Good morning, Deborah—

When I was at the Smithsonian, the National Museum of Natural History had a very successful program similar to the one you’re contemplating. I don’t remember the exact frequency, but at least once a quarter on a Friday afternoon, one representative from each of the seven branches in the museum would give a brief research talk – no more than five to seven minutes, a maximum of five slides, and two questions from the audience afterward. After all of the talks were done, there was a more extended Q&A period, and that was followed by a wine and cheese reception for informal conversations and networking. When they started doing these events (several years before I started there), there was some difficulty in drumming up speakers—but as people attended, the concept caught on, and they’d had to move the event to larger and larger rooms, and they usually had more applicants than they had speaking slots each year.

Another, somewhat more indirect way (but with additional benefits) is to host a research day. We did this when I was at NIU, focusing on work that undergraduate researchers were doing in collaboration with faculty mentors (which is why it’s an indirect way of disseminating faculty work). There were prizes awarded in several categories for the best poster (some judged, and one by audience vote). It was a great way to promote research on campus (we even scheduled the event so that our Board of Trustees could come in for a look before one of their meetings), it gave the students some real-world experience with presenting research and networking skills, and it’s impressive to see all the different kinds of work going on behind the scenes.

Good morning!

Our University is exploring new methods for supporting/increasing faculty proposal submission efforts, including strategies for exploring collaborative relationships among faculty across campus.  One faculty member mentioned participating in a type of “speed-dating” activity at a previous institution, the idea of bringing researchers together to hear what others are currently working on/research expertise in brief snippets, in an effort to find potential collaboration.

Has your institution engaged in such an activity?  If so, how was it structured, and did it provide meaningful outcomes?

I would also be open to hearing what other activities have worked well and achieved meaningful outcomes.

Thank you,

Deborah

Deborah Lundin, Ed.D., CRA

Associate Director, Pre Award Services

Research and Sponsored Programs

240 University Hall

Wright State University

3640 Colonel Glenn Highway

Dayton, Ohio 45435-0001

(p) 937.775.2423; (f) 937.775.3781

http://www.wright.edu/research/research-and-sponsored-programs

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*5 Business Days prior to submission deadline RSP must receive: the final budget (requested and cost share), budget justification, and abstract.

*2 Business Days prior to submission deadline, the complete proposal ready for submission is due at RSP.

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