Resource Sharing in Biomedical Research (1996) / Chapter Skim
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8: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
8: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Pages 71-90
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From page 71... ...
FEATURES OF SUCCESSFUL RESOURCE SHARING Strong Scientific Leadership in Agencies and the Research Community Essential ingredients in successful resource sharing are the leadership of program managers in government agencies who identify opportunities and support them; the leadership of senior scientists who establish the norm for the scientific community by example and commitment to sharing resources; the leadership of scientists who direct existing shared resources to provide quality services at moderate costs; and the commitment of scientific institutions such as universities and professional societies that develop policies to facilitate and enforce resource sharing. The Arabidopsis thaliana genome project's remarkable communal spirit and international character have made it a successful model for scientific cooperation and sharing of research resources.
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From page 72... ...
Similarly the strong leadership of the 22 societies that provide oversight for the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) , and the strong scientific leadership and management of The Jackson Laboratories (TJL)
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From page 73... ...
The seven regional primate research centers established by specific legislation during the 1960s and funded through the National Center for Research Resources are additional excellent examples of shared resources that have stable core funding. Marketing and Advertising Advertising, marketing, and general knowledge of the availability of a resource are essential to widespread access; many resources are not shared simply because their existence is not known to scientists who require them.
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From page 74... ...
In the case of Arabidopsis, the stock centers and databases do not permit restrictions on materials, and strong scientific leadership and peer pressure serve to make these materials and the data freely available to the research community. The Jackson Laboratory provides another example of a resource that has developed explicit policies on ownership and access, and is resisting licensing agreements or agreements that give reach-through rights to commercial entities.
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From page 75... ...
When the growth of different induced genetic mouse strains recently outpaced the capacity of TJL to produce these for the larger research community, the laboratory established an advisory committee to decide priorities as well as seek additional funding from government agencies. Quality Control A critical attribute of a shared resource is that the distributed resource be what it is purported to be.
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From page 76... ...
Sharing almost always results in a total cost reduction, allowing existing research dollars to support a larger total research effort. Sharing has other side benefits including the rapid diffusion of new techniques or methods throughout the scientific user community and, quite often, the catalysis of scientific collaborations based directly or inadvertently on the sharing experience.
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From page 77... ...
It seems advantageous to avoid a situation in which no costs accrue to the end user and there is no incentive to be frugal or cautious in requesting materials that may not be essential. Other materials are not renewable, such as some clinical samples, unamplified libraries, extraterrestrial samples, deep sea or deep drilling cores, and fossils.
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From page 78... ...
. The willingness of scientists to participate in the Arabidopsis project was enhanced by the scientific credit they received for participating as well as the peer pressure exerted upon those who were less enthusiastic participants.
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From page 79... ...
Ways of providing credit to institutional shared resources must be found, or support for the scientific mission of these core activities-which benefit many-will be endangered.
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From page 80... ...
There Are Many Private and Public Stakeholders in any Major Resource Sharing Attempt, Often With Conflicting Goals The boundary between private- and public-sector activities that impact on shared resources is complex and raises issues that will need to be monitored carefully. The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)
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From page 81... ...
It must also be recognized that different cultures regarding sharing may exist within academia, or industry and among individuals scientists irrespective of their place of employment. Industry is generally thought to focus heavily on retaining intellectual property rights by stringent enforcement of confidentiality and material transfer agreements.
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From page 82... ...
Some regulations governing animal care and shipping by the various municipal, state, and federal agencies are conflicting. Regardless of their scientific basis, the costs of complying with these regulations and the extra documentation required by them add burdens to the individual scientist, his or her institution, and the shared resource.
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From page 83... ...
Education of Scientists Covers Neither the Ethos of Sharing Nor Intellectual and Tangible Property Issues There is a significant gap in leadership in the training of scientists with regard to the issues of intellectual and tangible property: What constitutes intellectual property? When and how can (or should)
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From page 84... ...
Partnerships in Sharing Resources May Be Unequal The issue of fairness in access and opportunities to utilize shared resources is ongoing because there are typically inequities between those seeking access to saturable or costly resources. For example, graduate students or junior faculty may seek resources from large companies or senior investigators but have little to offer by way of a collaboration, whereas a more senior investigator seeking the identical resource may be perceived as an attractive collaborator.
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From page 85... ...
Several of the case studies instead subsidize the sharing of materials, equipment, or services from funds the primary purpose of which is not sharing, just as individual scientists use research grant funds to provide materials to colleagues. Funding agencies should consider more straightforward mechanisms by which facilities might be reimbursed for the full costs of sharing with the rest of the scientific community.
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From page 86... ...
Clearly, the technology transfer office has the obligation of protecting the researcher and the institution with regard to intellectual and tangible property; however, there has already been significant progress in the development of uniform material transfer agreements between not-for-profit institutions. This and other such mechanisms can foster
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From page 87... ...
Thus, the question arises of the extent to which reagents and results originally dependent on public support should be shared versus the initial period of confidentiality sometimes required for the effective technology transfer intended by current federal regulation. Federal and private funding agencies and industry should jointly undertake a suitable cost-benefit analysis and explore mechanisms to enhance the efficiency both of funding shared resources and of sharing resources.
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From page 88... ...
The overall issue demands rapid action on the part of the scientific community to forestall decisions at the national level that may be difficult to reverse. Because the private sector will continue to have a major impact on resource sharing, representatives from industry, nonprofit institutions, and funding agencies should be brought together to work toward solutions of current problems such as the following: · Overreaching claims on future ownership of inventions by providers of shared resources and research tools The major question is at what point the original provider no longer has a legitimate claim.
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From page 89... ...
To what extent is the lack of sharing caused by commercial concerns versus a more general unwillingness to share? A cost-benefit analysis should be conducted to evaluate the possible impediments to resource sharing caused by government regulations.
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