Otago Polytechnic/Developing a Research and Enterprise Strategy at OP/Objectives expanded

Expanded explanation/ description of our objectives:

''Our Objectives are driven by the overall OP Strategic Priorities. ''

''NOTE: It is important that for every aspiration, we have a means of measuring our success in achieving it. (eg. "To increase the proportion of research active staff and the quality of research outputs", a measure would be to monitor what proportion of staff are research active and how many outputs and QA outputs they achieve- we might also consider the outcomes of those outputs- ie what effect they can be seen/measured to have had on our communities)''

(further editing needed - in italics)


 * (committee... please fill in what support is needed to achieve our aspirations as measured ..???)

= What are our aspirations? =

= 1. To lead our sector in the achievement of educational excellence =

We want:

 * To increase the proportion of research active staff
 * To increase the quality of research outputs
 * To increase the number of research and enterprise activities that are multidisciplinary
 * To have research and enterprise activities that inspire staff to develop their own expertise
 * To have research and enterprise activities that support our academic programmes directly
 * To have research and enterprise activities that are directly relevant to our communities (Business, Industry, Government Departments, Local Government, Iwi, the professions and the community and voluntary sector )

What will we do to achieve these aspirations?

 * support staff in developing areas of expertise
 * encourage staff in creating, supporting and collaborating with other staff, their communities and students


 * develop an understanding of the research methodologies appropriate for and relevant to learning and applied research in workplaces
 * align ourselves with current practice in workplace and work-base learning as a "disciplinary' field in its own right (explain please)
 * align ourselves with other institutions (such as Middlesex) who have already engaged in these kinds of pursuits (explain)
 * develop matrices for the generation of projects using appropriate research methodologies - (use matrix descriptors common with Sams to-be-updated model)
 * develop Centres of Research Expertise (CoRES)
 * develop Post grad scholarships for targeted reseach that support (their or our?) research programmes
 * Inspire more students to become involved in applied research activities
 * Inspire more students to undertake post grad research

How will we know we have been successful? (examples)

 * Monitor the number of publications year on year and school by school
 * Monitor the increase in QA outputs as above (but, also monitor the outcomes of research activity)
 * monitor the increase in number of multidisciplinary projects and research outputs and outcomes
 * number of staff engaged in applied research activities increases year on year (does this mean they are inspired??) how do you measure that?
 * monitor the frequency of student project based learning activities by programme (assume relevance??) - coudl make use of Sam/ Richard "Research and Enterprise model)
 * regular survey of communities to ensure direction and intent match needs (- who and what about?)
 * communities approach us (how often/ what about?)

Kpi's  (lots of work to resolve these - here's a start)

 * increase in publications from degree teaching schools year by year of 5% (x%)
 * increase in QA publications from degree teaching schools year by year of 5% (x%)
 * increase in number of multidisciplinary projects by all schools year by year of 5% (x%)
 * increase in number of staff engaged in community related applied research activities year by year of 5% (x%)
 * each school to work on filling in gaps and increasing activities in Sams model year by year (needs better description!!)
 * each school to update its survey of communities by approaching [min] number of community groups
 * each school is approached by[min] number of community groups / [min] number of projects generated (needs better description)
 * have 4 initial Centres of Research Expertise active (engaing in applied resaerch activities with community partners) by end of 2012
 * increase in activitiesof each CoRE, year by year (10%?)

= 2. To achieve the highest level of confidence from our communities, anticipating and exceeding their expectations =

We want:

 * To have research and enterprise activities that are directly relevant to our communities-(including Kai Tahu/Maori, Business, Industry, Goverment Depts., local government, Iwi, the professions and the community and voluntary sector)
 * To have research and enterprise activities that enable engagement and collaboration - between learners, staff and the communities we serve
 * To have research and enterprise activities which are accessible to our learners, our staff and our communities
 * to have research and development activities that are future focussed and informative.

What will we do to achieve these aspirations?

 * Work with our community partners, industry and business to understand their current and future needs(nb without assuming we already know)
 * Disseminate applied research to communites - marketing plan, use our current publications, what's on advert, conferences, seminars, information evenings etc (work with marketing and communication group to crate a plan) 
 * Staff are encouraged to engage with trade publications and conferences as well as academic publications (e.g. can have 2 versions of research publication)
 * Lead research collaborations across institutions see CSAFE http://www.csafe.org.nz/relationships (perhaps ensuring inclusion of appropriate community groups?)
 * More events on engaging OP staff with communities such as one day Symposium (e.g. Art &amp; Law, Art &amp; Medicine, Physical Conditioning, Ageing, Biodesiel Symposium were all held in 2010-2011) http://www.otagopolytechnic.ac.nz/schools-departments/art/news-and-reviews/art-in-medicine-symposium.html http://www.otagopolytechnic.ac.nz/fileadmin/DepartmentalResources/Academic/SportsInstituteAndAdventure/PDFs/Physical_Conditioning_Symposium.pdf http://gerontology.org.nz/south-island-symposium-on-ageing-2 http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/4162773/Biodiesel-pilot-programme-hailed-as-sustainable-success
 * More ongoing relationships such as the Community Research Forum http://www.councilofsocialservices.org.nz/the-dunedin-community-research-forum/
 * More community collaborative projects such as Simpa http://www.otagopolytechnic.ac.nz/about/projects-conferences/simpa.html
 * Look for opportunities to involve communities with OP staff and students e.g. Bring in experts from our communities to talk to us - speaker series - encouraging 'knowledge transfer both ways' Like School of Art Seminar Series
 * Hold more conferences at OP
 * (Ask communities what they want researched / developed)

