learning to share? asset sharing in uk universities sarah jakson, n8

http://www.n8research.org.uk/asset-collaboration/n8-est/http://www.n8research.org.uk/asset-collaboration/n8-est/

N8 Equipment Sharing [email protected]

@SJacksonN8@N8Research

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.n8research.org.uk/asset-collaboration/n8-est/

Today

N8 Sharing for Excellence and Growth – Part I

The Sequel –

N8 Sharing for Excellence and Growth – Part II –

The Equipment Sharing Toolkit


Part I – Why and What

• Why: Access to well-maintained and state-of-the-art equipment and infrastructure is crucial to the UK science base and therefore to underpinning national economic competitiveness

• What: Benefits and barriers to sharing equipment

• Report by Professor Luke Georghiou, Vice-President Research and Innovation, University of Manchester


Benefits of sharing

• Sharing offers positive benefits of 3 kinds– Creating concentrations of research activity to drive excellence

& impact

– Increased efficiency by reducing number of items purchased & increasing load factors

– Acquisition of capital assets too large for a single institution

Professor Luke Georghiou, Vice-President Research and Innovation, University of Manchester


Necessary preconditions

• Trust between holders and users of equipment

• Ability to locate equipment with spare capacity

• Proximity and travel time factored in



…but sharing only works in right circumstances

• Substantial transaction costs only partly sensitive to scale– Access arrangements & provision of technicians for longer hours

largely fixed costs

• Hence sharing far more viable for large items – No fixed cut-off but probably £500k range is entry point for

anything beyond casual opportunities

• Governance and management framework to cover additional costs, clarify service levels, H&S, liability & training issues



Outputs• Common searchable research equipment system

www.n8equipment.org.uk • N8 High Performance Computing Facility- awarded to

Manchester, facility provided by Leeds• Equipment base critical in Industry Innovation Forum• Contribution to political case for efficiency • Future research and capital planning:

– Chemistry – success in EPSRC Core Capability call– Biological NMR– Physics– HPC Technology Roadmap

http://www.n8equipment.org.uk/

http://n8hpc.org.uk/industry

http://www.n8research.org.uk/industry-innovation-forum/


Overview of the N8 Equipment Sharing Toolkit

Part 2 - The Sequel


Making Sharing Happen

• N8 Equipment Sharing Toolkit• Collective thinking of a wide range of research and

financial support professionals across the N8 universities• How best to share equipment.


What is it for?

• Making it easier to share equipment to allow us to do better research – increasing productivity

• Help the academic community to find the most appropriate solution for their circumstances - Not a compliance-based approach


Banding to help with use of thetoolkit

• Strategic Facilities as defined by N8 Universities that are part of the competitive award winning process and research growth of the 8 universities

• e.g. NMR machine 1GHz new investment

Band 1 – New Infrastructure

Framework Applies

• Larger pieces of equipment where formal/informal sharing may already exist as a result of collaborative working

• Equipment with the capacity and capability to be shared. For this equipment uptake of the model is optional

• e.g. NMR machine 750MHz purchased in 2008


Framework Optional

• Smaller equipment that does not normally lend itself to sharing and identified via the N8 database

• Eg NMR machine 600MHz for departmental use


Framework Unlikely to apply


Who ?• Sarah Fulton

• Director of Research and Innovation Services, The University of Sheffield

• Chair of the Operational Infrastructure Group

• Melanie Lythgo• Head of Cost Accounting, The University of Manchester• Pricing/Charging

• John Pillmoor• Technology Facility Director, The University of York• Health/Safety/Liability/Insurance

• Andy Jamieson• VAT Manager, The University of Sheffield

• Kirsty Lindley• Pricing and Contracts Manager, The University of Sheffield


What does the toolkit contain?

Navigation and pathways through four areas:

• Pricing and Charging• Health & Safety and Training• VAT• Contacts and Legal


What does the toolkit contain?

In addition to four work strands:

• Background and context for the work• Suggested approaches• Two case studies• Worked up examples• Downloadable templates• Questions and answers


For example: Elements of Cost Model

Pay

Price

Replacement Cost

Depreciation

Space

Non Pay

Efficient Usage


Approved by Funders

• Established cost model for sector

• Involvement of TRAC Support Unit throughout process

• Liaison with RCUK representatives through TRAC Development Group route

• Check other funder T & Cs


Charging Pathways

University A requires access to equipment as part of a research project. Access will be provided by Universities B and C. Costs are recorded as Research Expenditure in University A

University C is a subcontractor on the research project led by University A. This includes collaborations where research income is routed via a lead University

University B is not a subcontractor on the project. Equipment access is simply being provided. This includes research collaborations with separate funding streams. Equipment may or may not be a Facility under TRAC

Equipment is not a Facility under TRAC therefore costs are included in the overhead rates for research

Equipment is not a Facility under TRAC therefore costs are included in the overhead rates for research

Equipment is a Facility under TRAC, therefore costs are not included in the overhead rates for research

Costs on the grant at University C do include academic staff and therefore some overhead

Costs on the grant at University C do not include academic staff and therefore no overhead

Access Charge LeviedResearch Income-where participating in the researchOther Income where not participating in the research

Access Charge Levied-Other Income

Access Charge NOT Levied. This is the only scenario where any costs towards running the equipment are recovered as part of this research project by the University providing access to the equipment

Access Charge LeviedResearch Income-where participating in the researchOther Income where not participating in the research


A flexible and collaborativeapproach

• Consulted critical friends within our respective HEIs• Took note of good work being developed elsewhere,

e.g., M5 group of universities and the SES 5• Tested ideas as we went along• Consulted with national bodies who had a policy or

regulatory interest, RCUK; HEFCE; HMRC; Govt depts• Sought legal and financial advice• Weren’t slowed down by not knowing all the answers


How it will be used

• Part of the wider sector effort to demonstrate productivity and efficiency in equipment sharing – Diamond Review

• The user community will be engaged in helping to improve its effectiveness

• Be comfortable that we don’t have all the answers – next steps approach

• To be of help to the broader HEI sector


Where next ?

• Using the toolkit for HPC – implementing the VAT Cost Sharing model

• Develop networks to promote sharing across HEIs

• Identify new areas for capital asset collaboration

learning to share? asset sharing in uk universities sarah jakson, n8

Education

professor

include academic

overhead rates

research project

president

share equipment

research equipment

n8 universities