PROVIDENCE – Five Rhode Island-based colleges and universities have collectively received a three-year, $3 million National Science Foundation grant to launch a first-of-its-kind initiative that they hope will build capacity for advancing research being driven at higher education institutions within the Ocean State.
Rhode Island College, Providence College, the Rhode Island School of Design, Roger Williams University in Bristol and Salve Regina University in Newport announced Monday they received the federal grant, which was supported by U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., to launch the Rhode Island Research Administration Collaborative this fall. The partner institutions in a joint statement said they plan to build capacity for advancing research through multiple channels.
Those areas, the colleges and universities explained, include strengthening financial and administrative support for university sponsored-research offices, broadening the pipeline of future professionals, providing professional development to small non-profits, developing projects and research that address statewide needs and facilitating the ability to bring academic research to the market.
RWU will lead the collaborative and will develop framework for technology transfer that will benefit all of the collaborative’s partner institutions. RWU, the institutions said, will also develop grant administration mini courses to help local small nonprofits compete for and administer federal funding.
PC, through the collaborative, will work to enhance interdisciplinary and collaborative research capacity across the collaborative as the college launches its Center for Innovation and Interdisciplinary Studies.
At RIC, the state college will develop a micro-credential program in research administration for undergraduates using the evidence-based model from the Society of Research Administrators International, the institutions say. Through this, the collaborative will build a culturally aligned model to significantly grow Black, Indigenous, and people of color participation in the research administration field, both in Rhode Island and beyond.
The institutions say RISD through this collaborative will test strategies for broadening the research administration field and for supporting emerging researchers to encourage diverse participation across the research ecosystem. Salve, the institutions say, will focus on developing learning community programs that address the unique challenges faced by grant administrators at emerging research institutions.
“This funding … will increase research efforts for important issues to Rhode Islanders, such as developing the blue economy workforce, strengthening coastal resiliency, and innovating technology solutions,” RWU President Ioannis N. Miaoulis said in a statement. “We are looking forward to working with our partners to help make Rhode Island more competitive and drive greater research innovations between private and public entities that address the state’s challenges and meet industry needs.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X at @James_Bessette.
