Do you speak acronym? If you consider all the initiatives, projects, societies, networks, research programmes and institutions in the field of biopreservation, you can see the potential for lack of understanding, lack of cohesion and potential failure to coordinate effort to achieve an efficient mechanism for living resource delivery for research. A plethora of accronyms are before us MINE; CABRI; EBRCN; EMbaRC; GBRCN; MIRRI; ABRCN; ISBER; ESBB; BCCMTM; SBMCC; CCCCM; FCCM; CCRB; SCCCMOMB; KFCC; FORKOMIKRO; JSCC; PNCC; PNCM; TNCC; UKFCC; UKNCC; ECCO; WFCC; WDCM; ESFRI; BBMRI; EMBRC. Many have similar functions presenting the danger of duplication of effort and fragmentation confusing the user. The microbial world has the World Federation for Culture Collections (WFCC) and its World Data Centre for Microorganisms (WDCM) to guide us through this miriad of institutions, organisations and initiatives. However, what is needed is a coordinated network with common access, strategies, policies and delivery to facilitate research and innovation, providing a conduit to make best use of their outputs. Biological Resource Centres must engage with their users and involve them in resource development and governance. The European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) establishes pan-European structures to drive innovation and provide the resources, technologies and services necessary to underpin research, ensuring improved pathways to discovery. The Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure (MIRRI) has been established on the ESFRI roadmap. Linking MIRRI to initiatives in Asia, Africa, South America, the USA and elsewhere gives us the infrastructure for the Global Biological Resource Network (GBRCN) - networking networks.

David Smith is Director of Biological Resources at CABI responsible for strategy for management, access and use of biological resources and related project development. He played a key role in the OECD Biological Resource Centre (BRC) Initiative Task Force, as a member of the UK delegation and held the positions, Vice President of the Task Force Management Group and Chair of BRC Workshop Steering Group 2006-2007. He worked in Braunschweig, Germany as General Manager of the Global Biological Resource Centre Network (GBRCN) Demonstration Project Secretariat (2008-2011) developing tools for the establishment of this global network. He is immediate past President of the World Federation for Culture Collections WFCC (2004-2010) and a Fellow of the Society of Biology. He serves on several advisory boards including being a member of the Scientific Board of Leibniz-Institut DSMZ - Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen GmbH.

David Smith joined CABI in 1974 as a preservation technologist working in the Commonwealth Mycological Institute. Over a 37 year career he has developed expertise in the operation and management of living microbial resource collections, preservation technology and development of operational procedures for BRCs. Gained a PhD with Imperial College London University in the long-term preservation of fungi and became Curator of CABI Genetic Resources Collection in 1987. His research areas include the freeze-drying of microorganisms, the optimization of cryopreservation techniques and cryogenic light microscopy for fungi. He has a keen interest in policy concerning microorganisms access, handling and use, codes of practice for working within the Convention of Biological Diversity and the production of Quality Management Systems for Microbial Resource Collections. David is on the steering committee of the Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure (MIRRI) which is one of the thirteen research infrastructures European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) in the biological and medical science area. He has published 138 articles including 77 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and participated in over 70 conferences in over 30 countries presenting over 110 papers and posters.