Strategic Plan 2023–2025

Measuring Success: Objective 2 Advancing Knowledge through Research Entrepreneurship, and Creative Endeavors

researcher working

On this page:

Objective 2: Advancing Knowledge through Research Entrepreneurship, and Creative Endeavors

Sustaining and sharing excellence in faculty research and creative activity enhances institutional reputation, drives innovation and progress across the region, state, and nation, and produces graduates prepared to drive progress in their chosen professions.

 

Strategy 1: Develop research, scholarship, creative activities, and strategic collaborations that actively engage undergraduate and graduate students.

october 1, 2024 updates:
  • Hanover Research provided four, two-hour Grantsmanship Training webinars in September and October 2024, which will be available for viewing on the Research and Sponsored Programs website. A total of 14 proposals have completed Hanover review with another two currently in the review process.
July 1, 2024 updates:
  • Wright State launched a Faculty Fellows Program where the selected Fellow will assist with the enhancement of the institution's research enterprise. The first fellow was selected and will serve from August 2024 through May 2025 with the opportunity to apply for a second year of service.
April 1, 2024 updates:
  • The University developed three new awards – Excellence in Grantsmanship, Public Impact Award and Outstanding Scholarly and Creative Activities Award. These awards will increase visibility to help encourage more undergraduate and graduate student involvement in research and scholarly activities. 
October 1, 2023 updates:
  • Research and Sponsored Programs partnered with Hanover Research to provide research development, grant writing, and strategic advising support. The engagement will include review and editing of proposals and grantsmanship training.
July 1, 2023 updates:
  • A research incentive policy to incentivize faculty who budget academic year salary on grants was approved and will be effective FY24. The salary savings will be distributed among the faculty, chair, dean and centrally and can be used to promote research related activities.
  • F&A returns for all of FY23 have been processed based on the new F&A reallocation policy which allows investigators on funded projects that include indirect costs to receive a research incentive distribution.  To enhance research and sponsored projects productivity, recovered F&A costs are distributed among the PI, their home department their home college to support and incentivize research efforts.
  • Research and Sponsored Programs developed a course buyout policy, effective FY24, to establish uniformity in the practice across the University. This policy allows faculty with approved requests to buy out a portion of their contracted workload effort from funded grants to allow more time to engage in research, service, or creative activities.
April 1, 2023 updates:
  • The F & A Reallocation Policy has been developed and implementation is in progress.
  • A seed grant program is in the development stages to promote interdisciplinary research across academic units.
     

 Strategy 2: Invigorate knowledge transfer, instrumentalization, and commercialization

October 1, 2023 updates:
  • The university launched the Watermark Faculty Success module, open to early adopters in September 2023 with a campus-wide participation requirements beginning November 2023. Both faculty-reported and institutionally-reported data will be collected within this system and will lead to efficient reporting of scholarly expertise with the goal of invigorating knowledge transfer, instrumentalization, and commercialization.
  • The Office of Technology Transfer is offering monthly "Ask the Expert" office hours with the university's technology transfer consultant and will feature her presentation at the Celebration of Undergraduate and Graduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities in October 2023.
July 1, 2023 updates:
  • To increase the visibility of Wright State University’s scholarship, the University has begun implementation of a software system to collect this data, expected to launch in Fall 2023. With access to robust and accurate data, scholarly-focused media and other highlights will be easily collected and utilized.


Strategy 3: Expand opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to engage in interdisciplinary research and creative activities with government and private sector partners

