Comment: 24 pages, 3 figures, 5 tables, research articleThe effectiveness of research units is assessed on the basis of their performance in relation to scientific, technological and innovation production, the quality of their results and their contribution to the solution of scientific and social problems. This paper examines the management practices employed in some Mexican National Laboratories in order to identify those that could explain their effectiveness in meeting their objectives. The results of other works that propose common elements among laboratories with outstanding performance are used and verified directly in the field. Considering the inherent complexity of each field of knowledge and the socio-spatial characteristics in which the laboratories operate, we report which management practices are relevant for their effectiveness, how they contribute to their consolidation as fundamental scientific and technological infrastructures, how these can be translated into indicators that support the evaluation of their performance, and still pending.