Recommendations

The central goal of the Strategic Research Intensity Plan is to increase Memorial’s scholarly dissemination by its faculty members in forms appropriate to the discipline by 100 per cent by Dec. 31, 2020. A closely associated goal is to increase Memorial’s master and doctoral graduates by 100 per cent over the same period.

The plan identifies 12 recommendations to support this target.

The plan includes a number of recommendations aimed at providing a comprehensive environment for supporting faculty, including faculty member career support, research seed, bridge and multidisciplinary funding, improved research grant and contract facilitation and the allocation and/or creation of research chairs in all faculties, schools and campuses. The plan also calls for advocacy in favour of new provincial research funds in the health sciences and the arts, humanities and social sciences.

To better promote and support research opportunities for students, the plan recommends improved research-based graduate student support, undergraduate research incentive funding and the establishment of research-based master and doctoral programs at every school, faculty and campus. The recommendations related to student support will complement the university’s Strategic Enrolment Plan currently under development.

Access to appropriate quality teaching, laboratories and office space is presently a substantial barrier to the expansion of research programs. The university is currently developing the Strategic Infrastructure Plan, which will identify the space and infrastructure needed to support all academic priorities, including enhanced research intensity. This plan will provide clarity on priorities and timelines of individual projects, facilitate planning in all units and emphasize quality project management.

In order to ensure that the recommendations of the Strategic Research Intensity Plan are implemented, the university will identify suitable metrics and implement formal metric-tracking processes. This will include a university-wide process for creating an annual inventory of the scholarly dissemination of its faculty members.