A Paradigm for
Interdisciplinary Research
A. H. Rebar, DVM, Ph.D.
Senior Associate Vice President for Research Executive Director of Discovery Park
DISCOVERY
P
ARK IS:
Purdue’s hub for interdisciplinary and translational research, conceived as a place where scholars from all disciplines could work together to define whole new areas of research and solve grand challenges.
3
Hall for Discovery and Learning Research, completed Fall 2009
Drug Discovery Facility, completed Spring 2014
Gerald D. and Edna E. Mann Hall, completed Spring 2007 Bindley Bioscience Center,
completed October 2005, and Multidisciplinary Cancer Research Facility, completed Spring 2014
Bindley Bioscience Center Birck Nanotechnology Center
Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship Center for Predictive Materials & Devices Cyber Center
Discovery Learning Research Center Global Sustainability Institute
Center for the Environment Energy Center
Purdue Climate Change Research Center Center for Global Food Security Purdue Water Community
Oncological Sciences Center Purdue Center for Drug Discovery Purdue Center for the Science of Information Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering
Birck Nanotechnology Center, completed Fall 2005 Burton D. Morgan Center
for Entrepreneurship, completed Fall 2004
Investment in DP
As of 06/30/14 $200 $400 $600 $800 $1,000 M il li o n s Endowments ($14M) Research Equipment ($36.8M) Buildings ($192M) Research Expenditures ($773M)$1.05 Billion!
Strong technical and administrative
support for large interdisciplinary centers
Immediate track record of institutional
success with large interdisciplinary
research efforts
Sustainable infrastructure
A WIN DIFFERENTIATOR FOR
PROPOSALS
Administrative
•
Administrative modelbreaks down barriers to build interdisciplinary collaborations
•
Business team: Sponsored Program Services and Business Administration•
Project coordination•
Web site integration•
Special eventsTechnical
•
Research Cores – partner with academic units•
Expert technical staff•
State-of-the-art facilities with supporting group office and meeting spaceEstablished in 2006
Partners with Principal Investigators in preparation of large, interdisciplinary, multi-college proposals
Serves as key resource in matters related to University policies for proposal development and submission
Extremely positive feedback; model propagated to all academic units
P
RE
-A
WARD
S
ERVICES
Enable large interdisciplinary research
grants
•
More than 13 projects of $5M or higher, of which 9 projects are $10M or higher•
Since DP inception, ~$880M in research awards•
Averages 25% of total Purdue research portfolioACCOMPLISHMENTS:
Visual Analytics for Command, Control, and Interoperability Environments (VACCINE) $15 million;, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Center for Direct Catalytic Conversion of Biomass to Biofuels (C3Bio) $15 million initial award, $12 million renewal; Department of Energy Center for Science of Information
$25 million; National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center Indiana Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI)
$25 million initial award, $30 million renewal; National Institutes of Health NSF Network for Computational Nanotechnology/Cyber Platform $14.5 million, National Science Foundation
Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) $105 million, National Science Foundation
√√√√ Interdisciplinary in nature √√√√ Affiliated with a core center
√√√√ Sponsored programs √√√√ Often opportunistic
L
ARGE
-S
CALE
E
XTRAMURAL
P
ROJECTS
Providing facilities and infrastructure
•
148,000 sq. ft. research laboratory space•
107,000 sq. ft. office and support space•
$36.8M in new research equipment•
$105M in gift funds; $5M from StateACCOMPLISHMENTS:
Building partnerships
•
100+ industrial partners•
100+ university partners•
20 international partnershipsFacilitating commercialization
opportunities
•
80 start-up companiesA
CCOMPLISHMENTS
:
D
ISCOVERY WITH
D
ELIVERY
Redefining the student experience
•
>1500 undergraduate entrepreneurshipcertificates, >4300 participants (as of December 2014)
•
650 Interns for Indiana (IfI) students matches to 230 start-up companies (as of December 2014)•
> 650 Discovery Park Undergraduate Research Internship Program (DURI) students (as March 2015)•
300 graduate studentsACCOMPLISHMENTS:
Research
Development
Assistance for larger, interdisciplinary
proposals
Lynne Dahmen Senior Grant Writer
Office of the Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships
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Purdue Research Development
Our services and resources15
Grant Writing
Large proposal development and consultation services
Be Intentional
Basic grant writing strategies apply to any proposal
And so you just
threw everything
together?…
Mathews, a posse is
something you have
to organize.”
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Proposal Preparation
Outlining a tailored and intentional plan18
Key Strategies We Use
Strategies to steer you away from common trouble spots•
tell a compelling story
•
respond to solicitation
•
answer “Why Purdue?”
•
know your reviewer
19
Storyline is Foundational
We will work with your team to implement a storyline process•
tell a compelling story
•
respond to solicitation
•
answer “Why Purdue?”
•
know your reviewer
•
conduct internal review
•
good science is a story
that begins with a problem
•
narrative gives coherence
•
hooks reviewer so
weaknesses are not fatal flaws
•
What is the problem?
•
What is the problem?
•
What has been done already to
address the problem?
•
What is the gap that remains?
•
How do you propose to address
this gap?
Knowing the Solicitation
We will track requirements into your document and prepare you to write
•
tell a compelling story
•
respond to solicitation
•
answer “Why Purdue?”
•
know your reviewer
•
conduct internal review
•
follow all instructions
•
outline before writing
21
Creating Rationale
We will help identify your win differentiators•
tell a compelling story
•
respond to solicitation
•
answer “Why Purdue?”
•
know your reviewer
•
conduct internal review
expertise, facilities, prior work,
campus environment
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Identifying Your Audience
We will be vigilant regarding the reviewer needs•
tell a compelling story
•
respond to solicitation
•
answer “Why Purdue?”
•
know your reviewer
•
conduct internal review
•
writing for expert and
non-expert
•
be kind…parallel
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Getting Feedback
We can identify expert reviewers, plan logistics, and organize response
•
tell a compelling story
•
respond to solicitation
•
answer “Why Purdue?”
•
know your reviewer
•
conduct internal review
•
plan from beginning
•
formal or informal
•
someone familiar with
sponsor, program, or
general area of research
How Else Can We Help?
Arrange for high-quality, easy-to-read graphics25
How Else Can We Help?
Write content , leverage resources, and manage the process
•
one-page concept paper for
sponsor
•
campus partners and resources
•
non-technical writing
•
compiling/editing
•
document control
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How Else Can We Help?
Tame the supplementary documents•
draft letters, postdoctoral
mentoring plans, data
management plans
•
edit biographical sketches
•
compile conflict of interest
lists
•
Sketch out logic models and
work breakdown structures
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How Else Can We Help?
Access resources•
Management Plan
Self-Assessment
•
Letters of Individual or
Institutional
Commitment
•
Postdoctoral Mentoring
Plan Template
•
Tips for Major Research
Instrumentation
Proposals
How Else Can We Help?
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How Else Can We Help?
Provide boilerplate for proposals30
How Else Can We Help?
Create compelling broader impact initiatives31
How Else Can We Help?
Virtual Rolodex for broader impact partners at Purduehttp://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/256966
