Kelvin K. DroegemeierOffice of the Vice President for Research

University of Oklahoma

OSRHE 2011 Summer Grant Writing Institute

3 August 2011

The Future of Our Nation’s Research

Enterprise

The Importance of Research

“The solution of virtually all the problems with which the government is concerned – health, education, environment, energy, urban development, international relations, space, economic competitiveness, and defense and national security – all depend on creating new knowledge.”

Eric Bloch, DirectorNational Science

Foundation1986

The Importance of Research

“The organization known as Microsoft Research exists – and research itself must be done – so we can be prepared for the unknown.”

Rick Rashid, PresidentMicrosoft Research2007

What Has Research Facilitated During the Past

100 Years? Internal combustion engine Air travel The laser Computers Nuclear energy Carbon dating DNA sequencing Vaccines and penicillin Disease-resistant plants Our understanding of how societies

evolve

Original Mode of Scholarship

Raphael (1509-1510)

Industrial Revolution and World War II Lead to Contemporary Structure of

Academia: Specialized and Separated

Engineering

Chemistry PoliticalScience

Physics Sociology

Joplin Tornado: The Stovepipes Let Us Down

What Went Wrong??? Right?

Problems at the Boundaries

Economics Policy

Technologyand

Engineering

PhysicalScience

Social andBehavioralSciences

The Research Spectrum

Disciplinary

Multi-Disciplinary

Interdisciplinary

Transdisciplinary

D. Lightfoot NSF

The 21st Century Will Require Different Structures and

Approaches

Stovepipes Facilitated Great Things + New Disciplines and Industries

Some of the great intellectual challenges of the future do not lend themselves to a mostly single-discipline approach

Traditional education will need to transform into active learning and engagement

Transferring knowledge and technology into practical applications – and building wealth – will be the primary driver…not prestige

Where are We

Today?

VERY Challenging Times – Philosophically and

Economically Fundamental value proposition of the

research university is being lost because of the cost of higher education

Legitimate questions are being asked Why do faculty teach only one or two courses per

semester and spend only 6-8 hours in the classroom?

Faculty do themselves no favors: “If the stupid public just understood” Once the budget crisis is over, we’ll get back to

business as usual Higher education is at a crossroads, and the

research university is being challenged to define its role – and it must

Research and the Public

Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail;

without it, nothing can succeed.

-- Abraham Lincoln

Courtesy A. Leshner, AAAS

Lots of Reports (and Errors!)

Accusations and Rebuttals

Challenges (Opportunities)

ISN’T GOING TO HAPPEN!!! Wars and deficit continue to squeeze the

non-defense discretionary budget Rise of China: major energy consumer,

huge investments in infrastructure Rise of India and China major

competitors for talent and high-tech jobs Stronger position of European Union US recruitment of prospective graduate

students and visa/immigration issues STEM talent pool

R&D Investment, 1981-2008

Total R&D Share of GDP, 1993-2006

RPG = Research Project Grants

RPG = Research Project Grants

RPG = Research Project Grants

Not a New Topic…

…But Getting a New Look On 1 July, NRC formally established a 22-person Committee

on Research Universities Driven by Senators Lamar Alexander and Barbara Mikulski

(Members of Appropriations Committee and other key committees) and Representatives Ralph Hall (Chair of House S&T Committee) and Bart Gordon (former Chair)

Principal task is to answer the following question:– “What are the top ten actions that Congress, the federal

government, state governments, research universities, and others could take to assure the ability of the American research university to maintain the excellence in research and doctoral education needed to help the United States compete, prosper, and achieve national goals for health, energy, the environment, and security in the global community of the 2

Committee Chair: Chad Holliday, Chairman of the Board, Bank of America, retired chairman and CEO, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company

Consensus report expected by end of CY 2011

New Regulations for Research Since 1991

Regulation and Compliance

Some of the Community Input

All Federal agencies must use negotiated F&A rate unless prohibited by statute

Create mandatory cost sharing exemption for research institutions

Replace effort reporting with a more streamlined method

Allow direct charging of administrative and compliance activities

Reduce sub-recipient monitoring to a single annual audit

Harmonize Federal regulations regarding human subjects research

FY11 Interagency Presidential R&D Priorities

Sustainable economic growth and job creation

Defeating dangerous diseases Clean energy future Understanding, adapting to and mitigating

impacts of global climate change Managing demands on land, fresh water

and oceans Technologies to protect troops, citizens and

national interests

At the NSF New leadership INSPIRE program (cross-disciplinary research) Innovation Corps (I-CORPS) – brings industry,

research and entrepreneurship together Cyberinfrastructure for the 21st Century Science and Engineering Education for

Sustainability (SEES) Possible changes to merit review criteria Interest in better engaging the humanities

and arts Careful allocation of budget to maximize

impact

Early Career Investigators and Transformative, High-Risk

Research

OU Strategy: Helping Faculty Be Successful in

Scholarship

Center for Research Program Development and Enrichment

Faculty Challenge Grant program -- $0.5 million in seed funding

Center for Applied Research and Development

Research Liaison Program Strategic Initiative in Defense, Security and

Intelligence (DSI) – Enlarging the pie in ALL disciplines

Don’t Forget About Humanities and Arts!!

History Classics Languages Communication Political Science Religious Studies Sociology Philosophy Theatre Other…

Is There Hope (for My Proposal and Research

Program)? Competition for dollars will continue to

grow (NSF now receives 55,000 proposals per year, up 10,000 from a few years ago)

Funding IS available – but proposal excellence is critical

Think about a broad portfolio of sources (e.g., DSI, foundations, industry)

Work in collaborative teams Think broadly across disciplines as well as

in your own – to tackle problems at the boundaries

Align your work with national priorities Lobby the Hill for support to research

agencies

Final Thoughts: Where is the Science Enterprise Headed?

Funding will be problematic because of HUGE budget pressures

Rise of China and India will continue but is really good for science overall and for the US IF we respond appropriately

Stovepipe struggles in academia and agencies

More agency partnerships with industry Continued emphasis on practical

outcomes and less inquiry-based research

Increasing integration of social, behavioral, economic sciences in traditional S&E fields

The Waters Will be Churning, but Opportunity Lies Ahead