Revised July 2023

The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center                    

Policy for Research Space Assignments

Navigation Menu:

• Purpose of the Policy
• Summary
• Guidelines for Wet Lab Research Space
• Guidelines for Renovations and Storage Space
• Guidelines for Office Space
• Application Process

PURPOSE OF THE POLICY

(back to top)

The purpose of the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC) Space Policy is to outline the procedures for space allocation of floors, spaces, and buildings to which custodianship has been assigned to the OSUCCC. The goal is for space to be assigned in a transparent and equitable fashion and to use objective measures as the primary driver of space allocation.

SUMMARY

(back to top)

The control and periodic review of research space assigned to members of the cancer center resides with the Director of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC). Research space will be assigned based on the criteria established by the OSUCCC, following the use of applied metrics, funding, and research needs.

The OSUCCC Executive Space Committee, as appointed by the Director, meets monthly and reviews all new applications for research space as well as existing research space allocations on a periodic basis to ensure compliance with the cancer center guidelines. The Executive Committee strategically recommends assignments for recruits, established faculty, support staff, and administration.

A larger Space Planning Committee approves these recommendations or suggests alternative options for further discussion. The Space Planning Committee meets quarterly, and committee membership includes senior leaders within the OSUCCC, a diverse group of faculty with different laboratory and research needs spread across multiple buildings, and senior administrative staff. The Space Planning Committee is an advisory committee that also reviews space metrics at a high level to make recommendations on expansion or reduction of labs. Membership for both committees can be found in addendum A.

GUIDELINES FOR WET LAB RESEARCH SPACE

(back to top)

1. Laboratory space will be assigned preferentially to investigators who are members of the OSUCCC and are the Principal Investigator (PI) on externally funded, peer-reviewed, cancer-focused grants or contracts, and to newly recruited investigators as determined by the Director and the OSUCCC Executive Space Allocation Committee.

2. The OSUCCC utilizes a space metric as the primary tool for guiding research space allocations, and investigator metrics are determined by totaling their active, external, peer-reviewed, cancer-related research funding (3 year rolling average of direct & indirect costs) and dividing this by the specific building space metric target to determine the justified space assignment in square feet (sq ft).

   

   The space metric is the primary consideration for space assignment, but the OSUCCC also considers other extramural and internal funding sources when allocating space including non-peerreviewed funding, donor dollars, start-up and retention packages, IRPs, and Program Seed Awards. NOTE: Non-peer reviewed funding, internal sources of funds, grant submissions/pending applications, recent publication numbers and impact, staffing levels, and special needs for equipment and infrastructure are secondary considerations when space assignments are reviewed. As such, it is critical for researchers to continually submit grants and to publish in high impact journals.

3. Building Space Metric Target($/sq ft) *
   

   
   *Metric is subject to change
   Note: Consistent with standards at peer institutions; dry lab metrics are twice that of wet labs, but functional needs and utilization of space are also considered.
   

   Building Name	Building Metric Target
   Biomedical Research Tower (BRT)	$596
   Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC)	$536
   Goss Laboratory	$536
   Parks Hall	$536
   Pelotonia Research Center (PaRC)	$650
   Riffe Hall	$536
   Tzagournis Medical Research Facility (TRF)	$536
   Wiseman Hall (second floor)	$431
   3650 Olentangy   (Dry Research Only)	$1092
   650 Ackerman     (Dry Research Only)	$1092

   
   Examples of space metrics based on specific buildings.

   If a PI occupies 1000 sq ft of lab and office space in the BRT, they will need to bring in $596,000 of external funding (directs and indirects) per year to justify the space.

   If a PI has 2 R01s, each with $250,000 directs and $143,750 in indirects (57.5%) per year, their funding would be $787,500 per year. This would justify 1,321 sq ft of space in the BRT ($787,500/596). If their current space is less than this, they could submit a space request for more space. However, factors such as staffing and existing use of their space will also be considered.

4. The space metric based on cancer-focused funding is the primary tool for guiding research space allocations, and the OSUCCC’s definition of peer-reviewed funding is defined by the NCI (per CCSG guidelines). This includes all NCI and cancer-focused NIH funding as well as a list of approved peer- reviewed funding sources that are found at this link:
   https://cancercenters.cancer.gov/documents/PRFundingOrgs508.pdf
   
   Please Note:

   • Non-cancer focused funding will be considered if the investigator also has cancer focused funding.

   • If an investigator is not listed as a Primary Investigator (PI/MPI) on the notice of award (NOA), the funding cannot count towards his/her metric. Co-investigators fall into this category.

   • If more than one PI is listed on the NOA, the award gets equally divided by the number of MPIs on the NOA. Thus, each MPI cannot claim credit for the full amount of the award.

     • When making space decisions, consideration may be made to apportion the grant differently based on MPI effort and number of FTEs supported by the grant.

   • Subcontracts coming to OSU from another institution will be added to an investigator’s overall funding if the sponsor is on the approved list of peer-reviewed sources.

5. The OSUCCC understands that funding fluctuates, so we also consider a researcher’s 3-year metric and whether he or she has been regularly submitting for cancer-related peer-reviewed funding or not.

