3. YOUR OWN SCIENTIFIC STOREFRONT
Researchers love information, so the best way to attract
them to your facility page is to be as descriptive as possible.
In listing services, remember to give a detailed explanation of
each service, as well as accurate pricing information.
A researcher wants your expertise, so show it to them.
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4. STEP 1: DASHBOARD
Fill out your Science Exchange profile.
Explore features and make your profile shine.
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5. STEP 2: FACILITY ADMIN PANEL
Manage your facility page from your Dashboard: www.scienceexchange.com/dashboard
The left sidebar shows the facilities you manage. Click one to take you to the Facility
Admin Panel to access the Management features. Or from the facility page itself, click
“Manage” to access the same features.
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6. STEP 3: ADD NEW SERVICES
Add and edit services at your convenience. Detailed service
and pricing descriptions are key to researcher engagement
with your storefront.
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7. STEP 4: PRICE GROUPS
Internal and external clients often need different price groups.
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8. STEP 5: GET PAID - GUARANTEED
Receive compensation by adding payment destinations.
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10. DIRECT CONTACT WITH RESEARCHERS
Your storefront is complete!
Now you can receive estimate requests from researchers
looking for your expertise.Your Science Exchange dashboard
notifies you of incoming project requests, and allows you to
review the details and submit estimates.
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11. STEP 1: PROJECT NOTIFICATIONS
The “Notifications” tab on your dashboard, as well as the
icon in the top bar, lets you know when a researcher wants
to communicate and work with you.
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12. STEP 2: PROJECT DETAILS
View the details of each project, including description,
updates, and uploaded files, by clicking on the title.
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13. STEP 3: SUBMIT AN ESTIMATE
A good estimate will include a description of the services you
will offer, the timeframe for the work to be completed, and
detailed pricing information.
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14. STEP 3: SUBMIT AN ESTIMATE
A good estimate will include a description of the services you
will offer, the timeframe for the work to be completed, and
detailed pricing information.
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16. CONTINUED CONTACT WITH
RESEARCHERS
Upon email or dashboard notification that your estimate was
accepted by the researcher, you can begin working and
manage all details of the project, including updates,
communications, and file uploads, from the Project Page.
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17. STEP 1: PROJECT STATUS AND TYPE
Projects fall into four status categories:‘Active’ for those
you’re working on,‘Pending Decision’ for those you’ve
submitted estimates for,‘Complete’ for those you’ve finished,
and ‘Closed’ for those that are no longer accepting estimates.
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18. STEP 2: SUBMIT AN UPDATE
Update the researcher on your progress by adding text
updates or files to the project page.
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19. STEP 3: PROJECT COMPLETION
You’ve finished the project! Click ‘Submit For Review’ so the
researcher can review the results and accept your invoice.
Payment to you is guaranteed
within 30 days of project completion.
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21. MANAGEMENT TOOLS: EXPANDED
Your storefront management tools are
extensive and absolutely free.
Here are some more features on
your facility management page.
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22. FEATURE 1: PROJECTS
All of your potential and active projects sorted in one
convenient location. See which researchers want to work
with you and which you’ve already worked with.
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24. FEATURE 3: MEDIA
Upload facility, lab, and equipment photos on your media page. You can also add
attachments like sample preparation instructions.
Researchers are 30% more likely to award projects to facilities that have completed
profiles.
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25. FEATURE 4: NEWSLETTERS
Engage with researchers and current clients through our
built-in Newsletter tool offering featured services you can
select and change with each outgoing newsletter.
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26. FEATURE 5: PUBLICATIONS
Highlight your influence in the field by selecting publications
to display on your facility page featuring your work through
your Science Exchange storefront.
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27. FEATURE 6: REPORTS
Create customizable reports to download and submit to
your accounting department.
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29. GENERAL FAQS
Q1: What is Science Exchange?
Science Exchange is a digital marketplace of scientific services.
We make it easy for facilities to provide services to researchers
seeking industry expertise.
Q2: When did Science Exchange launch?
Science Exchange officially launched in August 2011. We’ve
since been featured in Nature, Scientific American, Tech
Crunch, and Fast Company. Our user base has grown to 6,000
scientists and over 1,000 core research providers.
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30. GENERAL FAQS
Q3: How is Science Exchange different from a directory?
Science Exchange is a dynamic marketplace of digital
storefronts offering your scientific services. We provide no-cost,
integrated project management tools to communicate and work
with researchers including update notifications, reporting, and
file transfers. You can accept credit cards through our platform
with no fees, and you are guaranteed payment directly through
us with only one accounts receivable - Science Exchange -
which ensures easy transactions.
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31. GENERAL FAQS
Q4: What is Science Exchange’s business model?
We charge researchers a nominal fee for every service request
fulfilled by an 'external' provider (we don't charge researchers for
accessing providers within their own institution).
The level of service fee depends on the total cost of the service. The
higher the total, the lower the percentage for the fee. The Science
Exchange service fee supports the operation of the site, including
payment processing, and enables the platform that we provide, and
allows us to offer amazing customer support.
If a service request is not fulfilled, we do not charge a service fee.
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32. LISTING SERVICES
Q5: How do I create a public facility storefront to list my services?
Email support@scienceexchange.com with the following information and we’ll
setup your facility page.
