If you prefer to submit a report on a different table topic, click here.Future of Research (funding gaps, next gen, alternative/new funding modules, international collaborations, funding constraints, alternative sources, supporting researchers, etc.) Government Shutdown
Has the recent government shutdown affected research operations? If so, are there any contingency plans emerging?
Federal Research Funding
- Does federally funded research HAVE a future?
- What does “resilience” look like in a future where federal funding may be less stable or more conditional? Is it survival? How do we plan for the future?
- Given today’s policy and funding shifts, what does the future of federally funded research look like? What steps can institutions take to help sustain it?
- How might reduced or redirected federal funding influence faculty recruitment, tenure, and promotion expectations?
- What new or emerging models for funding research are you seeing, inside or outside of federal sources, and how might these shape the future of research?
- Are institutions seeing any changes in the volume or success rate of federal research funding applications? Any shifts in specific programs?
Future of Govt/Inst Relationship (formally “Partnership”)
- How do we reinvent ourselves in preparation for the next decade? What strategic priorities do we set?
- How should institutions position themselves to thrive as federal priorities and partnerships may be volatile over the next decade?
- How are institutions approaching research planning in an unpredictable environment? What time period are institutions using for their strategic plans for research, 3, 5, or more years out? Are institutions foregoing longer strategic planning for research in favor of goals with shorter timeframes (1-2 years)?
- What would be the implications for university-industry partnerships if the federal government begins exercising march-in rights as implied in the recent Secretary Lutnick letter to Harvard University? How might the exercise of March-in rights (or the threat of it) change the appetite for companies to license early-stage innovations? How prepared are universities to withstand increased federal scrutiny on Bayh-Dole compliance (e.g., invention reporting, public benefit obligations, diligence in commercialization?
AI
- How are institutions beginning to leverage AI to support research administration, compliance, or other institutional processes? What opportunities and challenges are emerging from early use?
- What do you see as the most significant impacts, positive or disruptive, of AI on the research enterprise? How are institutions approaching strategic planning or governance around AI adoption and policy?