All microscope usage is charged per hour based on Full Economic Cost (FEC) calculations, which include service contracts, space charges, repairs, replacement costs, software licenses, additional facility equipment (data handling and analysis, software, cell culture equipment), material, salaries etc.
Please note that internal charges only cover part of the full costs, the facility is still subsidised by various funding bodies and college-internal sources. Therefore, usage of the facility has to be acknowledged in any publications. For external charge-out rates please contact our facility staff.
Charges
Current charging rates for internal users (from 1 February 2020)
| Widefield microscopes | Confocal microscopes | Multiphoton laser | Superresolution microscope | Software | Staff assistance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £21 per hour | £35 per hour | £10 per hour * | £50 per hour | £6 per hour | £37 per hour* |
| * This is in addition to the standard confocal charge; for two-photon and fluorescence lifetime imaging | |||||
The chargeout rates for grant applications can be found at the following link - Chargeout Rates for Grant Applications
Discounts and free services
- Training and general assistance are free of charge (only the microscope time is charged)
- A maximum of 8 hours per 24 hours of continuous usage are charged per user. Each 24-hour period starts at 13:00 each day, to encourage unattended long-term experiments to be performed overnight (not applicable for intravital imaging experiments)
The facility is open to - and regularly used by - external users, both academic and commercial. For external charging rates, please contact our facility staff.
The status of FILM is now 'Small Research Facility', which means that for all grant applications (research councils and charities) the same rates apply, and microscope usage must be included in all grant applications. The rates to be used in grant applications are the ones in the CHARGE OUT LISTS published by the Research Support Services on their website. These rates are calculated by them at the beginning of each year, based on estimated income and expenses. Real usage charges might vary slightly, depending on real usage. Chargeout Rates for Grant Applications
Please note that there are different rates for standard confocal and multiphoton usage: the naming on the FEC chargeout list is slightly confusing, for multiphoton mode you must calculate the rate for the confocal microscope + the rate for the multiphoton laser.
If a researcher has applied for a research council's grant between March 2007 and May 2008, facility usage from that grant is subject to special FEC regulations, meaning the costs should be refunded by the research council via College Estate budget / faculties / divisions to the facility, rather than directly from the persons grant account. If your grant falls into this category, please get in contact to avoid any complications.
All research council grants before March 2007 and after May 2008 need to include facility usage as a separate line item in the grant application, and the researcher has to pay for usage directly from the grant account.
Important links
General enquiries
FILM
Sir Alexander Fleming Building
South Kensington Campus
Imperial College London
Exhibition Road
London SW7 2AZ, UK
film-service@imperial.ac.uk