POLICY:

Assignment of all research space must be approved by the President of the Institute or his/her designee. This policy applies to all research staff located in DFCI-owned/leased property.

PURPOSE:

To optimize the use of and management of available research space and facilities.

PROCEDURE:

The President will consider recommendations of the Executive Committee for Research (ECR) and the Senior Vice President for Research in allocating research space. Written requests for research space should include justification of requirements as well as an explanation of any unusual aspects of the request. The President or designee will make a determination of the validity of the request and weigh any other relevant factors prior to approving, disapproving, or requesting additional information. The President is the final arbiter of research space allocations. Space is assigned to an Independent Investigator (defined as an investigator who has laboratory and office space assigned to him/her that is sanctioned by the President of the Institute). The Independent Investigator may internally designate space to researchers in his/her group. The allocation of space to Independent Investigators is dependent on academic rank, productivity and level of funding. Space allocations will be reviewed by the ECR, for recommendation to the President, every two years.

Space Inventory

The Finance Office maintains a complete inventory of all DFCI-owned/leased space electronically through a computerized space inventory system (INSITE). This system identifies space by Institute building, room number, occupant, room type, square footage, department, and other assorted information for every room in the Institute. Fiscal Services distributes to administrative personnel a space book that contains summary and detailed space reports, and the floor plans for the entire Institute. When changes to research space configuration or allocation are made, it is the responsibility of the Department Business Manager to inform the INSITE Office of the changes. When new information is received, those areas will be updated and the space book revised. The INSITE Office, in conjunction with its space inventory, maintains a computer aided drafting (CAD) system, which allows for alteration of floor plans electronically and updating of the renovated area directly to the space inventory file. The Facilities Plant Operation Department is responsible for providing detailed dimensions of the newly renovated area for updating the CAD system. The INSITE system is capable of producing both space and equipment listings at the request of the Federal agencies, auditors, or Institute staff.

Investigator Responsibilities on Grant Applications

It is each investigator's responsibility to ensure that adequate space is available for the conduct of the research, before committing the space in a grant application. The signature of the Department Chair confirms availability of the space for that investigator's research.

Shared Core Space

Investigators are expected to arrange the best use of shared core space by joint agreement of all Independent Investigators who have assigned space on a given floor. Core space is available to all Investigators on each floor regardless of how many laboratory bays (sq. ft.) he/she occupies on the floor. Rooms may be designated for primary use by a single investigator, but such designation shall not be considered as an official assignment of space. The only instance when core space would be assigned to a single group is when that group occupies the entire floor; however, as in all other instances, the space belongs to the Institute. The Department Chair and the Senior Vice President for Research will settle all disputes, in that order.

CONTACT:

POLICY:

All research capital equipment purchased by the Institute, gifted to the Institute, or located in Institute-owned/leased property is either owned by and/or in the custody of the Institute, and must have adequate care, oversight and management.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this policy is to establish and document general procedures for the management of research capital equipment owned by or in the custody of the Institute. These procedures are essential for maintaining valid accounting records in compliance with government regulations; for providing documentation for insurance purposes; for calculating depreciation figures for financial statements and generally for maintaining control over millions of dollars of Institute assets. These policies must work in concert with the DFCI Property Management Policies and Procedures Manual, the dominant manual. Should there be any conflict between policies articulated here and the Property Management and Procedures Manual, the policies of the dominant manual rule.

PROCEDURE:

Capital equipment

Capital equipment is defined in the custody section of the DFCI Property Management Policies & Procedures Manual as any tangible property having an acquisition value of $500.00 or more and a useful life expectancy of two years or more. The one exception to this is Software costing over $1,000 which is considered capital equipment regardless of its useful life. Purchases from Government contracts must also be checked by the computerized space inventory system (INSITE) office for special conditions that may apply.

Institute Equipment

Institute equipment includes equipment purchased by the Institute with grant funds, donor gift funds or with Institute funds.

Management

All capital equipment in the custody of the Institute shall have an identifying bar code label affixed to it. To ensure the accountability of the Institute's assets, Fiscal Services maintains a complete floor space inventory of all DFCI-owned property and current designated uses (storage, laboratories, core, offices).

Each Department is directly responsible for the control, use and security of capital assets in its possession. Maintenance of equipment purchased using grant funds is the responsibility of the Principal Investigator (PI) for the grant. Maintenance of Institute equipment is the responsibility of the Independent Investigator (II) or his/her designee.

Physical Inventory

Once every 2 years the Institute must conduct a physical inventory of a sample of the capital equipment in its custody, as determined by fiscal services.

Equipment Transfer

This policy pertains to any and all DFCI property that an employee or his/her agent wishes to discard, sell, buy, trade-in, transfer internally, transfer off-site permanently or transfer off-site temporarily (loan).

When any Institute equipment is to be transferred, discarded, traded, or sold, an equipment transfer request form must be completed (available from the INSITE office of Fiscal Services). The Department Chair or account manager responsible for the specific equipment must sign the form and forward it to the INSITE office. The INSITE office will review the Equipment Transfer Request and, depending on the originator's request, will proceed accordingly. The Senior Vice President for Research has the final responsibility for approving the transfer of all research capital equipment in accordance with government and Institute guidelines and policy.

REFERENCE:

The Institute “PROPERTY MANAGEMENT POLICIES & PROCEDURE MANUAL (revised 01/01)” , can be obtained from the INSITE OFFICE , 375 LONGWOOD AVENUE, 2 ND FLOOR

CONTACT:

Research Administration 632-3940

Fiscal Services 632-3585

INSITE Office 632-4432

Section 4 was revised and approved by the Senior V.P. for Research September, 2002