Appendix J
Research Vision Group Task Force
External Interviews with Leaders
January 8, 2013
Purposes:
1) Determine key issues in science that will be important to improve the world (society, health, environment, etc.) in the next 10 years
2) Identify research priorities to address the key issues
3) Identify strategies to move George Mason University toward becoming a research-intensive university
Methods:
The participants were 18 national and international leaders (40% female) who were identified by the Research Vision Task Force. They were presidents, vice-presidents, owners, and/or leaders in industry, local and national government, professional organizations, and foundations. They represented a number of disciplines. They were primarily from the Washington DC area, although their businesses were located around the world.
Five Research Vision Task Force members conducted phone or face-to-face interviews with the leaders using a structured interview guide consisting of 10 questions (see below), or the leaders answered the 9 interview questions via email. The duration of the interviews was from 30 minutes to 2 hours.
The interviews were transcribed and analyzed for themes.
Questions:
1. What do you hope the world (society, environment, health, etc.) will look like 5 years, 10 years from now?
2. What advances in science are needed for your vision to happen?
3. What societal challenges and areas of research focus will be most important in our national and global future?
4. George Mason has many research strengths. Some of our strengths are in neuroscience, engineering, psychology, education, and policy, to name a few. How should we capitalize on our strengths to advance science and become a research intensive university during the next 10 years?
5. What short-term and long-term strategies are needed?
6. What infrastructure is needed?
7. What is the short-term and long-term outlook for research funds from federal sources, business and foundations? What can we do to attract these funds?
8. What are the best practices in translational research, commercialization, incubation?
9. How can we partner better with businesses, not-for-profits, and government to build our research capacities?
10. Any additional advice you would like to offer?
Interview Results:
1. What do you hope the world (society, environment, health, etc.) will look like 5 years, 10 years from now?
1.A. The world will be a place to work together.
Greater acceptance and respect for diversity of thought, diversity of generations, of nations, among individuals. Important because it is much easier to collaborate and work together to address important societal issues if there is acceptance and respect for all.
There will be more movement and immigration of people across borders seeking economic opportunities or self-fulfillment. There will be smarter ways to move people and ideas around countries (especially among emerging and maturing markets), across industries (for example, information technology, healthcare, and life sciences), and sectors (private, academic, nonprofits, etc.).
1.B. The world will be a healthier place.
Healthier environment (repair some of the damage we have done), cooler, greener, fewer fires, we will anticipate the impact of population and other growth on the environment (for example, underdeveloped countries will rely on carbon sources for energy)
Many health benefits from biotechnology and health-related research. Priorities: cancer; Alzheimer’s Disease; repair damage from trauma, viruses, etc.; a counter-drug vaccine for addictive behaviors (an alternative to jail for drug crimes, and possibly for children when directed by their parents)
Less violent, better ways to resolve conflict
There is access to healthcare and quality of life for all.
Some societal issues will be resolved. Hunger, homelessness, less poverty, aging will be improved and life expectancy increased. 3rd world countries will have improved health, economies, etc.
1.C. Technology will continue to advance.
The world will be more connected through technology.
1.D. There will be a long-term, affordable energy solution.
1.E. The world will be more just and equitable globally.
The world economy will have a long-term fiscal solution.
The major economies will share world power.
Emerging markets (like China) will transition from manufacturing to an innovation economy.
3rd world countries will have improved economies.
The focus will be on big picture problem solving.
1.F. There will be more individualized and personalized everything – education, medicine, service delivery, etc.
1.G. People will be searching for increased faith in something universal, beyond themselves and their families.
1.H. A robust US economy with our citizens better able to work in higher paying fields. This means an emphasis on science, engineering, and health education, and a heavy emphasis on math, engineering, and science curriculums such that all graduates will have basic science, logic, and problem-solving capabilities.
