ICAST/CFE Workshop Facilitates Five Ways to Support Impactful Convergent Research

A key mechanism to help facilitate inclusivity and motivate crossdisciplinary teaming is embodied by the partnership between the Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnerships and the Center for Faculty Excellence with the Provost’s Office.

This partnership creates open workshops aimed at informing faculty, staff, and students of the mission and goals of each of the multidisciplinary centers and institutes supported by the OVPRP with the goal of helping create convergent teams that can work together to launch new, ambitious proposals for sponsored research opportunities.

On Jan. 25, the Center for Faculty Excellence and the Institute for Community and Society Transformation cohosted a workshop to bring OU researchers from across disciplines together to ideate research topics that impact society’s challenges. Breakout sessions facilitated conversations regarding how ICAST’s personnel and resources could support multidisciplinary research.

Topics:

• Health equity, opportunity, and behavior, facilitated by ICAST associate director Paul Spicer
• Education equity and opportunity, facilitated by ICAST associate directors Diane Horm and Brittany Hott
• Human-technology interaction and the future of work, facilitated by ICAST director Shane Connelly
• Big data, AI, information systems and society, facilitated by Matthew Jensen
• Equitable, sustainable communities and spaces, facilitated by Angela Person and Constance Chapple

Ongoing participation in these breakout categories is welcome. Any OU faculty member interested in learning more or getting involved in shaping the research direction of the identified areas above is encouraged to contact the topic’s facilitator(s). The expectation is that the resulting research teams will generate a one-page summary of their research proposal to then begin seeking extramural funding.

Future OVPRP/CFE events will be posted on the OVPRP event page as they are planned and promoted through the Research Insider newsletter, Provost's Academic Bulletin, and OVPRP social media.