Research in Residence: Addressing Community Challenges Through University-Government Collaboration

现在比以往任何时候都更需要科学和研究能力来帮助解决社区面临的挑战。从为STEM工作做好准备，到阿片类药物使用的增加，再到新交通方式的影响，社会面临的挑战只会越来越大。然而，当地政府和其他社区组织缺乏能够帮助提供解决方案的研究团队。该项目旨在测试一种名为居住研究（RIR）的新方法，即地方和州政府办公室或机构竞争性地选择最合格的研究团队，以帮助解决社区确定的关键需求。这些小组在参与国政府提供的短期资金支持下，与其政府伙伴合作开展初步研究活动。学术-政府伙伴还确定长期研究目标和问题、活动时间表、成本，并制定通过当地或其他支持为确定的活动获得全额资金的途径。三个主要障碍阻碍了社区研究：1）社区需求与学术界的有效匹配; 2）非结构化的参与实践; 3）支持研究活动的复杂性。目前，政府工作人员没有找到可以协助他们的研究人员的精简机制，相反，研究人员也没有找到市政当局内可以与之接触的合适方。如果匹配确实发生，缺乏结构化的参与模式会降低成功结果的可能性。这些困难导致政府实体要么依赖自愿的学术研究，要么将确保资金的负担推给大学。该项目将利用一种新的方法将研究人员与社区联系起来，为获得人员和资源以满足紧迫社区需求的研究人员，从有影响力的研究解决方案中受益的社区以及从一系列良好发展中受益的资助实体释放潜在利益，使用─该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响进行评估来支持审查标准。

The need for scientific and research capabilities to help address challenges facing communities has never been greater. From preparing workers for STEM jobs, to growing opioid usage, to the impact of new modes of transportation, the challenges facing society are only growing. Yet local government and other community organizations lack access to research teams who can help inform solutions. This project aims to test a novel methodology called Research in Residence (RIR), whereby local and state government offices or agencies competitively select the most qualified research teams to help address critical community-identified needs. These teams, supported with short-term funding provided by the participating government, work collaboratively with their government partner to carry out initial research activities. The academic-government partners additionally define longer-term research objectives and questions, schedule of activities, cost, and develop a path to securing full-funding for the identified activities through local or other support. Three primary barriers inhibit research with communities: 1) ineffective matching of community needs with academia; 2) unstructured engagement practices; and 3) complexity of supporting the research activities. Currently, there is no streamlined mechanism for government staff to locate researchers who can assist them and conversely for researchers to identify the right party within municipalities with whom to engage. If a match does occur, the lack of a structured engagement model reduces the likelihood of successful outcomes. These difficulties have led government entities to either rely on voluntary academic research or to push the burden of securing funding to universities. This project will utilize a new approach for linking researchers with communities, unlocking potential benefits to researchers who gain access to personnel and resources to address pressing community needs, communities who benefit from impactful research-based solutions, and funding entities who benefit from a set of well-developed, use-inspired research ideas.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.