Managing and utilizing a database of ∼4,000 instruments 'owned' by individual PI's, the BioCore helps researchers secure access to needed equipment through owner/user agreements facilitated by the BioCore manager. To reduce researcher administration burden and compliance issues related to sharing and moving equipment, the BioCore is additionally liaison to the Office of Contracts & Grants and Property Accounting. Researchers have reported increased values of startup packages, decreased time to undertake research experiments, and increases in the ability to gather preliminary data for grants. The BioCore model has been developed to be expandable (i.e., take in additional departments) and reproducible (i.e., able to be replicated at other institutions).