Re: Core facility user agreements

Posted by TSwayne on
URL: http://confocal-microscopy-list.275.s1.nabble.com/Core-facility-user-agreements-tp7588213p7588276.html

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A belated thank you to Andreas, Michael, Aurora, Joshua, Nuno, Lee, and Sylvie for responding to my question last week about core facility user policies.

As I see it, the consensus is for written policies to cover:

  *   Safety and cleanliness
  *   Reservations and cancellation
  *   Training and access
  *   Appropriate acknowledgement of core contributions.


Many cores require users to explicitly sign off on the policies; everyone posts them on the website and discusses them with new users in person.

As for encouraging acknowledgements and keeping track of papers, Sylvie Le Guyader suggested emailing users and PIs periodically with a list of all papers that used core equipment, and asking them to check if their latest work is on the list.  I like this because it provides a positive model, and also because it incidentally highlights the core’s contribution to the research community.  I currently search PubMed each week against a list of core users, and do my best to locate missed acknowledgements; but I’m hoping that Sylvie’s method will be more efficient and encourage our users to be more proactive.

Thanks, all, and happy imaging!

Theresa



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Theresa Swayne, Ph.D.
Associate Research Scientist
Manager, Confocal and Specialized Microscopy Shared Resource<http://hiccc.columbia.edu/research/sharedresources/confocal>

Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center
Columbia University Medical Center
1130 St. Nicholas Ave., Room 222A
New York, NY 10032
Phone: [phone]
[hidden email]<mailto:[hidden email]>



From: Confocal Microscopy List <[hidden email]> on behalf of Sylvie Le Guyader <[hidden email]>
Reply-To: Confocal Microscopy List <[hidden email]>
Date: Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at 5:50 PM
To: "[hidden email]" <[hidden email]>
Subject: Re: Core facility user agreements

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Dear Theresa

On our website (https://ki.se/en/bionut/welcome-to-the-lci-facility) under using the facility/ul guidelines, you will find our guidelines that all users and their PIs must sign.

Above that you'll get laser safety advice.

When it comes to acknowledgements in articles, we have a system that runs quite smoothly: every 6 months we sent to all users and their PIs an email with the full list of papers produced with data acquired or analysed at our facility, organized per year.

We explain to them that we need their acknowledgment to get money, where to get the official acknowledgement text and ask them to check if their latest paper is on the list.

It is very fast for them to do this and they normal remember what they have published in the last 6 months. They are normally eager to tell us about their last paper if we do not have it. It also reminds the PIs regularly that they need to acknowledge us and where to get the latest text. Students and postdocs tend to forget.

Hope that helps :-)

Med vänlig hälsning / Best regards

Sylvie

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Sylvie Le Guyader, PhD
Live Cell Imaging Facility Manager

Karolinska Institutet- Bionut
Hälsovägen 7C,
Room 7362/7840
14157 Huddinge, Sweden
mobile: [phone]
LCI website
Follow our microscopy blog!

---- Swayne, Theresa C. wrote ----

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I’d greatly appreciate any input from core facility directors/managers/staff.  How do you inform users about basic core policies – such as lab safety, food/drink, cancellation policies, acknowledgements?

If you have an online or paper agreement that users must sign, does it help with compliance?

For core facility users, how would you prefer to be informed about core policies?

My main goals are

  1.  to provide more explicit expectations and consequences, mostly aimed at those few inconsiderate users who don’t respond to repeated verbal reminders; and
  2.  to increase our rate of acknowledgement in published papers.

Many thanks!
Theresa

------------------------------------
Theresa Swayne, Ph.D.
Associate Research Scientist
Manager, Confocal and Specialized Microscopy Shared Resource<http://hiccc.columbia.edu/research/sharedresources/confocal>

Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center
Columbia University Medical Center
1130 St. Nicholas Ave., Room 222A
New York, NY 10032
Phone: [phone]
[hidden email]<mailto:[hidden email]><mailto:[hidden email]>