Research Strategic Plan

Vision, mission and values of UWF Research Administration & Engagement.

Mission

UWF Research creates knowledge and develops solutions that drive societal and cultural impact, positioning the University as a leading research institution. We will accomplish this research mission by cultivating an environment that fosters innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration and delivering research products that address real-world challenges and respond to community needs.

Core Values

Excellence	Achieve global standards in research products and outcomes. Lead the research community in the research priority areas of UWF.
Impact	Develop research programs that yield sustainable, long-term benefits for society and the global research community.
Collaboration	Work together across disciplines to drive innovation, inspire creativity, enhance research experience, and make transformational impacts.
Investment	Increase external research grant revenues through marketable research products. Grow philanthropic and industry partnership research income with pioneering research initiatives.
Integrity	Commit to honesty, transparency, and compliance in research administration. Ensure integrity, trust, and respet in all aspects of research conduct.

Strategic Priorities

People are UWF’s most important asset. We will empower our researchers with the tools and support they need to conduct world-class research and attract top talent to expand our research capability and capacity.

1.1	Grow research capabilities through attracting talent at all levels.
1.2	Retain top faculty and research staff to provide leadership in accomplishing our research mission.
1.3	Develop doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate students into top researchers of the next generation.
1.4	Provide exemplary student research experience through degree programs.
1.5	Create mentorship and research training programs in project development and grantsmanship to enhance research competitiveness.
1.6	Increase external research income expenditures through grant and commercialization activities.
1.7	Create mechanisms to identify and support the nomination of UWF scholars for external research honors and awards.

Researchers must feel confident in conducting impactful research and know that they have the support of the UWF administration. We will modernize our research operations and reduce barriers in our systems and processes to support researchers and their research programs.

2.1	Develop research infrastructure and research facilities to support large-scale teams and projects.
2.2	Improve the quality and capacity of research support and administration across campus.
2.3	Modernize proposal submission and project management by implementing and integrating electronic research administration (eRA) systems.
2.4	Enhance the Office of Research Administration and Engagement (RAE) as an enabler of research capability and agenda.
2.5	Build computational platforms, data centers, and AI tools to support research efforts and facilitate scientific discoveries.
2.6	Develop and implement strategies to achieve operational excellence.

UWF's research is about transformational impact. This is accomplished through organized collaborations with deliberate objectives and measurable outcomes. Our research products will advance our position as a research institution and drive economic development.

3.1	Identify research fields of significance to advance fundamental knowledge and develop solutions for real-world problems.
3.2	Support national and international research initiatives that address technological and societal challenges.
3.3	Increase the size and scale of partnerships and collaborations.
3.4	Broaden collaborations with industry and national security sector.
3.5	Promote disclosures of intellectual properties (IP) produced from research.
3.6	Streamline IP and licensing processes of UWF's research products.
3.7	Foster partnerships for entrepreneurship and commercialization of UWF's research products.
3.8	Document specific and quantitative evidence of UWF's research impact.

UWF is part of and cares about the community of the Northwest Florida Region. We are committed to leveraging our research efforts to support the needs and workforce of our community, the innovations of regional industries, and the strategic missions of the military presence.

4.1	Protect the natural environment in our region for sustainable growth.
4.2	Address the innovation needs of our community for economic development.
4.3	Advance the research and development for defense and cybersecurity missions.
4.4	Provide formal and reskilling educational programs to develop the workforce empowering our community.
4.5	Engage in projects that lead to good lives, high-paying jobs, and exceptional care.
4.6	Develop new fields of research that bring together researchers across disciplines, communities, industries, and society.

Priority	Indicators
Invest in our Researchers	Increased hires of faculty, research staff, and students who participate in research development. Evidence of strategic appointments in identified research priority areas. Developed training programs to support researchers in pursuing extramural grant opportunities. Increased number and significance of the research honors received by UWF researchers. Increased number of graduate students participated in thesis/dissertation work and externally funded research. Improved quality of grant proposals submitted to funding agencies. • Increased percentage of funded proposals. Increased income generated by research products and philanthropic gifts supporting research.
Enhance our Research Environment	Improved equipment and capabilities within UWF’s common research space. Improved informatics to augment collaborations, explore funding opportunities, and identify research partners. Increased availability and efficiency of use of research space. Employment of laboratory technicians and specialists in support of research activities, instrumental analysis, and equipment maintenance. Documented time saved and efficiency improved upon implementing new eRA systems. Reallocation of staff time & efforts of research administration to high-impact research administration activities. Improved processes and procedures of research integrity and compliance reviews. Increased investments in computational facilities that support research, innovation, and big data analysis. Expanded multidisciplinary seed support programs that inspire innovations leading to extramural funding.
Collaborate for Impact	Identified research priority areas that brand UWF’s research enterprise. Formation of research clusters of significance. Increased number of funded projects and the awarded dollar amount for fundamental and applied research that address real-world problems. Participation in national and international research initiatives of significant impact. Increased number of projects funded by the military and national security sectors. Increased number of external collaborations formed with national laboratories, non-governmental organizations, industry, and other leaders. Increased number of intellectual property disclosures and awarded patents. Increased percentage of publications produced through institutional collaborations. • Improved citation metrics of publications in the peer-reviewed literature.
Strengthen our Community	Increased number of environmental analyses provided to, and projects funded by, the State of Florida and private sponsors. Increased frequencies of technical assistance provided to regional businesses and industries. Increased number and dollar amount of funded projects devoted to enhancing cybersecurity and defense objectives. Addition of workforce development courses and an increased number of students trained in the courses. Increased number of research and scholarly products created for enhancing community health and quality of living. Formed new partnerships to improve processes and engagement with the community and industry. Increased impact of UWF research products on regional, statewide, and national economic development. Improved portfolio in research-related commercialization and entrepreneurial activities in the State of Florida.

Performance Indicators and Mapping to UWF & SUS 30 Strategic Plans

	UWF 2022-2027 Strategic Plan	SUS 30 Strategic Plan
Priority #1	SD 1.1, 2.1	SP #4
Priority #2	SD 5.1, 5.2, 6.1, 6.3	SP #3
Priority #3	SD 3.1, 3.2	SP #5
Priority #4	SD 4.1, 4.2	SP #5

SUS SP#1: One SUS

SUS SP#2: Elevating Student Success

SUS SP#3: Operational Excellence

SUS SP#4: World-Class Talent

SUS SP#5: Innovative Research & Economic Development