Mission, Vision, and Current Initiatives
Our Mission
We facilitate discovery at the frontiers of science, technology, and scholarly pursuits to address societal needs.
Our Vision
To provide the strategic direction and highest quality research support needed to realize the full potential of excellence of Ohio State’s research enterprise.
Our Values and Guiding Behaviors
Leadership
The Office of Research champions and supports creativity, discovery, progress, and change. We will:
- Model best practices of scholarship and research
- Recognize and encourage the development of progressive thinkers with innovative ideas
- Value the importance of professional development and the retention and recruitment of highly qualified individuals
Integrity
The Office of Research recognizes the imperative of ethical conduct in research and inspires trust and confidence in others by acting with openness, honesty, and objectivity. We will:
- Uphold the imperative of ethical conduct in research
- Act with openness, honesty, and objectivity, inspiring trust and confidence in others
Service
The Office of Research responds in a timely, effective, and thorough manner. We will:
- Provide tools and support to facilitate administrative processes, allowing investigators to focus on their scholarly pursuits
- Communicate critical information to constituents in a timely, consistent, and effective manner
Collaboration
The Office of Research promotes collaborations across the university and with academic institutions, governments, non-governmental organizations, and business entities around the world. We will:
- Support interdisciplinary research efforts and lead efforts toward the formation of new multidisciplinary centers of excellence
- Build new collaborations with academia, industry, non-governmental organizations, and enterprise development entities globally, to accelerate the formation of new networks for funding research, services, and economic development
Current Initiatives
In the words of Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee, "The public research university has emerged as the nation's primary vehicle for the production of knowledge" (October 4, 2007 address to Faculty Council). Ohio State's commitment to excellence in research has led to its inclusion in the group of top public research universities, as measured by the volume of sponsored program research activity.
To propel the university from research excellence to research eminence, the Office of Research has identified a number of initiatives to foster, support, and promote world-class research for our faculty, staff, and students on campus.
Increasing Faculty Participation in Large-scale Funding Initiatives
The Office of Research is working to increase Ohio State's participation in large-scale funding initiatives from federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Defense. We are working to develop stronger relationships with program managers within the federal agencies to impact the development of requests for proposals and gain access to up-to-the-minute information about emerging new programs. In parallel, we are also working to develop stronger relationships with national laboratories and research institutes across the U.S.
Improving the Competitiveness of Ohio State Researchers in their Efforts to Secure Funding
To improve the competitiveness of Ohio State Researchers as they seek external funding, the Office of Research is harnessing the expertise of an existing network of Ohio State faculty who serve, or have previously served, on study sections, review panels, and agency strategic planning efforts. In addition, we are developing an internal mechanism to evaluate large multidisciplinary center proposals to ensure that Ohio State submissions are of the highest quality and relevant to the programmatic goals and funding priorities of the agency. Further, the Office of Research would like to implement mentorship programs for junior faculty across campus to enhance their research funding competitiveness. Lastly, we are exploring ways to provide enhanced proposal preparation services.
The Office of Research is continually making efforts to increase the quality and effectiveness of support for research administration - thereby reducing faculty administrative burdens while expanding research productivity. Our most recent efforts have been focused on enhancing the suite of available research administration tools.
Fostering Economic Development through Enhanced Industry-sponsored Research and Commercialization
Strategic partnerships with other universities, federal sponsors, non-governmental organizations, national laboratories, and industry collaborators are crucial to the success of the research enterprise at Ohio State. The Office of Research serves as the point of contact for fostering the interactions between university researchers and the broader community in Columbus, the region, the state of Ohio, the U.S., and abroad. Ohio State collaborations have been expanded with Battelle Memorial Institute, NASA Glenn Research Center, the Air Force Research Laboratory, among others. The university is partnering more effectively with industry in seeking state of Ohio funds through the Third Frontier Program and other programs with the goal of increasing workforce development and job creation and we will continue to be aggressive in seeking new partnerships and attracting emerging companies to Ohio. And, through an expanded commercialization structure, housed within the Office of Business and Finance, technology licensing and commercialization activities are being transformed to better assist researchers to realize the market potential of their intellectual property.
In the coming years, the Office of Research will work to:
- Establish and support a system of world-class, multidisciplinary, and trans-institutional research centers and initiatives
- Provide the leadership necessary to expand existing collaborations between Ohio State and other institutions within the University System of Ohio
- Support research activities in disciplines where opportunities for external funding are limited such as the humanities, arts, law, and business
- Make Ohio State a strong voice in the national conversation about research priorities
- Celebrate the accomplishments and innovation of Ohio State researchers
