Core facilities – our offer

Definition and organisation

By core facility we mean an organisational unit providing expensive research equipment, resources, and services at a fee to a large group of researchers. A core facility can be locally administrated at KI or be a part of a regional, national or international research infrastructure. Researchers affiliated to KI also have access to some international research infrastructures.

The main part of our core facilities are supervised by the Infrastructure Council, and funded by the Faculty Board with co-funding from the Committee for Research and Education (FoUU) at the Karolinska University Hospital, Region Stockholm. Other important funders of research infrastructure at KI are the Swedish Research Council, the Wallenberg foundations, and the Strategic Research Areas (SFO).

How to book a core facility service

Our core facilities are open to all researchers at KI and Region Stockholm as well as researchers from other Swedish academic institutions. To some extent, they are also available to commercial enterprises and the health care sector.

Academic and clinical researchers are free to contact each core facility directly to book equipment and services, preferably by using the KI contact portal for core facilities in iLab. Private enterprises and users from the health care sector (other than clinical researchers) are kindly asked to make a general submission of interest, either by sending an email to our single point of contact service or by using the KI contact portal for core facilities in iLab.

What to expect as a core facility user

Core facilities at KI operate on a fee per service basis. Policies regarding services, access, fees, and prioritisation must follow KI guidelines and requirements. From core facilities listed at the central KI website and on our contact portal iLab, clients should expect the following:

• Clear and updated information on what services and equipment the facility provides.
• How to apply for/book a service, if there is a waiting list, and if so the expected delay of service.
• Information on fees and routines for invoicing.
• Information on visiting address, as well as the name and contact details to the scientific director, facility manager and/or staff.
• A written agreement describing the services and experiments that you have ordered from the facility, as well as expected date for delivery and your own commitments as a client towards the facility. Or as an alternative, that the relationship between client and facility is described in detail at the facility’s website.
• That the core facility provides services or devices to customers for a fee, without any demand of collaborations, co-authorship, or the like.