Strategic Plan
Long-term (5-10 year) goals and strategies
Research and scholarly excellence
The major goals for research and scholarly excellence are to:
- Develop state-of-the-art technology and infrastructure that supports research and scholarship
- Increase grant-funded research activities, including funding for research centers of excellence
- Increase cross disciplinary research activities within and outside the University
- Expand faculty scholarship activities (e.g., publications, presentations)
- Increase the reputation of the faculty as experts in urban and community-based scholars and researchers
Some of these goals (increasing funded and cross disciplinary research and scholarship activities) are at least partly addressed through strategies described above for fostering a strong intellectual learning community. Here we focus on Goal 1 which is most pressing for SSW at this time.
Goal 1: To develop state-of-the-art technologies and other infrastructure supports, we propose to:
- Improve and upgrade computer technology for SSW faculty and students.
- Connect SSW faculty researchers and students to technology/data services available within the university system and launch services where needed
- Explore how other BU schools/departments have funded their computer labs and to identify appropriate SSW funding strategies for this purpose.
- Increase the size of the SSW computer lab to house additional computers
- Increase staff technical support for faculty and students.
- Revise job descriptions of current open departmental support staff positions to require more technical skills. This plan, currently in progress, will provide a more centralized plan that contains a balance of highly and less skilled staff to support faculty.
- Arrange training for existing support staff in producing federal and foundation grant proposals and other relevant skills.
- Hire additional computer support staff member linked to the University computer support system.
- Provide each faculty member with consultation from a technology expert to help them develop an optimal technical environment that promotes their research agenda.
- Increase grant support staff (e.g., associate dean for research, statistician, grant writer).
- Identify statistical consultants from other BU schools/departments who are available to collaborate with SSW faculty.
- Identify strategies (e.g., infrastructure and/or center grants, pooled funds from existing grants) to enable SSW to hire senior level research staff.
- Seek gifts/endowments, foundation and/or federal funding to support research infrastructure activities.
- Invite a representative from OSP to discuss public and/or private funding for research infrastructure grants in social work or related fields.
- Organize interdisciplinary teams to develop proposals for center grant funding in areas relevant to SW.
- Improve access to scholarly materials.
- Survey faculty needs and propose a method of implementation to Mugar library staff.
- Identify funds and mechanisms for obtaining existing datasets relevant to research agendas for current faculty.
