A large number of RCSI funded research projects strongly rely on equipment-based technologies which are very expensive, not only to purchase, but also to maintain.
At present there is no funding mechanism for equipment maintenance costs and national funding agencies do not recognise the eligibility of equipment maintenance contracts in national research grant applications. In the absence of alternatives, the RCSI has introduced the concept of central shared facilities, where access to critical equipment is fee-based and centrally managed, so that equipment maintenance costs are shared by the actual users, and, in return, the functionality of the equipment is safeguarded by adequate training, supervision and technical support. In the long term it is envisaged that the introduction of central shared facilities will prevent equipment duplications.
As an RCSI researcher, if you wish to access any of the equipment listed below, please review the associated policy. Please note if you intend to pay these charges from research grants, ensure in advance that the charges are eligible.
If you have shared equipment with a high maintenance cost and you wish to add an Access Policy to the list, please contact researchadministration@rcsi.ie.
- Equipment Access Policy – Molecular and Cellular Imaging Core
- Equipment Access Policy – Confocal Imaging Core
- Equipment Access Policy – Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM)
- Equipment Access Policy – Reverse Phase Protein Array Platform
- Equipment Access Policy – Sequenom MassArray System