Core facilities are centralized shared research resources that provide access to instruments, technologies, services, as well as expert consultation and other services to scientific and clinical investigators. The typical core facility is a discrete unit within an institution and may have dedicated personnel, equipment, and space for operations. In general, core facilities recover their cost, or a portion of their cost, of providing service in the form of user fees that are charged to an investigator’s funds. You need to consider the facilities that are available to you and your research team, and if you have access to everything you will need.
- You will most likely need to provide a detailed description of the institutional facilities and resources available to your research team.
- The information provided in the Performance Site(s) section is of major importance in establishing the feasibility of the goals of the career development plan. You cannot hope to win funds to complete research without showing you have the resources available to follow-through on your deliverables.
- Provide a description of the facilities, including:
- their capacities,
- capabilities,
- relative proximity, and
- extent of availability to the project.
- Describe how the research environment contributes to the probability of success (e.g., institutional support, physical resources, and patient engagement). Discuss ways in which the proposed study will benefit from unique features of the research environment or community involvement or will employ useful collaborative arrangements.
- Finally, consider a description of the institutional and community investment in the success of the research, such as the availability of organized peer groups; logistical support, such as administrative management and oversight, and best practices training; financial support, such as protected time for research with salary support; and access to and support of patient groups.