2. What advances in science are needed for your vision to happen?
2.A. Research on the Environment – water supplies (high priority), energy (production, affordable, green, battery innovation), food sources (for example engineered), policy, effective incentives for people to be more environmentally conscious, new technologies to mine natural gas, crime prevention, the environment in space
2.B. Research to Design New Technology and Application of Existing Technology – nanotechnology (for example, to monitor health conditions), computer modeling (economic forecasting), battery research, cyber security, technology applications related to space, technology to increase collaboration, intersection of information technology and life sciences, military research and development, individual and mass transportation, policy
2.C. Research on Healthy Aging – Alzheimer’s Disease, quality of life, disability prevention, reduce costs for caring for an aging society, best practices in translational science, keep people working longer, cognitive health, policy
2.D. Research on Communication and Connectivity - best methods to diffuse conflict, negotiation, violence prevention, understand the root cause of violence, international communication and embracing diversity, how to build trust, semantics of diversity, power-free consensus and technology to facilitate, tolerance between religions, best methods for acceptance of others
2.E. Research on Best Methods to Educate Students to Increase Creativity and Problem-Solving - how to teach them to use both inductive and deductive methods, become problem solvers, become interdisciplinary scientists working together in teams, become leaders in a diverse global society, research on methods to increase collaborative research, design thinking, teaching problem solving methods such as crowd sourcing
2.F. Human-Centered Behavior Research – behavior change, implementation science, community involvement, understand how, why, and the impact on changes in our society/culture, policy
2.G. Research on Health and Healthcare Delivery – unhealthy behaviors and behavior change (unhealthy foods, inactivity) in younger people, methods to protect us from the health effects of global warming, individualized/personalized healthcare, methods for remote monitoring of health and healthcare, mental health emphasis, public health, efficiency and safety of healthcare, costs of healthcare, access to healthcare, translation science, genetics and biogenetics, transmission of infection, community involvement, policy
2.H. Research on Data Analytics, Safety, and Access – meta-data analytics, access to data, availability of data, policies regarding data, legal issue regarding patents and data, cyber security
3. What societal challenges will be most important in our national and global future?
3.A. The global nature of the world – for example, transmission of infection
3.B. Lower birth rate issues are of concern – for example, Japan. Lower birth rate issues will affect the labor force.
3.C. Although there will be increased connectivity in the world, isolation will be common also, as people engage with technology, and less with each other.
3.D. A concern is that people will believe what they hear and see via technology. It is not always true.
3.E. A challenge is insufficient labor force and costs to care for baby boomers as they live longer, and have a high disability burden.
3.F. The Western world is on an unsustainable financial path, which means we won't have the money to fund the research that benefits society. Currently, with tremendous wealth that resulted from rapid technological gains, we are sacrificing future growth to ideas of social equity, which are hard to reach.
3.G. Water management is a significant issue, especially for advancing countries. “Water will be power.” In addition, there is a cultural mismatch between decadent Western society and rising cultures, such as those in the Middle East and Africa. These factors indicate risk of war and global unrest.
3.H. Access to basic health care, primary education and credit
3.I. In the next 5, 10 years certain aspects of the world as we know it today will not be available for us to see/experience (for example, Boswana).
3.J. The dominant powers will be China, India, and Brazil. I hope the United States will still be a power. However, the major economies will share power.
3.K. “I predict a major war in the Middle East and North Korea is still a threat.”
3.L. “There will be brownouts.”
3.M. “I worry about our increasing reliance on technology – how would we function if it all went away suddenly.”
3.N. “The federal contracting sector in our region will of necessity be diminished. This means that institutions and the private and public sector in this metropolitan area will need to create new technologies and companies, foresee entire new industries, and seek ways to encourage and promote the conduct and the commercialization of research.”
3.O. In the next 5 years a sector (s) of our society will hit bottom in many ways. We will continue to have over-crowding in prisons, more extreme crime and violence, and poverty. From the 5 year mark forward, I hope that our culture, environment, health care, etc. are stronger, better, safer, and cleaner.
