University of FloridaFlorida Agricultural Experiment Station

Dean's Faculty Update

Research Roadmap Process - All IFAS Researchers
Date: July 8th, 2008
From: Mark R. McLellan, Dean

I just returned from my national scientific society meeting and feel rejuvenated and full of excitement for my science. I listened to papers that made me rethink some fundamentals and I was challenged by others that, if true – well makes me think differently about issues such as food safety. It was a great meeting for me.

It is time for us to kick into gear the IFAS Research Roadmap process. We announced the process to you a month or so ago. In order to start, below you will find some Q&A about the process followed by ten questions assigned to departments to answer and a separate set of ten questions assigned to centers to answer. You will also find this posted on the IFAS Research Roadmap Website.

The IFAS Research Roadmap Process – Q&A:

  • HOW DO WE DO IT?
    Each unit as a faculty should choose how they will conduct their self analysis for future research directions. Many will choose as we recommend using a SWOT analysis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysis). For example, If you use the SWOT approach you might have four teams of faculty assigned to analyze the unit’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Still other units will create unique approaches to their planning analysis – just fine. The important point here is the faculty must assess their science, look at future needs and describe where their science will be heading in 10-20 years. The Department Chair/Center Director is in charge of the unit's process but he/she may delegate leadership in the unit process as appropriate.
  • WHAT RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE?
    We have loaded resources onto the Research Roadmap web site at: (http://research.ifas.ufl.edu/researchRoadmap/) for you to use as you see fit. Each unit has an Associate Dean assigned as a liaison to the department as noted on the roadmap web site. They plan to be involved with your process and can assist financially if necessary to help units defray cost such as hosting a national leader to speak to your faculty or defray some of the costs to bring the faculty off campus in a retreat. Please include them in your process communications. We have received special permission from the university to utilize indirect costs funds from Research Grants to help units defray some of their expenses in this effort.
  • WHAT ARE WE CREATING?
    In this early stage of the process we are looking for a straight forward document that you, our faculty, can be proud to identify as your Research Roadmap to the future. These roadmaps will be shared with other units in order to seek synergy, multi-unit opportunities and an IFAS-wide sense of our research future. Producing a Research Roadmap for your department in 2 pages would be on the brief side of expectations. A document of 20 pages would be on the verbose side. However, this is your document and you may make whatever of it you care to – it is your vision.
  • WHAT IF WE ALREADY HAVE A STRATEGIC PLAN?
    Great! Consider reviewing it or updating it. Use it to answer the 10 questions however for academic departments it is essential that all state-wide faculty of your department be engaged.
  • WHAT WILL BE DONE WITH OUR UNIT ROADMAP?
    We will use these unit roadmaps to envision the future research directions of IFAS based on the faculty sense of the future of our science. We will showcase this future planning in a document (Likely an Annual Report) that amalgamates the unit plans into an IFAS-wide Research Plan. We will seek opportunities to link research directions. We will study the unit plans in order to sense the need for future research positions and the opportunity to fulfill the research needs of multiple units in these hires.
  • WHAT ABOUT EXTENSION & TEACHING?
    As Dean for Research, my call to you is for a Research Roadmap. I am interested in the future of our research programs and in hearing the faculty’s vision of their science. If a unit chooses to incorporate other missions of the unit into a greater document – excellent – that is your call. However, when you submit your Research Roadmap – use the research side of your planning to answer the questions we pose. After the 1st of the year we will start a process of diligently sharing these plans with the other deans so that they can see where you, the faculty, see the future of your science.
  • WHEN IT IS DUE?
    Please start the process now. Although this process is a year-long effort, the unit Research Roadmaps are essential building blocks to the process and will need to be in place before secondary discussions are started where will begin to link with extension planning and college planning as well as other multi-unit, IFAS wide planning.

    A DRAFT submission (MSword document) be received by every academic department no later than October 31, 2008 and a FINAL submission by November 30, 2008. A DRAFT Research & Education Center Research Roadmaps will be required by November 30, 2008 and a FINAL submission by January 5, 2009.
  • WHY THE DIFFERENT DUE DATES?
    Centers have a slightly different set of questions to answer and after discussions with the Center directors they have requested an offset timing so that center faculty can have a jump start with the department planning prior to submitting their final center plan after the 1st of the year. However - we would like these roadmaps submitted as early as possible so feel free to start when you are ready!

Ten Department Questions required to be answered by the academic department Research Roadmap Process:

  1. What areas of research is your department best known for by others?
  2. What truly are your current areas of excellence, your research strengths currently in the discipline including your entire statewide faculty?
  3. What are your research weaknesses, gaps that are not covered now, yet you deem essential for the future directions and scientific impact of your discipline?
  4. Where is your discipline moving to in the future? What are the major trends in your field of science? What do the very best departments in the country look like in this discipline? Think of these as your research opportunities.
  5. Aside from times of limited resources, what/who are the major research threats to fulfilling your vision?
  6. What current areas of research in your department will need to be enhanced to be the leading department in your field? What new areas of research in your department will need to be added to be the leading department in your field? And which areas of your discipline are less likely to be essential in the your department in 10 and 20 years?
  7. What are the cross cutting research topics that need to be addressed through partnerships with other disciplines in UF, at our universities, or with other agencies? How would your department benefit from partnerships/interaction with other units?
  8. Knowing the faculty that you must have in place to accomplish your goals, what critical hires in order of importance in your discipline will be necessary to position your department as the leader in its discipline? Create short job descriptions.
  9. Would reaching your research goals be helped by key research hires in other IFAS departments? Who? What? (Please contact those departments if you list them here.)
  10. Are there mechanisms of research administration that you see as needing to change to assist you in attaining your department's goals? How can FAES administration change and thereby help your department meet its goals?

Ten Research Questions for RECs:

  1. What areas of research is your center is best known for by others?
  2. What truly are your current research areas of excellence, your research strengths currently in the center?
  3. What are your research weaknesses, gaps that are not covered now, yet you deem essential for the future directions and scientific impact of your center?
  4. Where is your center moving to in the future? What research needs of your regional stakeholders are currently unmet by your center? What are the major trends in your fields of science that you address? What do the very best analogous centers in the country look like? Think of these as your research opportunities.
  5. Aside from times of limited resources, what are the major research threats to fulfilling your vision?
  6. What current areas of research in your center will need to be enhanced to establish you as a highly effective research center? What new areas of research in your center will need to be added to be a highly effective research center? And which research areas of your center are less likely to be essential in 10 and 20 years?
  7. What are the cross cutting research topics that need to be addressed through partnerships with other units in UF? How would your center benefit from partnerships/interaction with other UF units, other institutions or agencies?
  8. Knowing the faculty that you must have in place to accomplish your goals, what critical hires in order of importance in your center will be necessary to position you as a highly effective research center? Create short job descriptions.
  9. Would reaching your research goals be helped by key hires in other IFAS departments or centers? Who? What?
  10. How can FAES administration change and thereby help your center meet its goals? Are there mechanisms of research administration that you see as needing to change to assist you in attaining your center’s goals?

Mark R. McLellan
Dean for Research, IFAS

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