ABSTRACT: 2014 ELATE Institutional Action Project Poster Symposium
Project Title: Building of a Strategy for Global Resilience Scholarship at RIT
Name and Institution: Jennifer L. Schneider, Sc.D., CIH, Russell C. McCarthy Endowed Chair,
Rochester Institute of Technology
Advisors: H. Fred Walker, Dean, College of Applied Science & Technology; Ryne Raffaelle, VPR;
Hector Flores, Dean of Graduate Studies; Andrew Sears, Dean, Golisano College of Computing &
Information Sciences; James Winebrake, Dean, College of Liberal Arts;
Background, Challenge or Opportunity: RIT is growing its research efforts and portfolio, and
has identified ‘Global Resiliency ‘as an area of research strength and potential opportunity. The
challenge is twofold: strategic planning at the laboratory and college level within the College of
Applied Science & Technology, and strategic integrative planning at the Institute level. Dr.
Schneider, of the College of Applied Science & Technology, established and leads the
Collaboratory for Resiliency & Recovery at RIT (CRR), one of several known domain expertise
across RIT that could be leveraged to support this wider initiative. Large opportunities within
the global resilience domain require multidisciplinary scholarly efforts that knit across areas of
expertise to solve grand challenges, resulting in increased integration of research and growth of
scholarship.
Purpose/Objectives: To support the development of the Institute strategic plan, the IAP goal is
to map the existing capabilities, interests and linkages at RIT in this research area, particularly
those that can be immediately leveraged for opportunities. Beginning with the CRR, this effort
will map capabilities to the larger Institute plan and perform a draft environmental scan. The
results will lay the foundation for the building of a longer term resiliency scholarly agenda at
RIT. Integrative scholarship requires the engagement of laboratories, centers, programs and
faculty to open new areas of opportunity for all stakeholders.
Methods/Approach: 1. Collect information on existing interests, capabilities and historical
efforts through existing sources 2. Determine and affirm stakeholders through input and
communication with campus leader advisors 2. Invite and collect feedback for assessment of
RIT capabilities and opportunities from stakeholders 4. Perform an initial scan of external
competition and collaborators 5. Perform an initial scan of funding and support opportunities
that leverage existing RIT capabilities. 6. Create final report for review.
Outcomes and Evaluation: The short term IAP outcome is a draft environmental scan in this
area of excellence. This is a building block for a strategic focus on resiliency scholarship.
Building of this focus area will require a long term integrative strategy, including coordination of
efforts across the Institute. Long term measures of success are increased funding and
scholarship for the CRR and RIT, creation of high quality scholarship and recognition of RIT as a
center of resilience scholarly excellence.
Building of a Strategy for Global
Resilience Scholarship at RIT
The Challenge
•
Planning at the interdisciplinary laboratory level for the
Collaboratory for Resiliency & Recovery (CRR) within the
College of Applied Science and Technology.
Integrative planning at the Institute level.
Foundation
1. A draft environmental scan is complete. 2. Campus-wide stakeholders are engaged in a strategic planning ‘Tiger Team’.
3. Data gathering and collection of input from stakeholders continues.
Evaluation
Early results are encouraging as the draft environmental scan supports the opportunity for RIT. Engagement of
stakeholders is high and represents most domains at RIT. The draft environmental scan created a foundation to support
and scope dialogue, resulting in efficient initial team focusing. Team motivation and engagement results in investment
in the activities of institutional change.
Engagement
Objectives
•
•
Outcomes
Dialogue
Create a draft environmental scan (short-term).
Craft a strategic assessment and draft plan through
engagement of stakeholders (long-term).
Approach
Vision
Goals and
Foundation: Draft environmental scan Complete.
•
Engagementand data gathering: Formation of Tiger Team and
dialogue with stakeholders. Ongoing.
•
Dialogue: Dialogue and workshop with stakeholders. April 2015.
•
Creation of shared vision: Develop concept paper. May 2015.
•
Development of Goals and Plan: Determine Institute strategy. 2015.
•
Implementation: Execute strategic plan. TBD.
Presented at the 2015 ELATE® Leaders Forum
Current State:
• Recent, active RIT Global Resilience-related funding is
within four broad categories as shown in figure at left.
• CRR is involved in all four categories.
• Forty- five stakeholders from across campus are engaged.
Opportunities: Potential to increase breadth and depth of
scholarship campus-wide.
Stakeholders are meaningfully engaged in a highly collaborative process to
create a strategic assessment and plan:
•
Professor and Russell C. McCarthy Chair
Department of Civil Engineering Technology,
Environmental Management & Safety
College of Applied Science and Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology
Progress
START
RIT is growing a research portfolio and identified Global Resilience
as an area of research strength and potential opportunity. The
strategic challenge is two fold:
•
Dr. Jennifer Schneider, CIH
•
plan
Implementation
SUCCESS
External benchmarks show role for RIT in Global
Resilience, particularly in cross-domain applications.
• Build from unique capabilities such as CRR and
imaging science, computing and sustainability.
• Growth opportunities in applied technologies within
critical infrastructure; systems and engineering;
cybersecurity and information; monitoring,
evaluation and response.
Summary
•
•
•
Strategic planning must be a carefully executed process that motivates stakeholders to contribute and act.
Global Resilience efforts should be coordinated to increase opportunities for meaningful scholarship.
Global Resilience can be a vehicle to broaden participation in funded scholarship and naturally ties into existing initiatives in
international programming, innovation, student scholars, community engagement, etc.
Next Steps: Dialogue - Creation of shared vision - Development of goals and plan - Execution.
Acknowledgements: Thank you to my mentors: H. Fred Walker, Dean, College of Applied Science & Technology; Ryne Raffaelle, Vice President of Research; Hector Flores, Dean, Graduate Studies; Andrew Sears, Dean, Golisano College of Computing &
Information Sciences; James Winebrake, Dean, College of Liberal Arts; Thank you to the Tiger Team collaborators who continue to contribute to our success!