Thirty-five participants gathered in Princeton to collaborate on enhancing the societal impact of research at an institutional level. McDonnell stands on the lower right.
Rutgers Associate Professor and 4-H Youth Development STEM Agent Janice McDonnell hosted seven institutions in a training focused on facilitating organizational capacity for research impacts at the Chauncey Hotel and Conference Center, in Princeton, NJ, in July.
McDonnell is a part of the leadership team at Advancing Research Impact in Society (ARIS), an NSF-funded center focused on building capacity and community around the societal benefits of research. Thirty-five university staff and faculty took part in their Program to Enhance Organizational Research Impact Capacity (ORIC).
Teams from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Penn State, Utah State, MOTE Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, University of Minnesota, Texas Tech, and University of Utah are engaging in this two-year ORIC program to develop and implement a strategic plan to institutionalize Broader Impacts (BI), or the societal benefits of research at their institutions.
“The ORIC program brings institutional administration and BI professionals together, so they can co-create a robust support infrastructure for BI in their institution,” said McDonnell.
The program uses a mentor-mentee model to help administrative leaders (e.g. Directors of Research, Vice Provosts) share effective practices and ideate on better ways of increasing the societal benefits of research. Practitioners, or BI professionals, also convene to share lessons learned, techniques for faculty development, and resources that help them do this work better. The program provides space for the administrators and BI professionals to coproduce a sound individualized plan for improving the societal benefits of research.
This training presented a unique opportunity. Many institutions have mission statements about community engagement and research impact but need support in crafting strong implementation plans on how to achieve these goals. Many institutions are communicating the societal benefits of their research with their communities. However, ORIC provides another facet to an institution’s BI efforts–mentorship and resources to help institutions develop strategies and timelines for building capacity at their institutions.
ORIC provides intentionality, as reflected by returning cohort member Dr. Rod Williams, Vice Provost for Outreach and Engagement of Texas Tech University.
“An expectation is to continue to produce deliverables and move forward toward your particular institution’s goals,” he recounted. “We get busy and … if we are not held accountable in any way…building capacity can sometimes be put on a backburner.”
As a part of the ORIC cohort, all teams will present on their progress and next steps at the ARIS Summit next year in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
To learn more, follow ARIS on X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and their newsletter or visit https://researchinsociety.org/.
