created: 10/09/97, last updated: 10/09/97,© 1997 ABRF
To stay at the forefront of modern biology and medicine, NIH-supported investigators depend on cutting-edge instruments. These high-sensitivity and high-resolution instruments accelerate the rate at which researchers can acquire, analyze, display, and understand data.
Rapid technological development has quickened the pace at which advanced, state-of-the-art instruments become available and existing instruments become obsolete. However, new, sophisticated instruments are often too expensive for investigators to obtain through individual research grants. To help solve this dilemma, the Shared Instrumentation Grant (SIG) Program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was established in 1982 by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR). This program offers a cost-effective solution by providing a mechanism whereby groups of NIH-supported researchers can apply for commercially available, technologically sophisticated equipment costing more than $100,000. Shared Instrumentation Grants have included equipment such as mass spectrometers, protein and nucleic acid sequencers, NMR spectrometers, X-ray sources and detectors, confocal microscopes, cell sorters, biosensors, and high-performance computer systems. Costs for technical personnel, supplies, service contracts, or maintenance are not supported.
The program goal is to allow extramural scientists to acquire and share advanced analytical instrumentation not generally available through other NIH funding mechanisms. From FY 1982 to 1995, funding for the Program totaled $296.5 million. In FY 1985 annual funding reached $31.8 million and remained at similar levels until FY 1992 when the SIG appropriation dropped to $8.7 million, a decline of 73 percent. A total of 4,041 applications had been received through FY 1995, and 1,487 grants were awarded. Of those, 77 percent were awarded to medical schools and academic institutions (43 percent and 34 percent, respectively).
Typically, to promote optimal sharing, SIG instruments are located in central core facilities, which provide technical expertise, foster research collaborations, and provide user education.
Recently, the SIG program underwent an independent, external review by soliciting reports from users via two written questionnaires focusing on instrument activity at a single point in time-&emdash;calendar year 1993. Although somewhat dated, the results provide an overview of Principal Investigator and Major User opinion on such issues as instrument access, working condition, impact on NIH research, etc. The following text, excerpted from the full report with permission, summarizes the findings of this review. The complete report is available at http://www.ncrr.nih.gov.
Selected Findings
Instruments In-Service Supporting NIH Research Responses to the Principal Investigator questionnaire indicated that in 1993, 87 percent of the NIH instruments awarded between FY 1982 and 1992 were in service supporting NIH research. Included in this group was a surprisingly high percentage of older instruments: 70 percent of 11 year old SIG instruments were still in service in 1993. Thus, the vital role played by SIG instruments in NIH research extends over a long period; more than a decade for the oldest instruments. The longevity of instrument use in NIH research attests to the utility of federal investments by the SIG Program.
Users and Use Of the 16,050 scientists using SIG instruments in 1993, 69 percent were NIH-supported investigators and accounted for an average of 83 percent of instrument use time, or approximately 39,000 hours for a typical week.
Approximately 5,300 Major Users utilized SIG instruments in service in 1993; they accounted for an average of 76 percent of total use time, or roughly 35,700 hours per week.
The 10,750 minor users, individuals whose share of instrument use represents a small percentage or who were not supported by NIH, accounted for approximately 11,300 hours per week, a 24 percent share of total SIG instrument use time.
For all SIG instruments, weekly usage averaged 46 hours. In addition, Principal Investigators reported that the amount of usage by all users for two-thirds of the SIG instruments had increased over time.
NIH Research Support A total of 3,486 individual NIH grants, mostly investigator initiated research projects, were listed as supporting the Major User's research for which the SIG instruments were used. Seventy-five percent of these grants were awarded by six NIH Institutes ranked in order: the National Institute of General Medical Sciences; National Cancer Institute; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Importance to Research Seventy-three percent of Major Users considered SIG instruments "essential" for conducting their NIH-supported research projects. Fifty-two percent of Major Users reported a "very significant" impact on their ability to conduct research; research that could not have been carried out without the instruments.
Sharing Arrangements Ninety-six percent of Major Users reported that in 1993 they were "always able" (55 percent) or "usually able" (41 percent) to gain access to SIG instruments when needed for their research.
Technological Status Ninety-seven percent of Major Users labeled one-year old SIG instruments as "adequate" for their specific area of research, while 83 percent classified the same instruments as "state-of-the-art." Older instruments received unexpectedly high ratings: 78 percent of 11 year old instruments were considered adequate for the research purposes of the Major Users; and a lower, but still noteworthy, 45 percent were judged state-of-the-art by the same evaluators.
Location Eighty-two percent of SIG instruments were located in central facilities, including departmental (43 percent), interdepartmental (30 percent), and inter-institutional (9 percent) facilities.
Working Condition Fifty-eight percent of Major Users evaluated the working condition of their SIG instruments as "excellent." Most of the remaining respondents rated instrument condition as "above average" (23 percent) or "average" (14 percent). The estimates of working condition were lower for older SIG instruments.
Annual Maintenance Expense Average instrument maintenance expenses in 1993 ranged from a high of $15,300 per instrument for cytometers to as low as $4,800 per instrument for other spectrometers.
Upgrades By 1993, 40 percent of all SIG instruments had undergone a significant upgrade. While half had been upgraded once, the remaining half had been upgraded two or more times.
Advisory Committees With few exceptions, use of newer instruments was overseen by an advisory committee. Overall, 70 percent of all instruments had operative advisory committees.
The provision of advanced, shared-use analytical instrumentation is as crucial to NIH research today as it was in 1982 when the SIG Program was initiated. The emergence of new and improved instrumentation will continue to broaden the horizon of future research opportunities.
Replacement of obsolete instruments, as well as acquisition of instruments of totally new design and capabilities, is frequently necessary to maintain the level of research that will keep the United States at the forefront of scientific knowledge and technology.
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