Space Allocation

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Space Allocation Guidelines

February 3, 2025

The MSU Plant Science Research Greenhouses (PSRG) are valuable facilities for conducting world-class research supported by funding from federal, state, commodity, and private sources. Space in the PSRG is an important but limited resource and will be allocated in ways that best accommodate users' needs.

Greenhouse users can request space by completing and submitting a form (https://msu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aXZLFMACtABdpP0). This form must be completed before space will be allocated and resubmitted annually by all users to retain that space.

The Greenhouse Faculty User’s Committee will make every effort to accommodate all space requests. However, there are occasionally instances where there is not enough space to fully accommodate all users, or where available space cannot meet the needs of a particular research project. When the current available space is not adequate to meet all requests and needs, it may be necessary to move users to different greenhouse spaces. To fairly and transparently allocate greenhouse space, the PSRG User’s Committee has developed a set of guidelines.

Research greenhouse space assignments will be based primarily on the following criteria. Criteria are not listed in order of priority:

Career stage: We will make every effort to accommodate the space requests made by Assistant Professors to ensure that they have the facilities needed to develop successful research programs.

Funding: The greenhouses are an essential part of MSU’s infrastructure used to conduct research funded from various sources. In general, we will make every effort to prioritize space for projects that have current funding.

Timeline of need: Some projects do not require continuous greenhouse space, allowing other users access to the space. Users will be rotated through greenhouse spaces as necessary to maximize efficiency.

Containment and isolation: Some greenhouse users have research programs that require a higher level of containment and isolation, such as meeting APHIS or other safety or regulatory standards. Users requiring containment or isolation will be preferentially allocated space that meets those needs.

Environmental conditions: Some projects require specialized conditions (e.g. higher temperatures in winter, lower temperatures in summer, supplemental lighting, treated water, etc.) for experimentation. Space that meets these needs will be prioritized for projects requiring such environmental conditions.

Compatible plant species and projects: Many projects do not require an entire greenhouse zone and may be compatible with other projects. These users are expected to share space if requested. Care will be taken when considering shared greenhouse assignments to ensure that plants and projects are compatible.

Use frequency and duration: Space is assigned and reviewed at least annually. Space occupied by projects that have concluded or have significant gaps between activities may be reassigned to accommodate other projects. Further, space that has a history of low use (e.g. seven months or fewer per year) is also subject to reassignment.