1. Building a Culture of
Collaboration:
Strategies to Strengthen
Interdisciplinary
Research
Sandy Justice
CRA‐USF/Advanced
Research Administrator
College of Arts & Sciences
University of South Florida
Erin Bhagvat, MBA
CRA‐USF/Advanced
Research Administrator
Morsani College of Medicine,
Office of Research
University of South Florida

2. Objectives
• Facilitate team building
• Identify the right collaborators
• Building the proposal
• Strengthening grants through collaboration
• Establishing a culture of collaboration at your
institution

3. Why are we here?

4. Researcher ProgressionStartup
Pilot Study
NIH R03 & R21
NSF Early
Career
Fellowship
K awards
PI for Team
Collaborative
Grant
Multi‐
Institutional
Transformative
Team Grant
R01
Interdisciplinary
Integrated,
multi‐faceted
approach to
complex
research
questions with
broad impacts

5. Expected Life‐Cycle of
Research

6. This is one way…

7. Collaboration

8. Changing funding climate drives collaboration
•Research driven ‐ holistic research
examining social, environmental
and economic impacts.
•Competitive funding ‐ diversifying
research portfolio (federal, state,
and private foundation funding)
and productivity expectations
(single PI R21, larger/broader R01,
K grants, U grants)
•Interdisciplinary research and
collaborative teambuilding is a key
strategy to leverage a broad base
of invested scientists and scholars,
for a shared purposed each from
their unique disciplinary
perspective.
New
Funding
Model
Capacity
Building
Grants
Global
Market
Inter‐
disciplinary
Research

9. What does it mean to be interdisciplinary?
Defined by the National Academies’ report*
“Interdisciplinary research is a mode of research
by teams or individuals that integrates
information, data, techniques, tools, perspectives,
concepts, and/or theories from two or more
disciplines or bodies of specialized knowledge to
advance fundamental understanding or to solve
problems whose solutions are beyond the scope of
a single discipline or area of research practice.”
*Committee on Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research, Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy (2004).
Facilitating interdisciplinary research. National Academies. Washington: National Academy Press, p. 2.

10. Employ interdisciplinary strategy to strengthen
funding chances
Specific
Programs
Jointly
Sponsored
NSF/NIH
Global
Partnership
Position your institution for funding success
Strategies that you can use to develop a culture of
collaboration.
Identify areas of research promise at your institution,
leveraging existing expertise.
Show the value of quality team building that will
position large complex proposals for competitive
funding.

11. Barriers to
Collaboration
• Ensuring credit is given
• Distance
• Challenge of maintaining momentum
• Motivation

12. College of Medicine
College of Public Health
College of Engineering
College of Art and
Sciences
College of
Community and
Behavioral Sciences

13. • What are the research strengths at
your institution?
• What barriers do your scientists
and scholars face when trying to
collaborate?
• What can you do to resolve them?

14. Building Collaboration
across Silos

15. Department
Research
Profile
• Grants
• Publications
• Expertise
College Areas
of Research
Promise
• Collaboration
• Team Grants
• Expertise
University
Signature
Research Area
• Multi‐ College
Initiatives
• Interdisciplinary
Centers

16. The Promise of
Interdisciplinary
Research
Clusters
Targeted areas
of national
importance
Shared
infrastructure
– equipment
and space
Improves
quality of
graduate
student
recruitment
Enhanced
interactions
across
Colleges
National and
global
network of
academic and
industrial
partners
Positioned for
interdisciplinary
research
funding

17. Grow where you’re planted
• Cross‐training lunch & learn
• Networking poster events
• Research speed dating
• Take every opportunity to get
your scientists, scholars AND
staff to:
• Mix and mingle
• Talk about what they’re doing
• Share your ideas and expertise

18. STEAM = STEM + Arts

20. OKTOBERFEST Premier Research Networking Events

21. Identifying existing strengths
By identifying areas of
interdisciplinary promise, the USF
School of Natural Sciences and
Mathematics (SNSM) positioned for
strategic investment in the research
areas with the most potential
return on investment.

23. Interdisciplinary research clusters (IRC) Accessible & Strong
Faculty strength in
each cluster is
demonstrated by:
(1) Funded research
(2) Publications and
Citations
http://sciences.cas.usf.edu/research_clusters

24. Maintaining Momentum
• Identify funding opportunities
• Wine and Writing
• Themed ‘Think Tank’ meetings
• Community Journal
• Trackers

25. Enter the research administrator
Nimble, talented & enthusiastic team
Staffing responses to culture change
in research administration
• Grant management
• Sub awards
• Grant reporting
• Publishing & disseminating results

26. Teamwork makes the dream work:
Collaborative Research Support
Building expertise for Staff @ USF
• THE RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION
IMPROVEMENT NETWORK (TRAIN®) AT USF
• Certification Program (CRA‐USF/Basic and Advanced)
• TRAIN® Associates and TRAIN® Ambassadors
• Academy of Certified Research Administrators at USF
• USF College Research Administrators Network (CRAN)
• Rx for Research, Steering Committee with
broad participation across colleges

27. excellence
in research
administration
at USF
Established in 2008

28. Certified Research
Administrator at USF
(CRA‐USF)
CRA‐USF/Basic
Demonstrates successful acquisition of
the body of knowledge in pre‐ and post‐
award. Attainment of this credential
requires successful completion of an
online course with a score of 100%
CRA‐USF/Advances
Demonstrates successful acquisition in
the body of knowledge in pre‐ and post‐
award USF business systems, processes,
tools and forms. Attainment of this
credential requires successful completion
of the eCRA‐USF/Basic course (pre‐
requisite) and attendance at a full‐day
classroom lab session for hands‐on skill
practice.

29. 46 USF TRAIN® Associates from colleges
and central areas serve as subject matter
experts assisting in the development of the
CRA-USF curriculum and instruction of the
courses.

30. 19 USF research administrators from
colleges and central areas serve as
TRAIN ® Ambassadors for the program,
helping shape improvements through
collaboration and
team work.

31. FOUNDED 2015
163 USF research
administrators inducted
into the Academy
The mission of the Academy of Certified
Research Administrators at USF is to recognize
research administration as a respected profession;
enhance the visibility of the pivotal role that
research administrators have in USF’s success as a
high impact, global research university; and
to encourage a passion for the pursuit of
excellence in research administration.

32. Quarterly meetings provide members
of the USF research administration
enterprise with a forum to learn
about, share and discuss important
and timely topics pertaining to the
research enterprise.

34. “You can do what I cannot do. I
can do what you cannot do.
Together, we can do great
things.”
‐Mother Teresa

35. Equipment and
Core Facilities

36. •Microscopy
•Small animal imaging
•Behavior & Telemetry
•Flow Cytometry
• Microscopy Core
• Phytotron Room
• Mass Spectrometry
• NMR Facility
• Cell Biology‐isolation and analysis
• Chemodiversity facility
• Nuclear magnetic resonance core
• Protein production
• Proteomics facility
• Surgical Skills Lab
• Education Facilities
• Simulation Center

37. Have a chat

39. Resources

40. Sandra Justice sjustice@usf.edu
Erin Bhagvat ebhagvat@health.usf.edu
Got questions?