Transformative Research and Creativity

Transformative Research and Creativity

IUB will engage in high-impact research and creative activity, advance knowledge, and improve the lives of people in Indiana and beyond.

Goal 1 | Accelerate Translational Research and Creative Activity

Goal 2 | Enhance Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Goal 3 | Strengthen Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Across the Research Enterprise

Goal 1 | Accelerate Translational Research and Creative Activity

IUB will accelerate the scale and scope of transformational research and creative activity.

A thriving, multifaceted research community, IUB will build upon its existing areas of excellence while continually pushing into new intellectual and creative terrain. As we look to the future of research on our campus, we will continue to build upon areas of historic strength—in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and STEM and professional fields—while identifying key areas of emerging possibilities that position us to strategically focus on and address complex societal challenges locally, nationally and globally. Researchers and scholars will be surrounded at each stage of their career by the structures and resources that allow them to flourish in their research and creative pursuits.

  • Transformational areas of research. Increase large-scale external grant funding in high-priority transformative research areas. Near-term priorities include:
    • Improve the health and well-being of older adults through expansion of IU’s nationally recognized programs in aging research.
    • Address complex problems and improve the human experience by building on our expertise in artificial intelligence.
    • Harness the power of quantum technology for advancing discoveries in new materials, information science and cybersecurity.
    • Prevent human disease and preserve our treasured natural resources through environmental health initiatives.
  • Research support. Identify and address gaps in the research support infrastructure, including services, facilities, shared research equipment, data resources, personnel and training to support faculty and staff as they focus on excellence in research and creative activity across all disciplines.
  • Large-scale complex grants. Intentionally coordinate resources and expertise both within the university and with other institutions of higher education to increase research and creativity through securing large-scale, federally funded grants.
  • National recognition for exceptional faculty. Increase the number of exceptional scholars, researchers and artists who receive awards and honors such as National Academy memberships, Guggenheim Foundation fellowships and recognition from other national organizations of similar prestige.
  • New teams, expanded cross-disciplinary opportunities. Facilitate new research teams to leverage our disciplinary strengths across the arts, humanities, social sciences, STEM and professional fields to design new approaches to addressing complex challenges.
  • Expanded research ranks. Increase research productivity by reimagining academic personnel roles and responsibilities, including research professors, research scientists, research scholars and postdoctoral fellows.
  • Research leadership. Expand professional development for research faculty and staff through specific programming that assists them in developing research leadership skills.

Primary

  • Increase the number of faculty receiving awards, fellowships and memberships in the National Research Council list of highly prestigious awards to the top 50% of AAU public universities.
  • Increase externally sponsored funding for research to $250 million annually.
  • Increase percentage of research-eligible faculty with external research funding to 50%.

Secondary

  • Maintain the number of books published to remain in the top 25% of AAU public universities.
  • Increase the number of peer-reviewed, published articles to the top 50% of AAU public universities.
  • Increase Scholarly Research Index (SRI) per faculty to the top 50% of AAU public universities.
  • Increase citation count to the top 50% of AAU public universities.
  • Increase the number of large external grants (over $5 million per year) by 200%.
  • Increase sponsored research support from foundations, industry and government contracts by 50%.
  • Generate at least two $25 million+ “big idea” philanthropic gifts for research/creative activity.
  • Increase the number of research-rank academic appointees who are supported by extramural funding.
Goal 2 | Enhance Entrepreneurship and Innovation

IUB will expand translational research and discovery to enhance entrepreneurship and innovation that has human impact.

We will strive to become a globally recognized powerhouse for innovation and entrepreneurship, proactively amplifying the impact of IUB research and training the next generation of innovators. Faculty, staff and students from all disciplines will have the resources and connections available to develop their ideas and make an impact in the state of Indiana and beyond.

  • Next-generation innovators. Expand training and resources to educate the next generation of innovators who can apply entrepreneurial and design thinking to benefit the state of Indiana and beyond.
  • Capacity-building. Develop programs, incentives and resources that provide robust support to entrepreneurs and inventors and give them the greatest chance of success.
  • Hub for translation and commercialization. Create a modern innovation hub and incubator space to coordinate existing assets in addition to building an IU ecosystem that inspires and enables original ideas and provides a seamless path to translational, commercialization and societal impact.
  • Leader in Indiana’s innovation ecosystem. Strengthen research collaborations in the state’s innovation ecosystem, including but not limited to Crane, Applied Research Institute, BioCrossroads, Elevate Ventures and the Dimension Mill.
  • Cross-sector partnership development. Diversify partnerships within private, nonprofit, life sciences, technology, government and higher education sectors to drive innovation and entrepreneurship in the state.

Primary

  • Increase industry research and development (R&D) expenditures.
  • Increase invention disclosures.
  • Increase the number of license agreements.
  • Increase license revenue.
  • Increase the annual number of faculty, staff and/or student startups.

Secondary

  • Increase the number of faculty, staff and students who engage in entrepreneurial and discovery activities on campus.
  • Increase the number of new patent applications.
  • Increase the number of innovation-focused collaborations with key state partners.
  • Establish an IUB innovation hub.
Goal 3 | Strengthen Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Across the Research Enterprise

IUB will infuse diversity, equity and inclusion best practices into all aspects of research, creative activity and scholarship to ensure an environment that fosters research excellence and innovation for all.

Tackling our greatest societal challenges requires a diversity of thought and viewpoints. IUB will strive to create a campus environment that is vibrant, welcoming, respectful and safe for all, and that supports individuals in conducting their best work. An inclusive and equitable campus culture will cultivate research, scholarship and creative activity that is strengthened by the experiences and perspectives of those who produce it.

  • Inclusive representation. Increase efforts to hire, retain and promote individuals from historically marginalized groups to help advance knowledge, promote equity and improve educational and scholarly outcomes.
  • Comprehensive faculty development. Expand faculty development programs specifically designed to support faculty from historically marginalized populations through the entirety of their career, including both incubator (pre-tenure) and accelerator (post-tenure) phases.
  • Mentoring. Develop an interdisciplinary, cohort-based leadership and peer mentoring program for faculty and staff.

Primary

  • Increase the percentage of faculty from historically marginalized groups.
  • Increase the number of faculty from historically marginalized groups represented in leadership ranks, such as department chair, director, associate dean, dean and vice provost.

Secondary

  • Provide a faculty mentor to interested faculty to support their research or creative activity goals.

Explore the other pillars of our strategic plan