| Area | Goal | Metrics (working) |
| Impact | Advance Taubman College Priorities for Impact: Climate & Low Carbon Futures, Equity in the Built Environment, and Design Excellence | Increase in Ratio of Funding / Grants that Match Priorities: R+CP internal funding ratio directed toward priority topics (all seed + dissemination); ratio of awarded proposals (internal, external) that align with priorities |
| Scale Research Impact | Reach (Expansion of Influence and Engagement); Translation (Pathways from Research to Practice or Policy); Integration (Institutional and Cross-Sectoral Embedding); Durability (Sustained Capacity and Legacy). | |
| Increase Research Engagement for Michigan and the Great Lakes Region | Topic Focus; R+CP internal funding ratio directed toward priority topics (all seed + dissemination); Ratio of awarded proposals (internal + external) that align with priorities; Self-reported narratives of how faculty are engaging Michigan & the Great Lakes. | |
| Align with Professional Practice and Industry Priorities | Portfolio Transformation: Ratio of faculty-led projects addressing clearly articulated and justified priorities in tandem with professional associations and industry. | |
| Interdisciplinarity | Build Collaborative Capacity (across faculty, staff, partners, units, and functional areas) | Collaborative Diversity & Operational Follow-Through: Ratio of strategic initiatives or research projects involving ≥3 disciplines and/or ≥2 functional areas. |
| Prioritize Teams, Clusters, Labs, and Collectives | Survey Response Scores and Topics: Survey scores and qualitative topics about how Taubman has enhanced collaboration, outcomes, and visibility while stimulating interdisciplinary and cross-sector collaborations. | |
| Increase Online Engagement around Faculty R+CP for Broader Impacts | Project/R+CP Activity Updates: Number of submissions to news/project intake form along with accompanying posts to website and relevant channels + traffic / analytics. | |
| People | Build Faculty Capacity to Lead External Proposals | Research Engagement Diversity: Change in or maintenance of diversity and richness of active research project leaders (PIs) for externally sponsored projects. |
| Develop Faculty Capacity in Emerging Domains (e.g, AI & Urban Technology) | List activities | |
| Advance Mid-Career Faculty Research Agendas | Mentorship Reach: Percentage of mid-career and early-career faculty participating in formal mentorship programs, receiving feedback on their research trajectory, and rating the utility of their mentorship experiences. | |
| Infrastructure | Build out Climate Futures Initiative | Strategic Alignment: Percentage of faculty/staff agreeing their work has benefited from and contributes to college’s climate goals and Climate Futures priorities. |
| Grow and Improve Sustainability of Research Cores and Labs (e.g, FabLab, TVLab, ScanLab) | Funding Ratio; Number of Users: Taubman-supported vs cross-campus and external sources; use growth or #/variety. | |
| Improve the Liberty Research Annex | Facilities Fit for Purpose: Percentage of faculty/staff agreeing their work has benefited from and contributes to their ability to do high-quality research and creative practice. |
A 2023 review of the research and creative practice enterprise at the University of Michigan recommended development of university-wide goals to advance the competitiveness of the university’s research mission.
In an effort initiated by the Office of the President, the Office of the Vice President for Research developed guiding principles that will inform research strategy and investments for the near- and long-term.
All U-M units are asked to develop research and creative practice (R+CP) Goals, along with accompanying metrics. These goals and metrics will inform Provost budget requests. Alignment with goals will be a consideration for faculty funding support through Taubman College. These goals also serve to help frame focus and effort for the R+CP team and investments.
Approach:
- Build on research priority areas and faculty development initiatives advanced over the last several years
- Pivot and realign where necessary to build and strengthen capacity in key areas of research for the future