Can It Be Done? A Collaborative Editorial
A large NIH-sponsored infectious disease research agenda is unfolding at a cost of $2 billion per year. Currently there are too few researchers and too few biosafety-designed research facilities to support this effort. The NIH has recognized this shortage of appropriate facilities and has developed funding opportunities as a means to address the issues. Many U.S. universities are now scrambling to meet whatever requirements are necessary for BSL-3 and BSL-3Ag research protocols in order to qualify for portions of this very significant grant stream.

Robust System Helps to Manage Space More Efficiently
Ford Motor Land Services Corporation is a full-service provider of real estate, construction, and facility services for Ford Motor Company. Steve Snook, CAFM Implementation Engineer at Ford Land in Essex, England, uses ARCHIBUS/FM to gain a panoramic view of the company's European real estate holdings and to ensure that each business unit has access to safe, productive, and cost-effective workplaces. With information on approximately 1,830,000 sf, over 7,200 personnel, and more than 16,000 pieces of equipment in the UK and Germany, Snook and his team have helped to reduce real estate costs and ease day-to-day planning, ensuring that Ford's operations run smoothly.

Medical Research and Evaluation Facility Responds to Bioterrorism Act
Battelle Memorial Institute, a global science and technology enterprise based in Columbus, Ohio, was one of the first organizations in the nation to be audited for compliance with 42 CFR Part 73, the federal mandate establishing strict new security standards for the handling of Select Agents that could be used in terrorist attacks.

16 Hard-to-Make Decisions
What can an organization do to improve the management of a research facility project? Where is the most logical starting point for design? How can the planning team hone in on the fault lines most apt to generate delays, extra work, and cost overruns?