EQUIPMENT WITHOUT REAGENTS: SHARED-USE CENTRES AND INTEGRATED FUNDING TO RAISE THE USE OF SCIENTIFIC EQUIPMENT IN UZBEKISTAN

Expensive laboratory equipment produces research only when it has reagents, spare parts and users. This thesis examines the balance between equipment and consumables in the state procurement of scientific equipment in Uzbekistan in 2018–2025 and its link to the use of the equipment. Equipment accounted for 99.13% of procurement spending, while reagents and spare parts together received 0.87%, and 57.8% of items with recorded use operated fewer than 200 hours a year. The thesis proposes two complementary measures — integrated funding of equipment and consumables, and a national shared-use regime for under-used equipment — and estimates their cost.