How will we know we have been successful? (examples)

 * We will monitor the number of project collaborations at each level with community members and groups
 * monitor where projects are intitiated ( by whom?)
 * monitor the multidisciplinarity of projects, including interdisciplinarity and comunity /business involvement
 * monitor teh number asnd proportion of projects including community, student and staff partners
 * monitor the achievement of practical outcomes from projects at learner, staff and community levels.
 * Increase in the number of open events and conferences held, and range of community groups engaged.

Kpi's

 * increase in number of community related applied research activities year on year, initiated from OP staff (eg 10%), from community groups (eg 10%)
 * analysis of projects undertaken shows increase in multidisciplinarity of participants (year on year?)

= 3. To be financially Sustainable =

We want:

 * To have research and enterprise activities which provide an income stream to the polytechnic (directly or indirectly)

What will we do to achieve this aspiration?
(- This section to be fleshed out - this becomes our structure)


 * support staff to develop their R&amp;E development activities -( how?)
 * support schools in developing community connections - (how? )
 * provide good practice guidelines for staff to facilitate engaging with our business, industry and professional communities
 * support staff to maintain currency in their specialist field and connections with relevant industry, profession and communities (how?)
 * encourage staff to design and plan opportunities for learners to participate in research and to learn skills which will enhance connections
 * support staff by developing multidisciplinary group R&amp;E activities
 * collaborate with commuinty (industry, business etc) on commercial development opportunities
 * assist companies to submit MSI tech transfer voucher scheme applications
 * create multidiciplinary group to work with companies on improving their business practices
 * develop and expand studnet project opportunities to work with commercial projects (that bring a return to OP)
 * develop a reputation as business enablers through graduate outcomes
 * ensure external activities are framed in such a way to optimise income
 * Maximise PBRF funding annually via RDC and ERI - increase the number of research degree completions and research income - ensure new post grad course meet PBRF RDC compliance for VRF (volume of research factor)
 * Utilise funding schemes to bring in research capability (eg Rutherford Fellowship through the Royal Society should that still exist after its current review)
 * CoREs be required to develop programmes of research (more attractive to traditional research funders) that include projects that meet funders priorities eg MSI, Marsden, HRC, AKO etc and develop programmes of research that are multifaceted including student research
 * Ensure our overheads are costed in every externally funded project where possible
 * Ask industry to sponsor research scholarships with the payoff they do research they are interested in - or on a larger scale and an endowment fund for applied research (like the Todd Foundation Awards for Excellence but controlled by OP) - maybe in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary or similar organisation
 * Apply for more funding - practice makes perfect!
 * Train CoREs co-ordinators in grantspersonship and contract managment so they understand the processes and accountabilities of applying for and managing external funding
 * Develop a Conference management office (talk to Marketing and Campus environment) - to host conferences (incl. Trade or Professional conferences as this will also help with linkages) in the holidays - any profits go back into research

How will we know we have been successful? (examples)

 * We increase our external research income
 * Financial returns are x% of OP turnover (and growing)
 * increase community facing activities year on year.
 * engage in commercial community facing activities (that return income)
 * students express high levels of satisfaction with our programes, in assisting them to develop their connections to communities; business, industry and the professions
 * staff become better connected to communities and more staff are able to engage in current income producing activities (need a measure eg number or value of callaborative projects increases)
 * communities view OP as a viable business partner in relation to problem solving activities (what is the measure?)
 * PBRF; Quality, RDC and ERI increase annually
 * CoREs are given funding targets on a graduating basis - (e.g. 1st year 10%, 2nd year 20% etc or by $'s income)
 * Increased number and value of research related income generating activities held at OP such as Conferences and fee for service events

Kpi's

 * increase in external research income (10% year on year?)
 * income from External activites (R&amp;E) increases year on year ( to min 5% in 2014, 10% in 2016 etc)
 * CoREs meet funding targets

= 4. To lead our sector as a socially responsible and sustainable organisation =

We want:

 * To have research and enterprise activities which are socially responsible and sustainable
 * To have research and enterprise activities that develop sustainability capability of staff and students in their discipline (needs rewording!!)_

What will we do to achieve these aspirations?

 * 100% of projects will be vetted by the ethics committee ( i think practically that 100% of the projects which are vetted are judged to be responsible and sustainable?)
 * guidelines for the development of relevant and academically sound projects will be developed using workplace learning methodologies
 * professional development for staff around metacognitive skills
 * a well-resourced support dossier of case studies
 * well-prepapred presentations to industries /workplaces
 * extremely careful supervision of intitial projects and frequent moderation

How will we know we have been successful? (examples)

 * (100% )of projects that are vetted by the ethics committee have been accepted as socially responsible and sustainable
 * how do we measure this?
 * workplaces generate new projects in dialogue

Kpi's
what are relevant Kpi's?