Title : iin91 - Principles Related to the Use and Operation of National
Science Foundation-Supported Research Instrumentation and Facilities
Date : September 23, 1996
Note* Although this is an old file it is referenced in the GPM and is posted
for reference purposes.
National Science Foundation
Office of the Director
Washington, D.C. 20550
Notice No. 91 March 11, 1983
IMPORTANT NOTICE
TO
PRESIDENTS OF UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES
AND HEADS OF OTHER
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
GRANTEE ORGANIZATIONS
Subject: Principles Related to the Use and Operation of National
Science Foundation-Supported Research Instrumentation and
Facilities
Over the past several years the National Science Foundation [NSF]
has considered the development of a statement of principles and
guidelines for the use and operation of NSF-supported research
instrumentation and facilities. .The following statement on
"Principles Related to NSF-Supported Research Instrumentation and
Facilities" was unanimously adopted by the National Science Board
at its 241st meeting on January 21, 1983:
The National Science Foundation seeks the maximum productive use
of the Nation's scientific instrumentation and research
expertise. Ensuring that the highest quality instrumentation,
facilities, and services are available to scientific users, both
academic and industrial, is a key requirement, as are harmonious
relations and cooperation between industry and universities.
Private research and testing laboratories, as well as university,
government, and industrial laboratories, have a contribution to
make.
The National Science Board recognizes that there may be
circumstances where NSF grantees use NSF-supported research
instrumentation to provide services in commerce for a fee, to an
extent that such practice [1] detracts from the performance of
their obligation under the grant, and/or [2] may have a material
and deleterious effect on the success of private companies
engaged in the provision of equivalent services. It is contrary
to the NSF's intent for grantees to use NSF-supported research
instrumentation or facilities to provide services for a fee in
direct competition with private companies that provide equivalent
services.
The attachment provides additional guidelines in this area.
Edward A. Knapp
Director
Important Notice 91
Attachment
GUIDELINES RELATED TO THE USE AND OPERATION
OF NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION-SUPPORTED RESEARCH
INSTRUMENTATION AND FACILITIES
Introduction
The National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended,
directs the National Science Foundation [NSF] "to strengthen
scientific research potential" of the Nation. The NSF strives to
support and stimulate the creation of new scientific knowledge,
to encourage the publication and distribution of the results of
research performed under its grants, and to foster the education
and training of scientific and engineering personnel. .The NSF
evaluates its programs in light of their ultimate contribution to
national capabilities in science and engineering and their
potential benefit to the Nation's citizens and the national
economy.
NSF support for scientific and engineering research and the
purchase of research instrumentation and facilities has centered
on academic institutions. Under certain conditions support is
also provided for research in industry and in non-academic not-
for-profit organizations. Collaborative research efforts between
academic and industrial researchers are strongly encouraged.
In the past, concerns about us of NSF-supported instrumentation
have been raised by several groups.
. University scientists and engineers, asking whether research
instrumentation provided to them with NSF support may be used by
or for the benefit of commercial firms, and - if such use is
approved - under what terms and financial arrangements.
. Industrial scientists and engineers, with interest in using
such instrumentation, particularly at major facilities, and in
supporting or cooperating with university scientists and
engineers doing research that uses the instrumentation.
. Commercial research and service laboratories, concerned that
NSF-supported research instrumentation has been used on occasion
by university personnel to provide services that compete with
commercial firms.
. Commercial research and service laboratories, with interest
in being considered by the NSF as providers of instrumentation or
services for NSF-supported research or as managers for NSF-
supported user facilities.
Access to modern research instrumentation is essential to the
health of the Nation's science and engineering enterprise. Such
access can be provided by dedicated equipment at a research
institution, by common or shared in-house research facilities, or
by an outside source on a lease or service basis.
Given the high cost of modern research instrumentation and
facilities, it is important that access be provided in the most
efficient manner and that available instrumentation and
facilities be as fully utilized as practical. .NSF therefore
encourages the sharing of instrumentation - both among academic
institutions and, when appropriate, among the academic,
industrial, and public sectors.
For-profit organizations may wish to use NSF-supported research
instrumentation and facilities at academic and not-for-profit
institutions. .While access to highly specialized capabilities of
for-profit organizations may also be sought by academic and not-
for-profit institutions, research instrumentation at for-profit
institutions usually involves no NSF monies. Despite our
preference for sharing of instrumentation, it is contrary to the
NSF's intent for grantees to use NSF-supported research
instrumentation or facilities to provide services for a fee in
direct competition with private companies that provide equivalent
services.
Guidelines
These guidelines should assist NSF grantees, contractors, and
other in matters related to the use and operation of
instrumentation and facilities obtained with NSF support. These
guidelines are directed to academic and other institutions that
receive NSF support, in their relationships with or affecting the
for-profit sector of the scientific and engineering community.
The guidelines do not apply to research relationships between or
among academic institutions, Government-owned facilities or
centers, or Federal, state, or local governmental organizations.
1. NSF emphasizes research in the academic sector because such
research serves the dual NSF mission of supporting fundamental
research and educating future scientists and engineers. This
means, in many cases, that there are distinct advantages to
supporting research instrumentation and facilities sited on the
campuses.
