Centres for Science, Engineering

1
Centres for Science, Engineering
Technology Workshop Preparing for a Progress
Site Review
2
CSET Workshop Agenda

• 1000 Introduction
• Timetable for review of CSETs
• Protocols to be used documentation, agenda, etc
• Budget requests for years 3-5
• 1030 Measurement of progress in a CSET
• Performance indicators
• Systems of data collection and monitoring
  progress
• Describing and documenting progress
• 1130 Break
• 1145 Discussion of site visit agenda and SFI
  Expectations
• Infrastructure and community
• Governance and management
• Research Progress
• Industrial Partnerships and knowledge transfer
• Education and outreach activities
• 1230 How to prepare for and present information
  during the review

3
CSET Workshop Workshop Timetable

• 29 July CSET Workshop Preparing for Progress
  Site Reviews
• Chair Dr David Schindel
• October CSET Workshop Engaging with Industrial
  Partners
• November CSET Workshop Education Outreach
• ?? CSET Workshop Formal Feedback from CSETs to
  SFI

4
CSET WorkshopCSET Definition Reminder

• Centre of scientific/engineering excellence
• Whole is greater than sum of the parts
• Competitive on a worldwide basis
• potential to be the best in the world
• no catch-up or me-too research
• edge
• Value to Ireland
• As demonstrated by truly viable research
  partnerships with industry in Ireland, etc
• Truly national centre
• Appropriate optimization of talent in small
  country

5
Performance Indicators

• Historic focus on outcomes and impacts
• Centers are more complex, longer-term
• In-process versus end-of-pipeline indicators
• Qualitative (categorical local, regional,
  global) versus quantitative (bean-counting
  number of licenses sold)
• Objective (tangible journal impact factor)
  versus subjective (observational, expert opinion
  site visit reports, survey responses)

6
A proposed vocabulary of performance indicators
(1 of 2)

• Early, mostly qualitative, subjective indicators
• Plans are not performance all funded CSETs had
  good proposals and plans
• Vision/Milestones/Goals Where are you going?
• Policies, cultural norms How will you behave to
  get there?
• Administrative structures and practices How will
  things be arranged and conducted?
• Inputs What ingredients will you assemble?
  (Funds, positions, facilities, instruments,
  agreements, partnerships)
• Activities What new things will happen?

7
A proposed vocabulary of performance indicators
(2 of 2)

• Later, mostly quantitative, objective indicators
• Outputs What new things appeared from your
  activities? (research results, graduates,
  software, devices, instructional material)
• Outcomes What did you do with the outputs that
  others could see? (publications in ranked
  journals, patents, graduates get hired, new
  courses and curricula)
• Impacts What happened when others learned of
  your outcomes? (licensing arrangements,
  royalties, employer satisfaction, citations,
  adoption of curricula)

8
CSET Developmental Indicators (1 of 2)
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CSET Developmental Indicators (2 of 2)
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Policies, cultural norms

• Objective qualitative indicators What is in
  place?
• Irish industry and taxpayers as stakeholders
• International searches for researchers, students
• Multi-investigator projects
• Graduate supervision by committee
• Interdisciplinary/intersectoral doctoral training
• Seminars, conferences and student training will
  involve multiple labs and industry
• Internal funding is dynamic
• Emerging ideas welcome from internal and external
  sources

11
Inputs Infrastructure and community

• Objective, mostly qualitative indicators
  Performance relative to original plans and budget
• People recruited, how and from where?
• Funding obtained from host, partners, other
  sources
• Facilities provided, renovated, constructed
• Equipment acquired, installed and put online
• Partners, their commitments, their investments to
  date

12
Governance and management

• Objective qualitative indicators Were these
  formed, were they used, did they have influence?
• Executive Committee for daily operations
• Oversight Board of stakeholders
• External advisory bodies
• Center manager, coordinators/programs for
  education/outreach and industrial coordination
• IP Agreement, system of conflict resolution
• Systems for internal monitoring, self-assessment
• Systems for allocation/reallocation of resources

13
Research Progress

• Primarily objective, qualitative outputs
• Some quantitative outcomes after two years
• Findings, devices, software, proofs-of-concept
• Some early publications and presentations
  (quantify journal impact, audience scope/size)
• Subjective/qualitative observations
• How innovative, interdisciplinary, intersectoral?
  
• Did the outputs require a centre environment?
• Are the outputs aligned with centres vision?

