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.

Keywords: business continuity; core facility; emergency management; emergency preparedness.

Figure 1.

Aerial photograph of lower Manhattan on October 29, 2012. NYULMC is located in the dark area. Photographer: Iwan Baan, Getty Images News/Getty Images.

Figure 2.

Phases of emergency preparedness and business continuity.

Figure 3.

Checklist of steps to take when faced with staffing shortage (A), equipment failure (B), and infrastructure failure and loss (C), and evaluation of remote operations capabilities (D).

Figure 4.

Instrument/equipment inventory and infrastructure requirements.