Good morning,
I’ve been following this discussion too, and I think there’s a useful distinction to be made between/among the following:
(1)
A cynical “name the center and funding will come” approach. This is what some of the earliest responses understood the OP’s question to mean.
(2)
A critical mass of faculty members coming together as a “center” under the institution’s process for establishing centers and seeking funding as that collaborative group. In this scenario, the abilities are there but the group hasn’t
necessarily worked together or landed funding collectively as a “center” thus far.
(3)
A critical mass of faculty members who’ve already worked together on several smaller projects and now see their vision as a center-scale, long-term project (or set of projects) that can/should be set up as a “center” under the institution’s
(or institutions’) process(es) for establishing centers. In this scenario, the “center” hasn’t yet received funding as a center but the people have worked together on multiple smaller-scale projects and have a unified, coherent, center-scale vision.
Is the OP following a written set of policies and procedures for constructing/commissioning/establishing, continuing/maintaining, and deconstructing/decommissioning centers and institutes? If so, what guidance do those policies and procedures
offer in this context?
Best,
Paul
_______________________________________
Paul Tuttle
Grants Consultant
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-----Original Message-----
From: Research Administration List [mailto:xxxxxx@lists.healthresearch.org] On Behalf Of Alvarez, Michelle E
Sent: Monday, March 12, 2012 9:10 PM
To: xxxxxx@lists.healthresearch.org
Subject: [RESADM-L] A Center in Name only
I heard an idea at a recent conference that I wanted to see if I could get feedback on related to the development of Centers (e.g., Center for Rural Social Work). The idea was that faculty interested in starting a Center could request
to do so without any monetary commitment from the university. So if I wanted to start a Center I could fill out a request to my university and they would grant permission for me to use the name Center for Rural Social Work but not promise me any funding. The
idea is that this would put me, a faculty member, in a better position to apply for funding to support the Center because I have the name already attached to it. Then even if the Center fails, the university has not lost any funds and if it succeeds then I
could apply for both internal and external funding. What do you think of this idea?
Michelle Alvarez, MSW, EdD, LICSW, C-SSWS Minnesota State University, Mankato Interim Director, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (RASP)
325 Wigley Administration Center
Mankato, MN 56001
Phone (507)389-6652
Fax (507)389-5459
President, School Social Work Association of America (SSWAA) Editor in Chief, Children & Schools
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The mission of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (RASP) is to promote learning through encouraging and assisting faculty and staff in their pursuit of external funding for research, scholarship, service and creative endeavors.
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