“Smart” Partnerships: Challenges, Best Practices, and Opportunities

1. “Smart” Partnerships:Challenges, Best Practices, and Opportunities Presented by Cathy S. Fore, Director HBCU/MEI Partnership Development Oak Ridge Associated Universities ASME Pre-College TEEM-UP Workshop March 5, 2004

2. Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) Is . . . . . . a university consortium focused on advancing scientific research and education through partnerships ORAU Member Institutions . . . a partner with UT-Battelle helping expand university partnerships with Oak Ridge National Laboratory . . . and a DOE contractor managing the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education

3. ORAU HBCU/MEI Council Serves as a Catalyst for “Smart” Partnership Initiatives • Mission • Cultivate long-term, mutually beneficial strategic partnerships that result in collaborative research, educational, and economic ventures • Ensure that all HBCUs/MEIs are fully represented in federal research and science education programs. ORAU HBCU/MEI Council • Alabama A&M University • Clark Atlanta University • Fisk University • Florida International University • Howard University • Jackson State University • Johnson C. Smith University • Meharry Medical College • Morehouse College • New Mexico State University • North Carolina A&T State University • Tennessee State University • Tuskegee University • University of Miami • University of New Mexico • University of Puerto Rico • Virginia State University

4. Preparing Science and Engineering Leaders for the Future • Managing scholarship, fellowship, internship, and research participation programs • Process 10,000 applications each year • 3,900 participants from 700 colleges and universities • $63 million in payments to participants • Recruiting a diverse group of participants • Women represent 49.4% of undergraduate students and 53.4% of graduate students • 27% of undergraduates are from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups • 82 minority-serving institutions represented • Using Web-based electronic applications • Facilitating Interagency Cooperation

5. National Laboratories, Federal Research Centers, and Academic Institutions Support Appointments Program Sponsors Include: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Centers for Disease Control Department of Commerce Department of Defense Department of Energy Department of Homeland Security Environmental Protection Agency Federal Bureau of Investigation Food and Drug Administration National Library of Medicine National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Science Foundation Nuclear Regulatory Commission More than 200 Federal Research Centers See Value in Our Science Education Mechanisms

6. We Set Challenging Goals for Minority Representation in Science and Engineering Education Programs Minority Representation Greatly Exceeds that of Target Populations

7. “Smart” Partnership FrameworkGoal Create a collaboratory infrastructure that will effectively support a diverse science, technology, engineering, and mathematics trained workforce for the nation and provide opportunities for advanced R&D and commercialization “Collaborate to Innovate”

8. “Smart” Partnership Framework “Collaboratories: Working Together Apart” William Wulf National Science Foundation

9. Recipe for a “Smart” Partnership Mutually beneficial Have the “right” partners Common objectives Measurable results Sustainable Understanding the “rules” Model for others Creates opportunities Benefits all stakeholders Requires work “It’s a contact sport”

10. Strategy for “Smart” Partnerships

12. Tri-Lateral Alliance 2004-2006 Strategic Plan “Working Together, the Possibilities are Infinite!” U.S. Department of Defense Arnold Engineering Development Center U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Operations National Nuclear Security Administration Y-12 Site Office National Aeronautics and Space Administration Marshall Space Flight Center

13. Education Initiative

14. Workforce Aging Management Initiative University Partners

15. Workforce Aging Management Initiative Community College Partners

16. Workforce Aging Management Initiative Technology Center Partners

17. Proposed Strategic RoadmapCollaboration Targets • Inward-focused collaborations • Address specific skill sets • Leverage mutual interests and needs • Team with businesses, community colleges, and technology centers in the region • Outward-focused collaborations • Engage Tennessee Valley Corridor universities, community colleges and technology centers as partners • Develop new “pathways” to support scholarships/fellowships • Focus on specific common education and training initiatives

18. Opportunities and Outcomes

19. SYNTHESIS

20. SYNTHESIS (cont’d.)

21. Objective: Create a Seamless Pool of Qualified Workers • Goal 1: Translate skills and employment needs to education community • Goal 2: Establish systemic education reform partnerships that strengthen the workforce pipeline • Goal 3: Demonstrate effective use of STEM professionals as mentors and coaches • Goal 4: Increase involvement of students and educators in mission activities

22. “Smart” Partnership FrameworkStrategic Objectives • Leverage the intellectual assets • Integrate/bridge business and technology curricula • Increase the pipeline of minority students • Compete successfully for science and technology funding opportunities • Foster an entrepreneurial environment • Influence policy changes • Develop a best practices framework

23. “Smart” Partnership FrameworkChallenges • Physical infrastructure for R&D • Administrative structure • Institutional focus • Overcommitted faculty and staff • Corporate culture differences • Compliance and experience submitting winning proposals • Lack of value-added relationships • Historical traditions • Capabilities awareness • Domino effect of HBCU/MEI past experiences • Entrepreneurial skills and business partnerships • Lack of political constituency needed to support national policy change

24. “Smart” Partnership FrameworkCurrent Practices and Opportunities • Strategic planning – vision for growth • Staying current on federal agencies technology thrust areas • Pursuing new opportunities that crosscut departments and disciplines • Integrate business and technology curricula • Build research bridges → Centers of Excellence • Building long-term partnerships with the private sector • Promote technological growth and business development • Enhance competitiveness in the global marketplace • Graduate students with critical skills

25. Best Practices • Create research projects that focus on emerging trends in technology or address societal needs • Seek out partnerships/alliances based on a shared vision and mutually beneficial opportunities • Assemble a strong, multidisciplinary team • Offset the decline in revenue sources through complementary R&D • Invest in appropriate technology • Engage in alliances that leverage the institution’s core competencies

26. Best Practices (cont’d.) • Focus on strategies that facilitate rapid transfer of research, knowledge, and technology – laboratory ↔ market • Establish programs that integrate the institution and the community with Corporate America, government research laboratories, and industry technologies • Promote excellence in research through innovation & creativity & through interdisciplinary communication, cooperation & collaboration

27. Who’s Responsible? We All Are!

28. Shared Benefits of Smart Partnerships “Need to take a systems integration approach in preparing tomorrow’s workforce.”

29. Mutually Beneficial Opportunities Stakeholders Key Benefits Students Scholarships/fellowships, research appointments, real-world experience, mentor relationships Collaborative R&D, recognition, peer relationships Enhanced curriculum, recognition, capacity building, student/faculty entrepreneurship opportunities Faculty Institutions

30. Mutually Beneficial Opportunities Stakeholders Key Benefits Influence curricula, expanded technology base, job-ready diverse talent, recognition, collaborative R&D, leveraging of resources, cost efficiencies Recognition, job-ready diverse talent, strategic technology transfer, leveraging of resources, improved ability to meet stated missions, increased confidence in technology investments Economic growth, recognition, expanded pipeline and through-put Industry Government Society