MINUTES – Florida Research Development Network

November 14, 2016; 9am

Participants:

Albina Mikhaylova, UNF

Maddy Chokshi, UCF

Camille Coley, FAU

Sharon Collins, Mayo

Tristan Fiedler, FIT

Mike Hickey, ERAU

Beth Hodges, FSU

SobhaJaishankar, UF

Maureen Pelham, FIU

Joshua Roney, UCF?

Roxanna Ross, Nova Southeastern

Karin Scarpinato, UM

  1. First In-Person Meeting:
  1. Planning Committee
  • Thus far, three people have volunteered to serve on the meeting planning committee: Karin, Maddy, and Rick.

Action Items re: Planning Committee:

1.Other individuals interested in participating on planning committee should contact Maddy.

2.Karin will resend email with instructions for finding meeting-related materials in “Box” account. Beth will post the instructions on website.

  1. Meeting Date:
  • Maddy explained that there are no conference facilities available at UCF on February 3, 2017. Group was polled on telephone to determine if February 10 was feasible alternative for the majority. First in-person meeting confirmed for Friday, February 10, 2017 at UCF.

Action Items re: Meeting Date:

  1. Karin to distribute Save-the-Date notice.
  1. Draft Agenda for Meeting:
  • Karin led group through draft agenda for February meeting and requested feedback on proposed format and content.
  • For the first meeting, the group agreed that panel and round table discussions will promote more interaction and discussion. Given the small size of the group, it was thought that breakout sessions may be less useful at this first meeting.
  • There was general consensus that the proposed topic for Presentation/Panel 1 seems well-suited to a general roundtable discussion.
  • For Presentation/Panel 2, the group thought that a brief (10 minutes) introductory overview by those from institutions with experience in Leadership Mentoring, followed by a group discussion, will be most productive. Beth and Maddy offered to identify presenters and to coordinate content of overview.
  • Karin asked for suggestions for additional topics to be discussed. Ideas included OMB Uniform Guidance policies and procedures and metrics for measuring RD office success. Given the tight time constraints, the group prioritized the discussion of metrics, but indicated that any remaining time should be allotted to Uniform Guidance issues.
  • To get to know one another better, it was suggested that the group may want to dedicate a portion of the first meeting to brief overviews by each participant of one RD problem at his or her institution and what was found to be an effective solution.
  • It was noted that the February meeting will be an ideal time to start thinking ahead about ways in which the participating institutions may collaborate on specific funding opportunities in the future. Karin and Sobha, among others, have already compiled lists of grant programs that are of high value to their institutions. Sobha volunteered to take the lead in a discussion of ways in which the participating institutions may plan ahead to collaborate on specific funding opportunities.
  • Topics for subsequent in-person meetings were also discussed, including breakout sessions dedicated to specific agencies (e.g., NESF, NIH, etc.), presentations by program officers from Federal funding agencies, and identification and perhaps collaboration with other work groups in Florida, such as the Florida Research Consortium and BioFlorida,

Action Items: re: Draft Agenda:

  1. Planning Committee to revise agenda based on feedback received at today’s meeting.
  2. Maddy and Beth to coordinate on introductory presentation for Presentation/Panel 2.
  3. Sobha to lead group discussion to prepare and plan for potential collaborations on specific funding opportunities.
  1. Registration for Meeting:
  • Group agreed that fee of $25 – 30 per person is reasonable to cover costs associated with the day-long meeting.

Action Item for Registration:

  1. Maddy volunteered to set up meeting registration site at which registration fees will be collected.
  1. Website:
  • Group thanked Beth and her team for the fantastic website.
  • Beth encouraged group to send relevant information for website, changes, etc. to her attention. She added that she will post on the website the instructions for accessing the “Box” account.

NEXT CONFERENCE CALL: MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2016; 9:00 AM ET – please send your agenda items!