The AAMC has recommended that the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Research Resources emphasize the need for balanced support for shared facilities and other resources as it examines its strategic plan. Through a comment letter, the association argued that access to shared resources will become especially important in the future, as research institutions seek out collaborations as a means of adapting to federal research budget constraints. "Regional resources and national hubs connected by informatics networks will become especially important to the nation's biomedical research infrastructure," the AAMC stated, noting that several NCRR programs, such as the Clinical and Translational Science Awards, animal research facilities, and the Biomedical Informatics Research Network, are existing examples of the potential effectiveness of such collaborations. For more information, please visit http://www.aamc.org/advocacy/library/research/corres/2007/091007.pdf.