2. However, in some cases the research and educational values
of having such instrumentation and facilities in the academic
environment may be outweighed by cost savings or operating
efficiencies that can be achieved by having similar
instrumentation or facilities provided or operated by non-
academic organizations. This may be particularly true where
specialized management and maintenance personnel are required,
where the principal use of an instrument or facility in
standardized testing or measurement that adds little to the
educational value of the research experience. At time a non-
academic organization may have technical or scientific
capabilities superior to those available in academia. Under any
of these circumstances, NSF grantees and contractors are
encouraged to use services provided by non-academic
organizations.
3. Proposals to establish and operated NSF-supported-research
facilities for fundamental research and educational purposes
usually will be considered from all sources: academic, other not-
for-profit, and for-profit organizations. In considering such
proposals, NSF will give due weight to the relative advantages of
the management and technical capabilities of each applicant and
to the potential differences in student access and availability
for educational purposes that each applicant can provide.
4. NSF-supported instrumentation or facilities may be used by
or for the for-profit sector only when such use does not
constitute provision of services equivalent to services available
on a commercial basis. Equivalent commercial services are
considered not available when the instrumentation or facilities
to be used in performing them are unique, e.g., no commercial
firm willing to provide the services possesses either identical
instruments or instruments with essentially equal capabilities.
Such uniqueness also may be due to the availability of unique
personal or organizational expertise or by the proximity of the
instruments in the case of fragile or perishable specimens.
However, even if the facility or instrumentation is unique, it
should be recognized that extensive or repeated use by for-profit
researchers may compromise the purposes for which the facility or
instrumentation was provided. Similarly, a series of individual
cases that taken singly would have little or no impact may
cumulate to have substantial impact for commercial suppliers of
comparable services.
Although each case should be judged individually, some examples
may help clarify what is expected:
. Research requiring the use of a synchrotron light source
is not presently likely to entail questions of existing
commercial capabilities or commercial competition.
. A small firm in the southeast asks a university within a
half-day's drive to perform a surface analysis on experimental
material. The specimen is fragile or perishable and must be hand
carried. The work will require one hour of instrument time. No
repeat is expected. The nearest comparable commercial
instrumentation is approximately the same distance away. The
university should decide to refuse the request of the small
company.
. The same conditions prevail, except that the nearest
comparable commercial instrumentation is in Michigan. The small
firm has checked with available express parcel delivery services,
and has concluded that the specimen would be at risk because of
its fragility or perishability and must be hand carried.
Considering the one hour of instrument time for an analysis that
is not expected to be repeated, together with the travel time
required to hand carry the sample, the university could decide to
provide the requested assistance in this case.
In considering whether equivalent services are available
on a commercial basis in the United States, a facility or
instrumentation operator should assure that a reasonable search
had been conducted for such services in the commercial market.
Such a search might include contact by the operator with
knowledgeable people in the scientific field involved, vendors of
similar testing services, or other researchers. Alternatively,
the operator might rely on written statements by the applicant
for-profit organization that it had canvassed suppliers of
similar services and that it was unable to obtain equivalent
services for reasons set forth. The operator might require the
applicant to check with a sufficient number of sources and
document the unavailability or describe the uniqueness of the
facilities to the operator's satisfaction in terms of performance
limits, expertise, proximity and perishability, or other
legitimate distinguishing features.
5. If no equivalent services are commercially available, then
such services may be made available to for-profit users at the
option of the holder of the NSF-supported instrumentation or
facility at a fee to be negotiated between the holder and the
proposed user. In determining appropriate fees consideration
should be given to the nature of the research or services;
whether the results will be publicly available, or proprietary;
and the estimate of the full cost of providing such services.
6. The NSF does not expect questions of uniqueness or
appropriate fees to be submitted to it for consideration or
approval. NSF will not entertain challenges or protests on
individual cases. Any disagreements should be handled in
accordance with each instrumentation or facility operator's own
procedures. Before use of NSF-supported instrumentation or
facilities by or on behalf of for-profit organizations, operator
institutions should have policies and mechanisms for properly
addressing the principles and guidelines contained in this
statement with respect to making reasonable judgments on
"uniqueness" and "equivalency" and with respect to providing fair
and adequate consideration of challenges to such findings.
7. Funds generated by charges for use of unique NSF-supported
instrumentation or facilities by for-profit organizations should
be used by the institution holding the instrumentation or
facilities to offset the cost of services, to support the
maintenance or operation of the instruments, or for further
research or education in the sciences or engineering unless
otherwise provided by the NSF grant.
8. NSF strongly encourages collaborative research efforts
between academic and industrial scientists and engineers. Such
research is regarded as through it were solely academic for
purposes of these guidelines. However, research is
regarded as collaborative only if both the academic and
industrial researchers have real and substantial personal
intellectual involvement in joint planning and conduct of
experiments, observation, or the like. Arrangements in which the
academic researcher provides little beyond access to university-
based instrumentation or facilities are not collaborative
research as intended here, nor is private consulting by an
academic researcher. NSF recognizes that collaborative research
efforts may sometimes involve acquisition of an instrument or a
facility using funds provided by a for-profit organization
together with funds provided by NSF, under an agreement which
provides the for-profit sponsor with special access or other
benefits with respect to the instrument or facility. NSF
generally encourages
such shared funding and does not intend that these guidelines
normally be an impediment to such arrangements. However, where
the primary interest of the for-profit sponsor in such an
agreement is acquisition of services equivalently available from
the commercial sector, these guidelines apply.
March
1983
.