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

这项建议的学术价值是对工业/大学合作研究中心(IUCRC)计划提供严格和结构化的监测和评估，以便更好地向IUCRC社区提供知识和最佳实践，以提高该计划在实现其目标方面的有效性和成功潜力。IUCRC计划的主要目标包括：通过在产业界、学术界和政府之间建立长期合作伙伴关系，为国家的研究企业做出贡献；利用NSF与产业界的资金，支持研究生进行与产业相关的竞争前研究；通过产业界和大学之间的合作伙伴关系，扩大我国具有竞争力的劳动力的创新能力；并通过与世界各地的学术界和产业界领袖的积极接触，鼓励国家的研究企业保持竞争力。这笔赠款将支持一项计划，该计划将寻求向IUCRC计划奖的获得者以及参与IUCRC活动的更广泛的工业社区提供对IUCRC计划有效性的关键、及时和持续的评估。在推动获得资助的IUCRC中心提高有效性的催化剂方面获得的洞察力和知识将对向IUCRC社区和NSF提供信息至关重要。这些知识将能够创建和维持一个充满活力和强大的计划，同时也为NSF提供关键的见解，以更好地支持一个庞大、丰富和高度异质的中心生态系统组。通过拟议的评价和评估活动获得的见解和知识将有助于确保IUCRC方案的愿景和使命得到很好的支持和进一步加强。该项目的更广泛影响将是加强IUCRC方案及其通过有效的产学研合作提供创新以满足社会需求的能力。有效和有力的计划评估和监测将有助于加快强大中心的可持续性，以实现NSF为IUCRC中心公布的目标。这一评估计划对于确保公共资金有效地用于维护最高水平的IUCRC中心网络至关重要，同时也是通过大学合作将竞争前的研究和开发活动转化为工业用途的变革性工具。从长远来看，这将确保IUCRC方案继续保持强劲、有效增长，并产生可持续的长期商业和社会影响。

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.