14
Industrial Partnerships and Knowledge Transfer

• Primarily activities after two years
• Who worked where? Who rotated where?
• Project involvement (objective, quantitative)
• New partnerships created (objective,
  quantitative)
• Early indications of partner satisfaction
  (qualitative, subjective)
• Effectiveness of IP Agreement

15
Education and outreach activities

• Primarily activities, some outputs after 2 years
• Are the activities new and require a centre
  environment?
• Structures and policies for undergraduate and
  postgraduate education (objective, qualitative)
• Degree programs, courses, advisory systems,
  graduation requirements, seminar series, systems
  of joint supervision, rotation
• Pre-college activities
• Innovative outreach to public

16
Preparing for Second Year CSET Review
17
Common Pitfalls

• Weak leadership and retreat into non-centre
  behavior (collection of projects)
• Lack of serious attention to industrial and
  education impact
• Failure to respond to concerns in original site
  visit report
• Too much focus on future plans, too little on
  results
• Mission creep Vision expands too much
• Stagnation Vision doesnt expand, reflecting
  failure to consider external advice
• No systems of monitoring, self-assessment
• Unwillingness to shift resources in response to
  lack of progress or new opportunities
• Conflation of centre results and associated but
  non-centre projects

18
ExpectationsCentre Additionality Coherence

• Is the centre more than the sum of its parts?
• Multiple PIs working together on common
  projects
• Industry partners fully part of the CSET team
• PIs on other campuses (outside the host research
  institute) fully part of the CSET team
• PhD students aware of and interacting with
  centre activities and researchers outside their
  direct project
• Cohesion-building activities, e.g. CSET seminar
  series, taught graduate programmes, etc.
• Funding diversification leveraging

19
ExpectationsOperational Progress

• During the crucial ramp-up phase of the CSET
  are the operational plans of the centre
  progressing as planned?
• Recruitment should be on track and close to
  steady state
• There should be no significant gaps in expertise
  to carry out research program
• Major equipment items largely in place
• Significant cohort of graduate students in
  place
• Budget is largely on spend
• Base established for long term sustainability of
  CSET (HR, diversification of funding, etc)

20
Expectations Effective Management Governance

• Are all the structures and processes in place for
  optimal operations and oversight of the CSET?
• Administrative structures in place
• Input from Advisory Panels
• Oversight Board in place
• Working mechanisms for IP capture and
  exploitation
• Supportive host institution(s) adequate space,
  facilities, HR, etc

21
ExpectationsResearch Progress

• Is excellent science being done?
• Research programs progressing to plan? Milestones
  being met? Opportunities taken advantage of?
• Papers published
• Invited talks at significant international
  conferences in the field
• Conferences/ workshops hosted
• CSET visibility and status internationally
• Recognition by standards bodies
• Funding diversification leveraging

22
ExpectationsRealising strategic impact

• Is the centre making an industrial / societal
  impact on Ireland?
• Industry partner researchers based at CSET
  working on CSET programs
• Industry interactions feeding into and shaping
  research strand projects
• Working IP agreement patent applications and
  awards, etc
• Industry Partners satisfied with partnership
• Commercial data supplied by partners informing /
  strengthening research
• Industry partners expanding their research
  activities in Ireland
• Engagement with the IDA EI on seeking new
  industrial partners
• EI commercialization or partnership awards
• Diversification of funding and leveraging

23
ExpectationsLeveraging activities for Outreach

• Is the CSET taking advantage of its expertise and
  scale to engage in education and outreach
  activities with the Irish Public?
• Relationships developed with primary and
  secondary schools (interactions, resources, etc)
• Effective engagement with media Visibility and
  brand awareness
• Website and other resources communicating CSET
  activities to the public, students, politicians,
  etc.
• Imaginative activities

24
Progress Site Review - Documentation

• Site Visit Presentation slides
• Summary of CSET vision research strands
• Progress so far by research strand (highlights of
  annual reports)
• Proposed work programme for years 3-5 by research
  strand
• Industry partner interactions new potential
  partners knowledge transfer
• Education Outreach
• Governance Management
• Budget (original, actual and projected),
  Infrastructure, Ramp up
• Summary Data (Staff list students papers
  prizes patents etc)
• Supplementary Budget Request Years 3-5
• 10 page research programme rationale budget
• APPENDICES
• Most recent Annual Report
• Original proposal
• Original site visit report

25
Site Visit format and process

• dynamic review agenda adapt to panels
  requirements / priorities for information in real
  time
• panel fully aware of all information documents
  avoid extensive repetition
• Sessions mainly discussion (QA) Small number of
  slides per presentation
• Conference table format (U-shaped or similar)
  dialogue rather than lecture
• some sessions will be 'principals only'
• proprietary/sensitive industry partner info
  should not be presented
• Lunch with students buffet lunch (not
  elaborate)/ poster session

26
Year 3-5 Additional Budget Requests

• PREREQUISITES
• Research progress
• Budget management current budget on-spend, etc
• Funding landscape SFI portfolio, budget
  constraints, etc
• Industry cost share
• POINTERS
• Original site visit recommendation
• Outstanding new opportunities (particularly with
  industry partners)
• Leveraged funds
• ISSUES TO CONSIDER
• Appropriate management of industry expectations
• SFI PO Director views of expansion
• That the burden of proof will be high