Supporting and Harmonizing Research Endeavors (SHARE)

About This Grant

Successful research requires skilled research leaders and administrators; without them research stagnates and students are not trained in the jobs of tomorrow. Mastering the complexity of research administration and development is essential for a successful research program. However, this is a major challenge for Senior Research Officers (SROs) as professional development and training opportunities in research administration are scarce and costly. SROs need access to additional resources to fully understand and address their responsibilities and optimize opportunities. They also need infrastructure support, in particular to maintain compliance and ensure integrity. Building networks that share the cost of these resources between institutions may provide a fiscally-efficient method of developing tools and access to develop knowledge, skills, and tools to grow and support research and create jobs. The proposed Supporting and HArmonizing Research Endeavors (SHARE) project tests an approach to addressing research leadership development and compliance needs of institutions by developing Regional Communities of Practice (RCOPs). Participants will develop networks to share information and provide compliance support. These RCOPs will increase the research capacity and thereby the economic impact of all institutions involved. By focusing specifically on leadership workforce development and compliance, the project supports research vision and infrastructure, thereby supporting regional development while promoting the progress of science. The proposed Supporting and HArmonizing Research Endeavors (SHARE) project examines an approach to addressing a recognized gap in national research leadership professional development and training and support for research integrity and compliance operations. SHARE accomplishes this goal by developing Regional Communities of Practice (RCOPs) that provide a breadth and depth of expertise to research administrators from a range of research active colleges and universities. If successful, this project, will: 1) develop an easily replicable RCOP model of Leadership Development (creating RCOPs in Ohio, Iowa, Georgia, and Minnesota) that will provide research leadership training, support, and broad knowledge transfer; and 2) create two Compliance RCOPs (in Ohio and Iowa) that distribute the regulatory burden among participating institutions while also developing the knowledge base and expertise among constituents. Each RCOP will be hosted at an institution, and begin with a cohort of participants recruited from within a 300-mile radius of that institution. The RCOPs are then expected to grow annually. Over time, the Leadership Development and Compliance RCOPs can be joined to form Regional Research Networks, and the model can be available to be replicated and expanded across the U.S. to strengthen research administration capacity and, in turn, national research capacity. The SHARE project will increase the research capacity and economic impact of the institutions involved. Further, it will transform the national research enterprise by developing publicly available tools and resources to support RCOPs, expand the pool of qualified research administrators, promote research competitiveness, and provide training opportunities. 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.