Continuous Improvements Initiatives
Wayne State University has numerous institutional assessments ongoing that support continuous improvement across our campus. Within the Division of Research, we are committed to improving and strengthening the research enterprise, and have embarked on numerous assessments that are leading to an improved research support system for WSU's faculty and their important research endeavors. The following are links to reports provided by various recent assessment reviews.
Efficiency Process Improvement Committee (EPIC): EPIC, an internal committee which consists of WSU faculty, chairpersons and deans, was formed in 2007 by the Office of the Vice President for Research to assess the infrastructure supporting research. EPIC identified a number of areas within Sponsored Program Administration post-award practices that should be reviewed.
Visit here for the full EPIC report.
NCURA Assessment of WSU's Research Infrastructure: An evaluation of WSU's research infrastructure was conducted by the Peer Review Team from the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) in October 2008.
The Peer Review Team evaluated two areas within research administration as described in the NCURA National Standards: Institutional Infrastructure (Organizational Structure; Communication, Outreach and Education; Compliance and Risk Assessment; and Electronic Research Administration) and Core Operations (Proposal Services; Award Acceptance and Initiation; Award Management; and Research Ethics.)
The recommendations included in this report center around two major themes: the need for shared vision and improved collaborations. The Office of the Vice President for Research will be working with partners across the university to address the recommendations.
Visit here for the full NCURA report.
Assessment of the Research Administration Infrastructure: This review focused on two specific aspects of research administration at Wayne State:
- Roles and responsibilities for research administration functions;
- Skill and training requirements for research administrators at both the central and “local” levels.
Visit here for the full Research Administration Infrastructure report.
Assessment of Commercialization Development Network: This review focused on increasing faculty engagement and industry utilization of Technology Commercialization and WSU expertise with the ultimate goal of increasing research funding (industry and state funding; federal STTR/SBIR awards), licensing and royalty revenue, startup companies, and contributions to state, national and international economic development efforts.
Visit here for the full Commercialization Development Network report.