Facility Name
Facility Address
Facility Logo
Short Description of Facility
List of Facility Services, Service Descriptions, and Pricing Information
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33. LISTING SERVICES
Q6: I have a public facility page. How do I edit it?
‘Your Facilities’ accessible through the left sidebar of your Science
Exchange Dashboard: http://scienceexchange.com/dashboard. Click on
the facility and you’ll be taken to the management page.
Q7: How do I add services to my facility page?
The ‘Management’ tab of your facility admin page allows you to add and
edit your storefront’s service offerings including descriptions and detailed
pricing information.
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34. LISTING SERVICES
Q8: How do I set different price groups for users of my services?
The ‘Management’ tab of your facility admin page allows you to add
new price groups for external clients, internal researchers, or any other
group necessary for accounting purposes at your facility.
Q9: How do I add payment information for my facility?
Use the ‘Management’ tab of your facility admin page to create a
payment destination where you can receive funds directly from Science
Exchange within 30 days of project completions. You can set the name,
account number, and payment type (e.g. recharge string).
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35. RESPONDING TO SERVICE REQUESTS
Q10: How will I hear about service requests from researchers?
Notifications will be automatically delivered via email when a researcher
requests your services. They can also be viewed from the Science
Exchange Dashboard: scienceexchange.com/dashboard. Each request
has an associated ‘Project Page’ sorted by project # and experiment
type.
Q11: How can I find more info about a researcher?
Each Project Page includes information about the associated
researcher’s name, institution, and feedback ratings.
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36. RESPONDING TO SERVICE REQUESTS
Q12: I work at a university facility. Is it okay for me to work with
external researchers?
Absolutely! The Science Exchange platform is open to all researchers
seeking your services. The NIH “encourages sharing of available
research resources including core facilities at reasonable rates.”
[NIH FAQs to Explain Costing Issues for Core Facilities]
Q13: How do I submit an estimate for a service request?
Each open Project Page accepting estimates has a ‘Submit Estimate’
button you can click to fill out and submit your estimate for the project.
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37. RESPONDING TO SERVICE REQUESTS
Q14: What information should I include in my estimate?
More details equals more projects awarded to you. A researcher can more
easily accept a detailed estimate than a sparse estimate that requires a lot of
follow up communication. Key bits of info to include are: description of the
services you will perform, the approximate timeframe of the work, and
detailed pricing information.
Q15: What price should I offer in an estimate?
If you work at a university core facility, estimates should include all direct
costs of your service, and any indirect costs as necessary for external
researchers. By OMB A-21 and NIH guidelines, external service pricing
should be set close to market rates.
If you work at a commercial facility, pricing should be at your normal
reimbursement rates.
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38. WORKING ON A PROJECT
Q16: How do I find out if my estimate has been accepted?
When your estimate is accepted you’ll receive an email and dashboard
notification. Also, you can always check the status of your estimates
from your Dashboard: scienceexchange.com/dashboard.
Q17: Is there a formal agreement in place for my estimate?
During submission of your estimate, you’ll be prompted to affirm our
Terms of Service which include information about researcher/provider
obligations, quality assurance, and dispute resolution. The customer will
be similarly prompted on accepting your estimate, establishing a
contract with your facility.
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39. WORKING ON A PROJECT
Q18: My estimate was accepted. Now what?
Let your expertise shine! Once a researcher has accepted your estimate,
you can start work on the project. Coordinate with the researcher via the
Science Exchange Project Page to ship materials, supplies, or samples
needed to complete the project.
Q19: How do I communicate with my requester?
Each Science Exchange Project Page becomes a one-to-one
communication tool once your estimate is accepted by the researcher.
You can use the ‘Update’ tab to ask questions or to notify the
researcher of your progress. You can also upload any files, images,
reports, and results in general via the ‘File’ tab.
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40. WORKING ON A PROJECT
Q20: How do I inform the researcher that the project is
complete?
When you’ve completed the project, you can click the ‘Submit For
Review’ button on the Project Page. That action notifies the requester
that you have finished and they can confirm the results.
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41. PAYMENT AND PURCHASE ORDERS
Q21: How are payments/billing handled?
Science Exchange is an approved vendor within institutional
ePurchasing systems. We work with the researcher’s purchasing
department to generate the initial purchase order so you don’t have to.
Upon completion of the project, the researcher pays Science Exchange,
and we pay you. We guarantee payment within 30 days of project
completion, and you only need one accounts receivable: Science
Exchange.
Q22: What about milestone/monthly payments?
Our billing department is happy to provide you monthly or milestone
payments. Just invoice the PO generated at project initiation.
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42. PAYMENT AND PURCHASE ORDERS
Q23: Will I be charged for using Science Exchange?
Nope! There is no cost to providers on Science Exchange. We take a
nominal fee from researchers who request services above the cost of
service. No money is taken away from your bottom-line.
Q24: At a university lab, are there regulatory limits on external
income?
If you work at a university core facility or lab, there are no limits on
income generated from external services. Income generated from
external services should be treated as program income, via federal OMB
A-110 guidelines. Overall, core facilities should ensure no long-term
surplus/deficits occur through service price adjustments.
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43. Complete your profile
Add services, descriptions, and prices to your facility page
Submit estimates
If you have any questions, please email
support@scienceexchange.com
Get Started!
NEXT STEPS
Sunday, July 14, 13
