Global BioImaging’s international paper in support of open access imaging facilities is published!

Need some arguments to convince your national funders to invest in your facility? Want to remind scientists how important it is to cite core facilities that support their research? Are you looking for reasons that instrument manufacturers should collaborate with your facility? What are the advantages of being part of an open access facility for imaging scientists & core facility staff? Don’t miss “Added Value of Open Access Imaging Core Facilities,” an important international publication from Global BioImaging, that spells out the added-value of open access imaging facilities for each of these target audiences, and reminds us how crucial national engagement and coordinated investment in open access imaging infrastructures is, driving research that tackles the critical challenges of today’s world.

We spoke to Antje Keppler, Global BioImaging Coordinator, and Gleb Grebnev, Training Manager, to learn a bit more about this paper.

How did the idea for this paper come about?

“The idea really came from discussions at EOE VI, an annual Global BioImaging conference, in September 2021. More than 170 people from over 30 countries registered for this event. When discussing with colleagues from core facilities in Latin America, Africa, and other regions of the world we realized that it is important to bring together in one place key arguments on why it is crucial to fund, operate and use open access and sustainable imaging core facilities,” explains Gleb Grebnev.

“Together with our international partners around the globe we want to continuously raise the awareness with funders and policy makers for our communities’ work and efforts, and why they should invest in cutting-edge, quality-managed imaging services in open access core facilities provided by highly skilled imaging scientists. That’s why Global BioImaging supported by its Management Board, undertook the effort of gathering the arguments and writing this paper,” adds Antje Keppler.

How is this paper useful for the imaging community?

“This document provides a range of supporting arguments on why imaging and particularly, why open access imaging facilities, are crucial for today’s research. These arguments are tailored for specific audiences, i.e. for scientists, core facility staff, instrument manufacturers and national funding agencies. Anyone in the imaging community should feel free to use this content for further dissemination, reference and for copying into other relevant documents. Please help us spread the word about this paper and encourage others to use it!”