"The centralization of UPST coincided with the creation of the Massachusetts Innovation Voucher Program (MIVP) – also launched 5 years ago - which brought the Research Cores of all 5 campuses together to manage. The partnership of the 5 campus Core Operations for 90+ Facilities, coupled with a strategic partner from UPST familiar with all the campus activity, allowed us the transparency to build more efficiencies by leveraging our research needs as a UMASS entity. Examples of these include cross campus Master Service Agreements, volume discounts and joint efforts with suppliers/OEM’s."
How have these savings impacted Research Core Facilities or UMass Chan as a whole?
Any recognized savings within a Core Facility allows those dollars to be used in other areas of investment be it purchasing an added piece of equipment or allowing for additional technology.
How do you see these savings translating into tangible benefits for Chan students and faculty?
Per above, any savings within a Core allows us to provide additional services or products
Looking forward, what opportunities do you see for further savings or cost efficiencies?
By utilizing the 5-campus Cores Committee and our UPST Partner, the Cores have visibility to ensure large instrument purchases are leveraging our dollars and complementing the technology for our researchers. All UMASS researchers have access to any campus, so ensuring we are supplementing instrumentation rather than duplicating is key to maximizing our spending.
Susanna Perkins is the Director of Research Cores & Operations as a Research Core Admin. at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School