Collaborative Research: Ideas Lab: Panoramic Institutional Assessments: An Approach for Advancing Research Capacity

Huston-Tillotson University, Austin TX

Investigators

Abstract

This project is a collaborative effort across five Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The project aims to develop and pilot innovative tools and approaches to enhance the research capacity of these institutions and of HBCUs more broadly. The effort is a direct response to the broad interest in, and transformative opportunities for, building research capacity at HBCUs. These institutions play a vital role in scientific discovery and expand the STEM workforce. This project will bring together faculty, research administrators, and institutional leaders to develop a tool that will enable HBCUs to grow their research capacity and strengthen U.S. research competitiveness. Research growth at HBCUs complements institutional commitments to student success and academic excellence. The team of HBCUs will conduct a meta-synthesis of literature on resources and best practices for a thriving research enterprise and develop a framework with rubrics for institutions to conduct a self-guided assessment of their research capacity to inform planning and growth strategies. Further, the team will create rubrics using a published framework of skills and capabilities for faculty investigators to assess their successful career development. Gains in research growth at HBCUs will complement their strong commitment to student success and academic excellence, increase U.S. research capacity, and expand the STEM workforce. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.