Disaster and Contingency Planning for Scientific Shared Resource Cores

Abstract

Progress in biomedical research is largely driven by improvements, innovations, and breakthroughs in technology, accelerating the research process, and an increasingly complex collaboration of both clinical and basic science. This increasing sophistication has driven the need for centralized shared resource cores ("cores") to serve the scientific community. From a biomedical research enterprise perspective, centralized resource cores are essential to increased scientific, operational, and cost effectiveness; however, the concentration of instrumentation and resources in the cores may render them highly vulnerable to damage from severe weather and other disasters. As such, protection of these assets and the ability to recover from a disaster is increasingly critical to the mission and success of the institution. Therefore, cores should develop and implement both disaster and business continuity plans and be an integral part of the institution's overall plans. Here we provide an overview of key elements required for core disaster and business continuity plans, guidance, and tools for developing these plans, and real-life lessons learned at a large research institution in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

Preparing for the Unprecedented: The Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities (ABRF) Community Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic Response Part 1: Efforts to Sustainably Ramp Down Core Facility Activities

“…Good institutional emergency planning is inclusive of all key stakeholders, including cores, working together to assess risk, priorities, and recovery. 16,17 Pandemic planning emphasizes prolonged disruptions (2-month minimum) with the following considerations: Instruct staff on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization guidelines for COVID-19 symptom monitoring; remain at home if appropriate. Ensure protocols are in place for adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) and cleaning and disinfection.…”

“…The best plans include the cores as key stakeholders, [12][13][14][15] with specific plans tailored to their business but performed in concert with institutional plans. 16,17 Disaster planning for the COVID-19 pandemic mandated research reductions and closures, and cores were required to ramp down laboratory services and contribute to research programs remotely from home quarantine. Can cores support research and budgetary requirements when not physically accessible for an extended period of time?…”

COVID-19 and transport: Findings from a world-wide expert survey

“…Preparedness is one of four key steps (preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery) of disaster and business continuity planning and defined as a continuous cycle of planning, evaluating, and taking corrective action in an effort to ensure effective coordination during incident response ( Mische and Wilkerson, 2016 ).…”

COVID-19 and geriatric clinical trials research

“…Development, maintenance, and implementation of disaster and business continuity plans within clinical trial design is needed in future planning. Mische and Wilkerson [5] describe the need for preparation using risk analyses, response during disasters with implementation of essential functions, recovery efforts, and mitigation of losses to clinical trial data and resources. Clinical trial continuity for interventions and care of older adults, especially those with cognitive impairment, is paramount.…”