Institutional Research Infrastructure – 6-Year Master Plan
Office of the Vice President for Research
Overview
Objective:
The Office of the Vice President for Research will develop a comprehensive, rolling, 6-year
master plan to identify and support large-scale research infrastructure needs critical to the
University’s continued competitiveness and progress towards its strategic objectives. The
process will allow development of a multi-year strategic plan to cover the establishment and
support of critical research infrastructure through a combination of financial support from local
and central resources and would provide the foundation for inclusion of specific research
infrastructure needs in biennial budget requests to the State.
Process:
The Vice President for Research has charged the following committee with development of the
Research Infrastructure Master Plan and with submitting the first Master Planning document by
the end of December 2008:
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Frances Lawrenz (Co-Chair)
Chuck Muscoplat (Co-Chair)
Jo-Ida Hansen
Mos Kaveh
Charlie Moldow
Abel Ponce DeLeon
Jim Riehl (Duluth)
Development and continuation of the plan will involve five steps:
1. Data collection: The earliest phase of plan development will involve an environmental
scan designed to identify current capacities and to identify future needs. This will be
accomplished in two parallel phases: Phase 1 soliciting information from Associate
Deans for Research and infrastructure contact persons and Phase II soliciting information
from faculty.
Phase Ia: Establishment of an inventory of existing services and facilities satisfying
the criteria for inclusion (see Criteria for Inclusion, below) in the 6-year plan; and,
Phase Ib: Development of an inventory of new or significantly enhanced services or
facilities that will be critical in maintaining competitiveness or for anticipating
emerging research trends and opportunities.
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Phase II: Solicit information from faculty about gaps in, and emerging needs for,
research infrastructure.
2. Consultation and input: Once compiled, this preliminary list will be shared and discussed
with faculty and other interested personnel at Town Hall meetings that will be hosted at
both Twin City campuses and the coordinate campuses, as well as consultation with
faculty governance throughout the process (Phase III on the diagram).
3. Prioritization: Once both inventories have been compiled and vetted, a composite list of
prioritized projects, including funding and business plans, will be established and will
serve as the University’s annual template for research infrastructure support and
development.
4. Annual Updates: The Research Infrastructure Master Planning Committee will be
responsible for conducting an annual (or biannual) re-evaluation of the plan and with
making any additions or modifications in priority to reflect changes in funding, need or
emerging opportunities. Updates will be completed in such a manner that the planning
document can be used to guide research infrastructure inclusion in the biennial budget
planning process.
5. Realignments and adjustments: In addition to the annual review, a mechanism will be
developed that will allow flexible response to needs that were not adequately identified in
the planning process.
Step 1: Data Collection
Criteria for inclusion of infrastructure on the inventory:
The Research Infrastructure Master Plan is intended to address enterprise or other major research
services, capacities or facilities that meet the needs of research efforts of value to the University
as a whole. This infrastructure could be focused on individual investigators or large groups of
investigators or on disciplinary or multidisciplinary efforts. The Plan is intended to address the
needs of researchers and scholars across the array of scholarly fields represented across the
University and should include the needs of all disciplines.
Most often, eligible items will include one or more of the following characteristics: large
centralized facilities, expensive equipment, or highly trained personnel.
Research support systems (i.e., SPA, OIT, libraries) ordinarily included in cost pools do NOT
qualify for inclusion in this exercise.
Attempts to define what qualifies as research infrastructure will be imperfect and the committee
will no doubt need to exercise judgment in evaluating the eligibility of individual submissions.
The following examples, however, should provide additional guidance with regard to what might
qualify for inclusion or exclusion from consideration as part of the Research Infrastructure
Master Planning process. In compiling the list, if unsure, err on the side of inclusion.
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1. Examples, Eligible for Inclusion
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Laboratories (e.g. wet labs, computing and behavioral study labs, arts studios)
Exhibition spaces (to host performances, events and displays)
Major research equipment and technical staff support
Repositories (e.g. tissue banking; genome repositories, artifacts storage)
High-end or unique computing needs (in conjunction with Technology Master Plan as
appropriate)
Support staff/facilities for developing, using or maintaining equipment or laboratories
(machine shops)
Support staff for consulting or other services (statistics, surveys, research/analysis
design, biological computing)
2. Examples, NOT eligible for inclusion
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New buildings or complete building renovations (would be included in Capital Plan)
Systems included in cost pools (e.g., libraries, SPA, the OVPR office, OIT, and grant
proposal and other administrative support)
Infrastructure to directly support teaching or students (e.g. teaching labs)
Faculty salaries to do research or other scholarly work
Infrastructure not directly related to research
Information to be obtained from the associate deans
This information will be provided to the OVPR on spreadsheets that will be emailed to the
Associate Deans. The Associate Deans will also be responsible for informing the contact people
that they will be receiving a spreadsheet to fill out about their infrastructure.
Name of existing
Infrastructure
Contact Person
Brief Description
Anticipated New
Infrastructure
Need
Contact Person
Brief Description
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