Evaluation and Assessment Program for the Industry University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) Program

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The intellectual merit of this proposal is to provide rigorous and structured monitoring and evaluation of the Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRC) program to better inform the IUCRC Community with knowledge and best practices that will enhance the effectiveness and success potential for the program in achieving its goals. Key goals of the IUCRC program include the following: Contributing to the nation's research enterprise by developing long-term partnerships among industry, academe, and government; Leveraging NSF funds with industry to support graduate students performing industrially relevant pre-competitive research; Expanding the innovation capacity of our nation's competitive workforce through partnerships between industries and universities; and Encouraging the nation's research enterprise to remain competitive through active engagement with academic and industrial leaders throughout the world. This grant will support a program that will seek to provide critical, timely and ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of the IUCRC program to the recipients of IUCRC Program awards as well as the broader industrial community engaged in the IUCRC activities. The insight and knowledge gained on the catalysts that drive enhanced effectiveness of funded IUCRC centers will be critical in informing the IUCRC community and the NSF. This knowledge will enable the creation and sustenance of a vibrant and robust program, while also providing critical insights to NSF to better support a vast, rich and highly heterogeneous group of center ecosystems. The insights and knowledge gained through the proposed evaluation and assessment activities will help ensure that the vision and mission of the IUCRC program is well supported and further enhanced. The broader impact of this project will be the enhancement of the IUCRC Program and its ability to deliver innovations to address societal needs through effective Industry-University Collaborations. Effective and robust program assessment and monitoring will help accelerate the sustainability of strong centers that can achieve NSF's published goals for the IUCRC centers. This assessment program will be critical in ensuring that public funds are effectively spent on maintaining the highest caliber IUCRC center network, while serving as a transformative vehicle for the translation of pre-competitive research and development activities into industrial use through university collaborations. This will in the long term ensure that the IUCRC program continues to remain robust, grow effectively and have a sustainable long term commercial and societal impact.