A core facility (also known as core laboratory or simply "core", like in "

flow cytometry Flow cytometry (FC) is a technique used to detect and measure the physical and chemical characteristics of a population of cells or particles. In this process, a sample containing cells or particles is suspended in a fluid and injected into the ...

core") is a centralized shared research resource that provides scientific community with access to unique and highly specialized instruments, technologies, services, and experts. Cores are frequently built around a specific technology or instrumentation, but not always (for example,

biostatistics Biostatistics (also known as biometry) is a branch of statistics that applies statistical methods to a wide range of topics in biology. It encompasses the design of biological experiments, the collection and analysis of data from those experimen ...

cores offer services of experts skilled in the use of software packages). A database of US core facilities is maintained by the Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities. By the late 20th century, the researchers in the

life sciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, ...

were increasingly dependent on the use of expensive and complex instruments and techniques that cannot be economically replicated inside each laboratory. In many areas (for example, in translational science) access to core laboratories became essential. Once the research institutions recognized the potential cost savings of provisioning state-of-the-art instrumentation and services in a centralized way, multiple shared facilities were established, prompting discussions about the best ways to administer and finance them. The high-value and difficult-to-operate equipment typically used in a core setting in the beginning of the 21st century included NMR spectrometers,

mass spectrometer Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a '' mass spectrum'', a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is us ...

s, Raman spectrometers and

microscopes A microscope () is a laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic means being invisibl ...

, transmission and Auger

electron microscope An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of electrons as a source of illumination. It uses electron optics that are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope to control the electron beam, for instance focusing it ...

s, X-ray diffraction spectrometers, lithographic equipment, and

X-ray An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...

and Auger photoelectron spectrometers. The financial arrangements for the cores at different institutions vary. A core might recover its costs through user fees charged to the researcher's (" investigator's") funds as direct cost, frequently based on research grants. In this sense, such core operates as a

small business Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have a small number of employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being ...

. However, an institution might decide that the centralized facility shall be funded through facilities and administration (F&A)

indirect costs Indirect costs are costs that are not directly accountable to a cost object (such as a particular project, facility, function or product). Like direct costs, indirect costs may be either fixed or variable. Indirect costs include administration, ...

(IDC). The second option is convenient, as the institution's administration retains full control, and, since the true facility costs are offset through the IDC, the direct costs to the researchers can be decreased, thus attracting investigators from outside the institution as well and lowering the institution's overall financial burden of maintaining a core facility. As a result, in the United States, the IDC for government grants in the 2020s were occasionally as high as 95% of the amount, with the average rate of 30%, and 60% not uncommon. In February 2025, as a part of the cost-cutting by the Trump administration, the IDC were capped at 15% for the

NIH grants In the United States, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are the primary government agency responsible for biomedical and public health research. They award NIH grants through 24 grant-awarding institutes and centers. The NIH supports $31 b ...

, thus creating a financial problem for the core facilities.

References

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