Raising the bar for "resilience": Adapting academic research facilities to financial change

Tightening research budgets and shifting programmatic priorities are forcing academic institutions to rethink how facilities are planned, maintained, and utilized, and more strategically align facility operations with evolving funding models and research needs. Sally Thompson-Iritani illustrates the expansion of contingency planning beyond traditional emergency scenarios to include abrupt funding reductions, staffing shortages, and supply chain disruptions. She identifies key actions that leadership must take now to support continuity of care, preserve research integrity, and ensure regulatory compliance during unexpected changes. She lays out a framework for prioritizing essential functions, reallocating resources, and integrating flexibility into operational planning to mitigate the impact of constrained or delayed funding.