The Lab Animal Facility is the foundation for essential parts of the research at the Faculty. K1 is responsible for this unit. The financial situation of the Facility must be consolidated. This will be accomplished through internal efficiency and saving measures, as well as through increasing rates on housing and services.

The most demanding research operations at the Faculty, in terms of funding and scientific competence, are organized as core facilities. All core facilities have their own base budget, but a large part of their financing comes from renting services and infrastructure to research groups. The budget encompasses not only daily operations, but also purchasing and maintaining equipment. New scientific possibilities are to be developed and implemented. The financial model will be based on accounting numbers and follow the principles shared by all core facilities.

The Lab Animal Facility will have to initiate two parallel processes to achieve a better budget balance. Revenues must be increased, meaning higher rates on user payments. The Animal Lab Facility must also save more money compared to current daily operations, particularly on salary expenses.

The demand for budget improvement for the forthcoming year is 1.5 million NOK. The Lab Animal Facility and the financial sections will look into the practical consequences of this demand. New facility user rates will be decided in a few weeks. The role of user input in terms of work load and participation on projects will be defined in each project and play a part in the financial discussion. It is important that research groups, departments and The Lab Animal Facility all co-operate during initial application processing to determine a correct calculations of costs as well as pre-assuring necessary capacities. Low priority projects and/or projects with a weak funding base may be denied. In applications for competition-exposed funding, expenses for using The Lab Animal Facility must be calculated correctly.

Researchers, The Animal Lab Facility and its academic advisory group and department management will be the principal participants in the scientific priorities implied in this process. The economic framework for the enterprise and demands for financing and budgets will be more clearly formulated by K1 in dialogue with the Faculty and other departments. The base funding for K1 and the Faculty has developed in such a way that it bears direct impact on daily operations.

Alongside handling the difficult budget situation of today, it is important to assess available academic resources regarding competence and practical functions. The task of The Lab Animal Facility is to contribute actively to research in the forefront of the international biomedical science fields.

Nils Erik Gilhus                        Rolf K. Reed                                Eystein S. Husebye
Head of Department K1             Head of Department IBM               Head of Department K2