2y2d Fostering Collaboration in the 21st Century Initiative

Collaborative work is the key to understanding and solving society’s most pressing issues. This initiative of the Sustainable Academic Business Plan works to increase and facilitate UW collaborative research, teaching, and learning in order to support broad-based learning and improve our ability as a society to nimbly respond to emerging issues.

Vision

Collaboration in the UW of the 21^st Century is:

• team-based
• supported by multiple models
• incubated in grassroots initiatives
• a key component of excellence
• sustainable

See the visioning document Fostering Collaboration in the 21^st Century for more information.

Near-term Goals

• Create a supportive environment for students and faculty to study, teach, and research across boundaries.
• Improve policies and practices affecting collaboration, such as research centers and joint appointments.
• Develop infrastructure for collaborative work.
• Encourage activity that works on solving society’s major issues, as identified by 2y2d focus groups.
• Develop criteria for initial and continued investment in infrastructure that benefits collaborative education and research.

Accomplishments

• Created Research Centers web site with self-reported profiles of UW centers, including including PI, home department, collaborators, and funding.
• Mapped measures of collaborative activity—including joint appointments, joint courses offered, and types of multiple majors—by school and department, and shared them with the UW campus (see Collaboration Mapping).
• Published Guidelines for Establishing Organized Research Units (Word doc).
• Published the Handbook for Leaders of Organized Research Units (ORUs) or Collaborative Research Teams (Word doc).
• Informed the Office of Research in developing the Complex Proposals Management Group.
• Drafted best practices for joint appointments, which have been reviewed and endorsed by the Board of Deans and Chancellors (BODC).
• Established a working group to make recommendations around collaborative teaching (in partnership with the Teaching & Learning in the 21^st Century Initiative working groups).

Next Steps

• Publish Guidelines and Handbook For New Centers: Establishing a Research Center.
• Vet best practices for joint appointments (endorsed by BODC) with campus communities.
• Draft, vet, and publish best practices and policy for collaborative teaching.
• Provide training for research leaders.
• Examine policies for recognition, P & T for collaborative work.
• Support training in crafting grant proposals, and in international collaboration.

Leadership

Steering Committee and Working Groups