The Belgian Co-ordinated Collections of Micro-organisms unite 7 decentralised biological resource centres with complementary expertise. The consortium is funded by the Belgian Federal Science Policy (Belspo) and coordinated by a central Coordination Cell. BCCM aims to share the biological material of its collections, the related information and its experience and know-how, to the benefit of its partners and clients in the academic and industrial communities. Over 280.000 well-documented and authenticated strains of bacteria, yeasts, fungi, diatoms, plasmids and DNA libraries as well as custom services are offered. Our vision BCCM, your solution partner providing quality services on microbial and genetic resources for academia and industry Our mission The BCCM consortium aims to : * acquire, preserve and distribute microbial and genetic resources, * identify and characterize these biological materials, * offer customer-oriented services, * increase the understanding of microorganisms and their function in ecosystems, * foster the application of biological resources. Our strategy BCCM: * continues to upgrade its service portfolio and scientific expertise, * develops a powerful data management system, * runs a multi-site ISO 9001 quality management system, * fosters (inter)national collaboration, linkage and exchange, * complies with (inter)national regulations regarding the handling of microbial and genetic resources.