Post COBRE and INBRE Post COBRE and INBRE Funding: Best Practices to Funding: Best Practices to Sustain Critical ResourcesSustain Critical Resources

4th Northeast Regional MeetingAugust 10-12, 2011Salve Regina UniversityNewport, Rhode Island

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Tim HunterUniversity of VermontCore Director VGN Microarray FacilityCore Director, VCC DNA Analysis FacilityCore Director, Advanced Genome Technologies Core (AGTC)Asst Director, Translational Technologies Unit, CCTS

What We Have Learned: Common Issues Some NCRR-funded cores are isolated:

No easy access to medical schools (ID) Sometimes difficult to hire specialized staff Some cores want to do outreach but don’t know how Information does not get to them, need a central place

Most were not aware of the opportunities for networking in the “Core Community”

Very few attendees are aware of federal regulations regarding core fees structure – where is the information?

Most had never developed chargebacks or a business plan to sustain critical core activities beyond NCRR funding.

No formal standards on how core charge back should be implemented.

Need for a workshop on core management (Best Practices)?

Why Implement Best Practices Transparency

Increase Visibility of Core

Establish and maintain High Quality ServicesProfessional DevelopmentBenchmarking (www.abrf.org)

Promotes User confidence, Education, and AwarenessOpen Houses, Workshops, and TutorialsUser Oversight

SustainabilitySustaining technologies/services crucial to Research Institute

Best Practices: Short List

Developing a Business Plan

Developing a full cost recovery Budget Evaluate Impact of Core Facility on

Research Competiveness

Marketing/Customer Relations (Steve,

Jim, Jackie)

Best Practices: Longer List

3-5 Year Business PlanDeveloping full cost recovery Budget , regardless of subsidiesMake sure technologies/services are congruent with the organization’s mission and vision. Financial benchmarking: internal and externalAccess/ Utilization (user friendly)Technical benchmarking: internal and externalEducational outreach: internal and externalImpact and Outcomes (tracking)Local and Global Oversight:Communication and promotion

Developing a Business Plan Clear Mission

Organizational Structure Inventory of resources

Maintenance plans Operational Plan

Staffing, delivery of services (QC,QA, user relations), LIMS Marketing Plan Financial Planning Technology Assessment 3-5 Year outlook of future needs

Technology Assessment, Financials

Web Resources: Business Planning OMB Circular A-21 Basics:http://www.aucd.org/docs/urc/A21basics.pdf

OMB Circular A-21 Cost Principles for Educational Institutions http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/circulars/a021/a21_2004.pdf

Business Plan for a Startup Business: Including narratives and several financial worksheets( from SCORE):

http://www.careerramblings.com/pdf/cr_business_plan.pdf  (Request for comments on) FAQs to Explain Costing Issues for Core

Facilities:http://cancer.osu.edu/research/cancerresearch/sharedresources/Documents/NIH

%20-%20Core%20Facilities%20FAQs.pdf  SCORE: Free Small Business Advice, How-to-Resources, tools:http://www.score.org/

All Posted on NICL website

Developing a full cost recovery Budget

“The Crash Course”

Developing a full cost recovery Budget Project Utilization

Define service/billable units % Effort of each staff dedicated to delivery Determine true cost of service (Direct)

Service contract, consumables, reagents Indirect Cost

Administration, consulting, space costs, communications Instrument Depreciation Fully loaded chargeback

Applying Dept, center, college subsidies

Must be Circular A-21 Compliant

Direct vs. Indirect (F + A)

Direct Costs – can be identified specifically with delivery of a particular service/technology. i.e., labor, operating supplies and materials, service contracts, depreciation on non-federally purchased equipment.

Indirect Costs – Costs that are incurred for common or joint objectives and cannot be readily identified to a specific service/technology. i.e., space, administration, travel, communications (phone, copier), deficit recovery

Developing a full cost recovery Budget Service

Utilization

Define Service

Annual Survey Email solicitation History

i.e., Fragment Analysis Billable Unit: Injection Std and Titration

provided

Developing a full cost recovery Budget Determine % direct efforts for each staff

Developing a full cost recovery Budget

Service cost analysis (S)

Direct (S+L) cost for delivery of defined service

Developing a full cost recovery Budget

Direct

Core Operating Principles: Best Practices in determining chargebacks The costs of providing service are allowable,

allocable, consistently applied and reasonable.

The rates are established to recover these are documented and systematically evaluated against actual cost and revised on a regular basis to reflect actual costs (A-21 J.47)

These rates are charged to all users on a consistent basis, regardless of funding source(s) and employing a principle of “one service, one rate”.

Evaluating Impact of Core Facility on Research Competitiveness: Essential Metrics Kinds of services provided

Staffing   Grant proposals and (by PI, dates of submission

or funding, title, and agency) Funded grants that used data from the facility. List of publications that used data from the

facility. Numbers of completed projects for internal

faculty and students sortedby college or school (the units of a project will vary by facility)

Numbers of clients outside Institute, if any

Essential Metrics Budget Information Financial benchmarking: internal and external Access/ Utilization Technical benchmarking: internal and external  Educational outreach: internal and external Impact and Outcomes  Local and Global Oversight:  Communication and promotion Professional Development (Expertise)

Funding Landscape Post COBRE

Movement of IDeA States Programs to NIGMS

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?????? Lots of Lingering Questions ??????

NIH/NCRR Meetings on Efficient Core ManagementThe Efficient Management and Utilization of Core Facilities

July 14 – 15, 2009

managing core facilities issues of cost efficiency,

management and access

finding and accessing core

facilities government policies

governing managing and reporting

training core directors

quality improvement

Moving Forward in the Efficient Management and Use of Core Facilities

November 15 – 16, 2010 updates on maximizing the use and efficiency of existing NIH-funded research core facilities

developing effective training programs for core facility directors

exploring software options for enhancing administrative management of core facilities

creating a national registry of core resources

standardizing compliance with OMB Circular A21

NISBRE 2012:What workshops or presentations would be of greatest value to the NICL community?