Speaker: Sarah Marina, Tufts University Office of Research Development

Topic: Evaluating Research Development

Location: Hunt Library, Room 4106

This free event is hosted by the Proposal Development Unit in the Office of Research, Innovation and Economic Development. Registration is not required. 

The question of how to evaluate the success of a research development practitioner is being asked with increasing frequency, as this is a new and growing field. Commonly used quantitative metrics (such as “success” rates) fail to provide meaningful information about the true impact of our work, given its complexity and the realities of dropping funding rates. Many of us have the opportunity to chart the course of how we will be evaluated at our institutions, but the question remains: What measures of success should we use, and how should we evaluate them?

This session will describe several evidence-based tools for use in internal evaluation and illustrate selected approaches with examples from actual evaluations of the Offices of Research Administration and Research Development at Tufts University. In particular, this session will highlight the utility of using satisfaction as the key metric in assessing the success of a research development office. Practical tips for developing an evaluation of your own Research Development efforts, and detail the process of developing, designing, implementing, and assessing the results of a satisfaction survey will be offered.

If you have any questions about the event, please contact Melanie Clark (mrclark4@ncsu.edu) or Matt Hooker (mwhooker@ncsu.edu) in the Proposal Development Unit.