Research Infrastructure
Research Infrastructures play a crucial role in the progress of science, especially when sophisticated instruments are crucial to achieve scientific result, large investments are required and higher level of expertise is essential.
A successful facility provides high quality of services, has experienced staff members, offers sophisticated technology platforms and of course gives access to its knowhow. But its success depends also on how well defined and integrated internal policies are and how well structured the work-flow between department is.
Ultimately, setting up or keep runing a facility may not be convenient and outsourcing may be a better alternative.
Core Facilities are certainly the future of science.
However, the management behind is far from being trivial.
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What are the requisits for a Core Facility? |
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Is the scientific demand enough to justify a new Core? |
| ✓ | Do we have the experitise in-house? |
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Can we afford such infrastructure? |
| ✓ | What is the economical impact of a yearly service contract? |
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Do we need to introduce a user fee model? |
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Can we assure a middel-long term sustainability? |
| ✓ | Do we need a new legal form? |
Here below a nutshell of our expertises about Research Infrastructure.
Set up new Core Facility
Business and Financial Model
Access right
Cost Assessment and Financial Plan
Funding and contribution
Cost Matrix and User Fee Calculation
Recharge and billing system
Policies and Procedures
Operational enviroment
The legal form of the organization where scientific facilities operate has a strong impact on their scope and future development.
A multi-user architechture, a high variety of players with different roles influence the faith of the infrastructure built in-house or as indipendent center.
We optimize your resources and build the net you need to achieve expectations.
Space, instrument and personnel
Define the set of technology required to sutisfy the scientific demand is only the shadow of a cascate of conditions needed to assure your operativitiy. Space, personnel and financial support would also influence the quality of the scientific support offered and determine a sustainable infrastrucutre.
Facility Leader and Core activities
Core Facility's activities vary from offering access to technology (User Facility), providing a service (Service Facility), or rather a combination of these (Project based Facility).
Methodology development, protocol optimization, technology development are few example of additional activities carry on by a facility. Research projects may be carried on in collaboration with reserach laboratories or because of industrial collaborations which then requires adeguate legal contracts. Transfer technology and knowhow is certainly a demanding task especially when it comes to define patent and property right. Administrative and financial duties complete then the complex operational enviroment.
To full fill all these requirement, our consultants will make you outline the boundary of the facility activities and will design and implement ad hoc operational and financial tools to smooth and downstream your non-scientific activities.
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What are the criteria to define a scientific unit a "Core Facility"? |
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Is it ecnomically convenient to set up a new Core Facility or shall we consider to outsorce or have an industrial partner? |
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Who are our core staff members? |
| ✓ | What are the legal and adminsitrative requirement I should be aware of? |
| ✓ | What are the consequences of a purchase? |
Access rights
A range of users may whish to use your resources but usage rate may vary during time and create financial difficulties.
We can work out a business and financial model to assure a fair access to internal users, academic and/or industrial users.
At the same time we bridge with your administration to reach the ultimate step of billing for your services.
Policies and procedures
Depending on the organizational structure where the facility operates we suggest a set of policies and procedure to obtimize your resources.
Our Methodology
Experience shows how important is, before taking any further action, to understand your perspective, your expectation, your milestons and of course indentify your bottle neck.
Here below an indication of the steps we would follow:
✓ Workflow analysis
✓ Equipment inventory
✓ Outline of your services portfolio
✓ Definiton of cost drivers
✓ Calculation of unit costs
✓ Cost matrix and user fee calculation
✓ Cost assessment
✓ Budget analysis
✓ Financial plan
✓ Full cost recovery assessment
✓ Reporting and monitoring system
Tools & Hints
Each Facility has its own needs and its own organizational model, thus administrative and legal requirements hide behind any operational enviroment.
We verify the appropriate business model and assure the adeguate work flow by harmonizing policies and procedures without adding adminsitrative duties to facility leaders.
We define the appropriate user fee model and billing process. We provide solutions to improve efficiencies, cost recovery in compliance with regulations to reach a self sustainable infrastructure.
Legal Form
What is the appropriate legal form for my research infrastructure? Shall it be an indipend legal entity or shall it be integrated within the scientific laboratories?
Advantages and disadvantages, different alternatives and clear implications.
Legal form and funding scheme define the legal and administrative requirements you have to full fill. Discuss with our consultants what is the most suitable solution to reach a consolidated center.
Business and Financial Model
Each Facility has its own forkfolw but very similar constrains.
We enhance your business and financial model to reach a clear understanding of your potential and reach a self-sustainable infrastructure.
Funding and contribution
The financial support of the facility is crucial especially when large investment are involved and a larger team of experts is mandatory.
We make you discover new opportunities and a novel stockholder scheme.
Cost Matrix and user fee calculation
Understand which service you can offer, the appropriate cost driver and calculate a unit fee.
You may discover to be able to offer, not only instrument time, but also packages. You may even able to afford a scientific collaboration investing adeguate resources.
We can support you to establish, update and maintain a costing matrix and work out a solid and trasparent user fee model.
Facility recharge and billing system
To become a self-sustainable infrastructure or be able to recover a certain percentage of costs is in many cases mandatory.
Our experience shows that a recharge system is feasible if all operational aspects are also taken into account.
Let's define criteria and parameters, but do not under-estimate the added value of an electronic tool to support your activity.
Find out more about our MARIE.
Guideline
With more then 12 years experience in science administration, we can first revise legal and administrative requirement that apply to your institute till the elaboration of a general "Policies and Procedures Guideline". Ultimately, we will finanlize an ad hoc Guideline that better suits your needs in combination with a professional training course of your staff.