6. Assignment and reassignment of space is made by the OSUCCC Space Committee with the Director’s approval and is based on established criteria in this policy. Note that space assignments are not permanent, and occupancy does not equal ownership by the faculty member or department/division. Space assignments may be adjusted by the Director as needed to balance the needs of all OSUCCC principal investigators, as well as the overall programmatic needs and priorities of the OSUCCC.

   • If an investigator is terminated, retires, resigns, or relocates, etc., their OSUCCC-assigned research and office space will revert to the OSUCCC for re-assignment. Vacant space cannot be “held” for future recruits or be backfilled with current faculty or staff. If the division/department wishes to recruit or repurpose this space, they must submit a space request as noted at the end of this form.

   • Prior to lab closure, proper closeout procedures must be followed as directed by the OSUCCC and specific college of the faculty member.

   • At present, all OSUCCC approved and designated shared resource (SR) facilities and shared equipment rooms are exempt from the space guidelines detailed above. By their nature, these facilities provide (and in most cases charge for) services to multiple researchers and are not tied to any single investigator. However, all space allocated to these facilities will be reviewed by the Space Planning Committee on a regular basis, and if necessary, space allocations could be adjusted if the SR is not effectively using their space.

7. All investigators with OSUCCC assigned space must have their grants managed through the OSUCCC Grants Administration Office. Some exceptions to this rule will be allowed based on a case-by-case basis.

8. Newly recruited investigators are exempt from meeting the space metric requirements during their start-up period (as defined by their LOO); however, investigators are expected to seek and obtain external, cancer-related, peer-reviewed funding during this time as described by the KRAs in their LOO.

   • Once an investigator’s start-up period ends, if they do not have an adequate level of research funding to justify their space assignment, the investigator may be asked to reduce or vacate their space. An extension may be given if an investigator has peer-reviewed grant proposals that are pending.
     
     

   NOTE: All timelines with regards to the space allocated to a new investigator begin once the investigator is at OSU and the research space is available for occupation.

GUIDELINES FOR RENOVATIONS AND STORAGE SPACE

(back to top)

1. Research labs, offices, and administrative space may not be renovated or modified without the permission of the OSUCCC.

   • All project/renovation requests must be communicated, approved, and managed by the Space, Operations & Projects team. Submit requests at the below link, and select "02-Renovation/Minor Project" for Request Type.
     https://onlinerequest.facsur.com/osu/d04ee36e-6724-4901-a295-bbc4eef72391

2. The OSUCCC will work to accommodate an investigator’s research storage needs; however, investigators are expected to organize their space by consolidating storage needs and removing unnecessary items whenever possible.

   • All OSUCCC storage space on wet lab floors assigned to an investigator will be considered part of that investigator’s total space allocation and will be subject to all guidelines stated above.

GUIDELINES FOR OFFICE SPACE

(back to top)

1. Private and shared offices under the control of the OSUCCC are exclusively assigned by the Space Allocation Committee. If faculty or staff use their assigned space infrequently (e.g., fewer than 3 days/week), they may be asked to share space or use hoteling space depending on the frequency of usage.

2. Definitions for faculty offices.

   • Faculty offices are not limited to private windowed offices.

   • Any office may be considered faculty-worthy space regardless of its placement within a building or floor.

3. Faculty offices must only be used by those with university-approved faculty appointments, and faculty cannot loan their office to staff or anyone else without approval from the Allocation Committee.

4. Faculty should only have one assigned office, typically from either their home department or the OSUCCC, but not both. If they are found to have a second office outside of OSUCCC space, they may be asked to vacate their OSUCCC office.

   • Office prioritization: Every effort will be made to provide private windowed offices to tenure track and tenured faculty (i.e., Professors, Associate Professors, and Assistant Professors) and to research track faculty with externally cancer-focused funding. Based on availability, windowed offices are not guaranteed.
   • The OSUCCC cannot guarantee office space for all tenured or funded researchers; thus, departments and divisions may be asked to meet office needs as well.
   • Unfunded research track faculty may be asked to share offices (with other unfunded faculty) or use administrative space (if available) until they become funded or move to a tenured position.
   • Clinical track faculty will not be prioritized office space without relevant research funding.
   • Non-faculty such as research scientists, graduate students, post-doctoral trainees, visiting scholars and other staff (e.g., Research Assistants, Research Associates, etc.) will not be assigned a private office. Shared office space may be available to PIs running dry research programs whose staff require offices for their research.
   • When possible, shared cubicles/workstations may be assigned on a limited basis to support non-faculty, but in most cases, staff will need to use hoteling space if they work outside of the lab.
   • In limited cases, certain administrators and support staff can receive private or shared offices including:
   • Facility supports and IT management/staff
   • Directors of shared resources
   • Key research administrators including official lab managers and program directors

APPLICATION PROCESS

(back to top)

New Faculty Recruits: It is the desire of the OSUCCC to use laboratory space to assist in the recruitment of new investigators to the research programs of the OSUCCC. The Department Chair or their designee MUST submit requests for laboratory and/or office space for recruits to either the:

• • Executive Director of the OSUCCC (David.Gosky@osumc.edu) OR
  • Program Director of the OSUCCC (Ryan.Edwards@osumc.edu)

Funded or Newly Funded Members: Existing CCC members who would like new or additional research space should make this request by emailing the OSUCCC Program Director (Ryan.Edwards@osumc.edu).

Addendum A – OSUCCC Space Committee Membership