Research Policy Committee Prasenjit Guptasarma (P.G.) Department of - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Research Policy Committee

Prasenjit Guptasarma (P.G.) Department of Physics, L&S pg@uwm.edu

Report to the UWM Faculty Senate

RPC: Members & Guests

• Larry Martin
• Janice Eells
• Arun Garg
• Frederick Goetz
• Prasenjit Guptasarma (chair)
• Bonita Klein Tasman
• Christine Larson
• Gabriel Rei Doval
• Fred Helmstetter
• Melissa Woo
• Mark Harris
• Eva Barczyk
• Colin Scanes
• David Stack
• Mark Doremus

Topics

• Cost Reimbursible Contracts and Fixed Price Contracts;
• Definition of ‘off-campus’ for calculation of indirect

costs;

• How to divide budget for awards to multiple Principal

Investigators:

– Pre-proposal budget, – Final budget, – Indirect costs, – 150 returns.

• Intramural Competitions for External Research Grants.

Topics

• Clinical and Translational Science Institute;
• Research Growth Initiative;
• Research Cyber Infrastructure Working Group;
• Master Planning;
• Shared Research Resources (e.g. library);
• Severe Lack of Support Infrastructure to perform extramurally

funded research at UWM;

• Lack of incentives to run a full-fledged research program at

UWM:

– Extramurally-funded research; – Self-funded research.

Cost Reimbursible Contracts and Fixed Price Contracts

– Extramurally funded research contracts can be on either a:

• Cost reimbursible basis – typical NSF, NIH, others.
• Fixed price basis - requires deliverables regardless of cost to university.

Sometimes, indirect costs (“campus taxes”) are not budgeted in second case; resulting in higher cost to the institution. This policy offers guidelines for preparation and presentation of such budgets.

Definition of ‘off-campus’ for calculation of indirect costs

Research performed ‘off-campus’ is taxed (indirect costs) at a different rate compared with research performed ‘on campus’. This policy defines the M7 counties in SE Wisconsin as UWM ‘on campus’ area, subject to exceptions by VC-Research.

Dividing money for awards to multiple PIs

• PIs and Deans must identify, before submitting budget or soon after submission of

proposal, how the money would be shared between colleges/PIs. – Project costs; – Indirect costs; – 150 returns.

• This is especially critical when sharing between colleges.

Intramural Competitions for External Research Grants.

Campus policy on extramural competitions with limited number of submissions per campus:

• Intramural competitions: recent disagreements on procedure (needed to re-do a

competition after decision had been taken).

• How to inform everyone interested (through chairs, deans, email to everyone).

Clinical and Translational Science Institute

• NIH clinical and translational science awards can support about half the medical

schools in the country.

• ‘CTSI’ is a new Institute centered at MCW to enable collaborative grant funding;
• ffers numerous opportunities to UWM researchers; broad collaborative projects in

SE Wisconsin.

Research Growth Initiative

• Report on general health of the RGI program.

Research Cyber Infrastructure Working Group

• Develop a prioritized list of research technology requirements, services, and

recommendations for best practices. Harris and Helmstetter overlap with RCI and RPC.

Master Planning

• Guptasarma (RPC chair) working on three different Master Planning

Committees (help!)

• Bring forward needs of researchers at these committees.

Shared Research Resources (e.g. library)

• Lack of adequate electronic journal access at UWM; how to handle

subscriptions vis a vis research needs. Ongoing discussions.

Severe Lack of Support Infrastructure to perform extramurally funded research at UWM Lack of incentives to run a high-intensity research program at UWM

Severe Lack of Support Infrastructure to perform extramurally funded research at UWM Lack of incentives to run a high-intensity research program at UWM

Developing research at UWM

Developing research at UWM Developing International Research Stature is critical to successful funding.

Developing research at UWM

Important to grow high-quality research in all areas:

• Languages
• Humanities
• Social Sciences
• Professions
• Fine Arts
• Sciences
• Engineering
• …..

Developing research at UWM

• e.g., Humanities, Social Sciences: markers of

international recognition-

– Elected fellowships in Academies; – Markers of recognition (e.g, Guggenheim, ACLS fellowships) ; – Grants (Fulbright, Rockefeller, Ford, American Philosophical Society, NEH, Humboldt, Freeman fellowships); – National and international awards; – Publications of books published by major peer-reviewed international publishers (Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Stanford...); – Book prizes, or books translated into other languages.

Identifying Markers of High-Quality Research

Developing research at UWM

• e.g., Sciences & Engineering: markers of success

and international recognition – – High Impact international publications; – Competitive extramural Grant funding at national level; – Patents and other licensable products; – National/international awards & recognitions – Invited Talks; – Elected fellowships in Academies; – Other markers of recognition (e.g., national and international awards, certain international fellowships).

Identifying Markers of High-Quality Research

• Infrastructure for extramurally funded research is inadequate.

We need to simplify & streamline following so they work for researchers:

– Travel rules; – Purchasing processes; – Accounts; – Budgeting; – International scholars processing; – Human Resources; – Safety and Risk management; – Payroll; – Electronic library resources; – Student and postdoc hiring; – Student “hourly” help (undergraduate research).

Developing research at UWM

Infrastructure for extramurally funded research.

Developing Research at UWM: Incentives coupled to Research Productivity

Natural Sciences, Health Sciences & Engineering

• Administrative

infrastructure support;

• Summer salaries & base

salaries;

• Time release;
• Graduate Student salary

match;

• Travel funds (when funds

are low). Humanities, Professions, Arts, Social Sciences

• Time release;
• Travel support;
• Summer salaries & base

salaries;

• Computers;
• Student support;
• Support to network at an

international level.

Levels of Research: A Sports Metaphor

LITTLE LEAGUE / COACH MINOR LEAGUES MAJOR LEAGUES HOBBY

I n c e n t i v e s

R e c

• g

n i t i

• n

s

Developing research at UWM

Levels of Research Productivity

(example: Sciences & Engineering)

– Major Leagues:

• Training and financially supporting a large group of graduate students and postdoctoral

scientists; working on multiple projects, and

• 10 + invited talks per year, and
• 10 + publications per year, mostly in high impact journals, and
• More than $250K per PI per year successful extramural funding, and
• Submission of 5+ grant proposals per year.

– Minor Leagues:

• Training and financially supporting graduate students and postdoctoral scientists, and
• 3-5 invited talks per year, and
• 3-5 publications per year, some in high impact journals, and
• $100-200K per PI per year successful extramural funding, and
• Submission of 2-5 grant proposals per year.

– Little Leagues/Coach:

• Mostly training graduate students (limited MS/PhD dissertation readership).
• $1-50K per PI per year in successful funding.
• 1-3 invited talks per year
• 1-3 publications per year.
• Submission of 0-2 grant proposal submissions per year.

– Hobby

Developing research at UWM

Details next year….

Developing Research at UWM