International reference laboratory networks: challenges and benefits

A number of different models can be used to demonstrate how laboratories working together across international boundaries can generate information that cannot be achieved by any one institution working in isolation. Networks can facilitate exchanges of data, of people and of biological materials. Constraints to this process include funding, protection of intellectual property rights, communication barriers, and regulatory controls (e.g. on shipment). Examples include informal networks set up at laboratories' own initiative, formal "Networks of Excellence" established and funded by the European Union, and global initiatives inspired by international organisations such as the OIE, FAO and WHO.