Establish a Core Facility

Migrating to Pitt’s Core Connector

Existing shared research core facilities are encouraged to transition their management software to the supported package, iLab.  The Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Research will pay all licensing fees for the software and will provide support from the office and the vendor to ensure a smooth transition.

 Pitt’s iLab instantiation is integrated into our single sign on system and our billing backends.  It has support for tracking training, and for lockouts that point users who want to use specialized equipment to training modules before they can sign up for a system.  Setting this up requires some training; we’ll work with you to both develop an initial configuration that works for your facility, and will show you how to modify this as new training and new equipment come into your facility.

We recognize that different RCFs have different busy seasons and will work with you to schedule a transition at a time that works best for your facility.  Email rcf@pitt.edu with the subject “RCF Transition Request” to plan your transition.

Establishing and Maintaining a Level 1 Research Core Facility

Level 1 Research Core Facilities (L1RCF) receive support in exchange for performing several activities.  Level 1 and Level 2 facilities are described on the about page.

L1RCFs must be officially authorized and enrolled in campus-level RCF management and cannot unilaterally declare themselves to be such.  Authorized cores have both obligations to meet (e.g., annual reporting and user tracking), and privileges to enjoy (e.g., a common IT platform to track usage, access to a central capital funding mechanism for upgrades and equipment replacement).

L1RCFs must follow common best practices, including:

• Common IT Platform: The best-run cores employ a common commercial IT platform that tracks usage on a per-instrument or per-service basis, and bills users’ award accounts for per-use fees.  This offers many advantages.  First, accurate tracking of equipment use, which is essential to understand how extensively instrument are being used, and how these are advancing toward necessary maintenance activities or end-of-life.   Also, some federal sponsors require granular accounting of how awarded instruments have been utilized / cited in subsequent research publications (e.g., NIH S10 instrumentation proposals).  We have selected iLab.
• Leadership Training: The best-run cores also offer management training to the management teams running each top-tier core, so that these scientists have some formal education in the realities of budgets, business, and finance.  Pitt’s Katz Business school will offer a course to improve the skills of Facility and Faculty directors.  Curriculum includes: Leadership; Dealing with difficult people; Writing an Annual Report; Measures of performance and effectiveness for a business.
• Annual Planning Cycle: Pitt will employ an annual calendar for authorized L1RCFs, which involves an annual report for existing cores, an application-period for aspiring cores, and a capital request period for regular improvement/additions (outside of the usual “emergency needs” landscape) funded from a central capital facility.  This planning cycle provides clarity of “what, when, how” for review and capital planning. 

Criteria for a Successful L1 RCF 

An L1RCF is deemed successful on its ability to support the following:

• Research – Facility demonstrates ability to enable scientific advances;
• Training – Trainees efficiently learn to use equipment and run experiments or acquire services that produce results; and
• Collaboration – Enable unique interdisciplinary research. 

Facilities that no longer provide broad support for one or more of those areas will no longer be able to be a L1RCF.  Facilities that duplicate functionality available elsewhere on campus or in Pittsburgh will be carefully reviewed for need.

The senior vice chancellor for research sets aside funding to cover some L1RCF activities, including purchasing licenses for iLab software required to run facilities. Training is also available for those in L1RCF leadership positions.

Obtaining a New Research Resource Identifier

From time-to-time Pitt develops new shared core facilities. When we do, it is important that we obtain a new RRID.  Here is how to accomplish this: 

1. Make sure that the new Pitt facility is not already available in the RRDI website, by searching the registry and the current list of Pitt cores on the Core Marketplace.

2. If it is not, create a new Core Facility here: https://rrid.site/about/resource
3. Select ‘Core Facility’
4. Enter the following information:
   1. Email (should be the core’s main contact person)
   2. Resource Name: Use the format University of Pittsburgh + name of the affiliate school + name of your facility + and if appropriate the term “core facility”
   3. Resource URL (website of your core facility)
   4. Description of your core facility
5. Once submitted, the information is manually verified by a curator. If approved, an RRID will be assigned and sent by email from SciCrunch.
6. The email contains the RRID number and instructions on how to claim ownership of the core facility and make any edits:
   1. Create an account at SciScrunch at https://scicrunch.org/.
   2. Login to the RRID search portal using your SciScrunch credentials.
   3. Search for the core facility and select it.
   4. Click on the button ‘Claim Ownership’.
   5. A box will pop up asking to provide information to show that you own this resource.
   6. After submission, the claim then goes to a SciCrunch curator to check approval.
   7. After approval you will have access to do updates to the core facility.
7. Add the information on how to cite your newly created RRDI number to your website and the Pitt Research Shared Facilities website.
8. You may also add the acknowledgment language or the citation for your core facility in your e-mail signature.

Example: University of Pittsburgh Dietrich School Glass Shop Core Facility (RRID:SCR_023719)

Annual Calendar for Pitt RCFs