3.P. “The 21st century is really the biotech century (beyond biohealth areas).”
3.Q. “…a challenge is our antiquated mindset about regional collaboration… and academic institutions’ cultural distain for those who engage in business.”
4. George Mason has many research strengths. Some of our strengths are in neuroscience, engineering, psychology, education, and policy, to name a few. How should we capitalize on our strengths to advance science and become a research-intensive university during the next 10 years?
4.A. GMU must evolve into an integrated research and education system that focuses on idea generation and problem solving in highly important and innovative areas of research that will lead to significant application and improvement for individuals, communities, and society as a whole. Not a silo system of departments and colleges. Solutions to the world’s complex problems require interdisciplinary education and research.
4.B. GMU must develop strength in research methods and rapid dissemination of research that will be important in the future: for example, policy, translation science, implementation science, analysis of “big data”, community engagement research, crowd sourcing. Publications take a long time. GMU must be a leader in innovation, which is taking research a step further by applying ideas to the marketplace.
4.C. Choose specific, unique areas for growth, and work on those areas and invest in these areas to strengthen them. Consider future needs of society when choosing areas of focus. Focus on the greater problem (which is often a set of problems) in these areas.
4.D. Leverage the location. George Mason University is ideally suited to benefiting from the flow of money coming from the District, and industry. Both applied and basic research are important. “We need good relationships with the scientists at federal agencies and need to take a leadership position in dialog with agencies. This requires an aggressive stance and the talent needed to put our scientists on the map.”
4.E. “We need a global approach. For example, in healthcare, we need to learn from other countries. For example, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, and Germany are ahead of the US in some areas, especially aging. We need to research how they have done it. We need to adapt it to our country. Implementation/translational science is key in the future.”
4.F. “We do not need a lot disease fixing research in universities. Pharma is doing that, and it is enormously expensive. Universities cannot keep up with the big dogs in the corporate world, although there should be partnerships with corporate entities.”
4.G. “There will need to be academic preparation for assessing the genetic code and translating the findings into an individual’s medical care. GMU should play a role in both the research as well as the training and retraining of professionals for these functions.”
4.H. “Make industry and government aware of your research strengths. Declare publically, and in respected journals, the intent to become a research-intensive university.”
4.I. “GMU will never be a Johns Hopkins…..The smart thing to do is to better connect with local community colleges to prepare an innovative workforce….and focus on research translation into dollars, jobs, and products.”
5. What short-term and long-term strategies are needed?
5.A. GMU needs scientists. One way is to grow your own through supporting students and post-doctoral fellows to work with strong scientists. A short-term strategy regarding students is to encourage them to take courses across disciplines.
5.B. Recruit faculty with history of and current federal and other funding in science. Create endowed chairs. Another way to do this is to establish prizes with a monetary component for successful awards. Recruit nationally and internationally. Consider what expertise (faculty) are needed to move our research strengths to the next level and recruit them.
5.C. Provide stronger infrastructure for the faculty to conduct research.
5.D. Establish global education and research partnerships.
5.E. Establish relationships on a personal and professional level with industry and other partners who can provide intellectual and financial capital around specific projects. A step might be creating advisory boards on certain areas of science, for example an IT Advisory Group.
5.F. Increase visibility. For example, highlight the top-level faculty and their proximity to the seniors in the major corporations in the area.
5.G. Establish collaborative, translational, evidence-based, cutting edge research working groups.
5.H. Create a strategic plan for research that cuts across disciplines and communicate it widely. “People are working on the same things, and they don’t even know it”.
5.I. Address issues around data transparency, access, and availability in science.
5.J. Consult with experts from another university that is a step ahead of us and was where we are now several years ago. Ask them to evaluate strengths, weaknesses, and provide guidance on the most important steps to move forward. Visit them.
5.K. Foster a culture of entrepreneurial spirit in education of students and in research.