Achievements and impact of the Collaborative Oat Research Enterprise (CORE)

The Collaborative Oat Research Enterprise (CORE) was initiated in 2009 and ran until approximately 2014. It consisted of a set of coordinated projects, funded investigators, and collaborators who were united by an over-arching goal of developing modern tools for genomics and molecular breeding in oat. Principle outcomes of the CORE included: (1) sets of experimental germplasm, (2) a comprehensive cDNA library and sequence resource, (3) a SNP genotyping array, (4) genotyping-by-sequencing methods, (5) genotype/phenotype data housed in a relational database, (6) a complete consensus linkage map, and (7) a foundational study on population structure, linkage disequilibrium, and adaptation in cultivated oat. Here, we present the results of an impact assessment, which includes a survey sent to 130 scientists in the oat community. Of the 56 survey respondents, 15 were principle CORE investigators, 21 were nonfunded collaborators, and 20 were not involved with CORE. A majority (37) of respondents considered that CORE results were essential and/or had been used substantially in oat research, while 29 respondents considered that the results were essential and/or would be used substantially in oat breeding. Respondents also evaluated the impact of each individual CORE outcome on their own research. Most responses ranged between ?indirect benefit? to ?essential?, with the consensus map showing the highest proportion of ?essential? ratings. Nevertheless, there were between two and ten respondents per question who gave responses of ?I don?t know? or ?no benefit?. An examination of text-based responses to ?lessons learned? and ?recommendations? suggested that there were a small number of researchers who felt excluded from the CORE project, or who considered that communication could have been improved. These and other lessons may provide guidance to future large multi-institutional research enterprises. We also assessed the impact of CORE through 33 key citations, and through a tabulation of 30 new research projects dependent on CORE results. From this, we conclude that CORE has had a major impact in enabling and encouraging ongoing research, and in building a strong and vibrant oat research community