  In April 2020, the QUality Assessment and REProducibility for Instruments and
Images in Light Microscopy (QUAREP-LiMi) initiative was formed. This initiative
comprises imaging scientists from academia and industry who share a common
interest in achieving a better understanding of the performance and limitations
of microscopes and improved quality control (QC) in light microscopy. The
ultimate goal of the QUAREP-LiMi initiative is to establish a set of common QC
standards, guidelines, metadata models, and tools, including detailed
protocols, with the ultimate aim of improving reproducible advances in
scientific research. This White Paper 1) summarizes the major obstacles
identified in the field that motivated the launch of the QUAREP-LiMi
initiative; 2) identifies the urgent need to address these obstacles in a
grassroots manner, through a community of stakeholders including, researchers,
imaging scientists, bioimage analysts, bioimage informatics developers,
corporate partners, funding agencies, standards organizations, scientific
publishers, and observers of such; 3) outlines the current actions of the
QUAREP-LiMi initiative, and 4) proposes future steps that can be taken to
improve the dissemination and acceptance of the proposed guidelines to manage
QC. To summarize, the principal goal of the QUAREP-LiMi initiative is to
improve the overall quality and reproducibility of light microscope image data
by introducing broadly accepted standard practices and accurately captured
image data metrics.