october 1, 2024 updates:
  • Wright State executed an agreement with Azimuth Corporation, Prime Sponsor AFRL/RX Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, for a satellite laboratory in the Neuroscience and Engineering Collaborative Building (NEC).
  • WSU signed an agreement with Ball Aerospace,Prime Sponsor AFRL 711th, to allow lab space renovations in the NEC to facilitate work in clinical trials. 
  • Wright State and AFRL executed a blanket purchase agreement facilitating purchases of supplies for work in the Neuroscience and Engineering Collaborative building.
July 1, 2024 updates:
  • In partnership with Air Force Research Laboraties (AFRL), Wright State received a sixth grant award related to Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) projects.
  • WSU fully executed a 5-year Education Partnership Agreement with AFRL, 711th Human Performance Wing (HPW) with the objective to aid in the educational experience of Wright State University’s students by providing a mechanism by which those students can benefit from HPW's staff expertise, unique facilities, and technology.
  • WSU executed an agreement with Azimuth Corporation to allow the AFRL/RX technical directorate to make updates to laboratory space in the euroscience and Engineering Collaborative Building.
April 1, 2024 updates:
  • Wright State executed facility license with BAE Systems (formerly Ball Aerospace) to allow the Airforce Research Laboratories (AFRL) Human Effectiveness Directorate access to Neuroscience and Engineering Collaborative Building space for research related activities. A similar arrangement is in progress with AFRL Materials and Manufacturing Directorate.
April 1, 2023 updates:
  • Organizing is underway for the Celebration of Research on October 26, 2023 to bring together researchers across all colleges. The Research Celebration Committee was formed with a representative from each college and has held their first two meetings discussing new ideas for the event.  A “Save the Date” flier and posters will be go out soon.  A brochure is in development in collaboration with WSU Foundation to help generate donors/sponsors for this event with a goal of $18-20K.
     
  • RSP has held or is planning the following trainings and workshops to promote faculty development in the areas of Pre-Award:
    • (1) Pre-Award Training – to help with understanding the proposal process and budgeting
    • (2) Grant Forward Training to help identify funding opportunities
    • (3) Sponsored Projects Cayuse Training – to help researchers submit proposals through the system.
       
  • Post-Award:
    • (1) Effort Reporting Training to ensure compliance with salaries and wages are charged properly to each sponsored agreement and are reasonable in relation to the work performed.
       
  • Compliance – IRB: workshops to help train our investigators performing human subjects research
    • (1) Seeing Through the Fog:  Navigating the IRB Submission Process
    • (2) Shades of Gray:  Why & When is IRB Approval Required,
    • (3) Crimes of the Past:  The Changing Landscape of Human Subjects Research,
    • (4)Your Secret is Safe with Me:  HIPPA Research Considerations,
    • (5) Informed Consent:  Let me Count the Ways,
    • (6) Seeing Through the Fog:  Navigating the IRB Submission Process – Intro to Cayuse Human Ethics!  
       
  • Compliance – IACUC: training to ensure compliance with policies and procedures related to animal subjects research
    • (1) Animal Oversight training for new Cayuse module.
       
  • Compliance – RECR: Several workshops are being offered in April 2023 for Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research in RSP namely,
    • (1) General RECR Introduction, Misconduct and Mentor/Mentee Relations
    • (2) Data and Publication Practices
    • (3) Conflicts, Export Control, Collaboration
    • (4) Publication Practices, Responsible Member of Society, Safe Environment
       
  • WSU is working on a Defense related Quantum Computing conference scheduled for October 11-12 2023 at the Dayton Campus.
  • WSU is working closely with AFRL to get four new contracts for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) related research projects and have received five awards to date.
     


KEY METRIC: file signature Number of Proposals Funded

Wright State’s ability to generate ideas that will advance knowledge and progress is critical to our role as research institution.

The number of funded proposals annually provides a measure of our influence and contribution to ideas and initiatives that shape our society. 

Data definition: Number of unique proposals receiving funding within the fiscal year.

Number of Proposals Funded Data
Key Metric FY 2022 FY 2023 FY 2024
Number of proposals funded 326 274 270

Back to dashboard
 


Key Metric: hand holding Research Expenditures

As an R2 Doctoral University, research activity by Wright State faculty drives critical progress regionally, nationally, and globally, and provides high-impact opportunities for student learning and discovery.

Research expenditures represent the actual value of resources designated to our research and sponsored activity and generate revenue to sustain our scholarly enterprise.

Data definition: Actual amount spent on research or other sponsored activity over the fiscal year. NSF HERD Survey.

Research Expenditures Data
Key Metric FY 2022 FY 2023 FY 2024
Research Expenditures $27,440,000 $26,189,000 $22,038,000 (estimated)

Back to dashboard
 


Key Metric: award Research Awards

As an R2 Doctoral University, research activity by Wright State faculty drives critical progress regionally, nationally, and globally, and provides high-impact opportunities for student learning and discovery.

Research awards reflect the value and confidence external sponsors place on Wright State faculty’s ability to create and further knowledge.

Data definition: Amount authorized to be spent on research or other sponsored activity over the fiscal year.

Research Awards Data
Key Metric FY 2022 FY 2023 FY 2024
Research Awards $57,306,063 $53,645,511 $65,724,462

Back to dashboard