Vice-President Research & Innovation Robert Haché shared feedback received from the community consultations and explored draft themes for York’s new Strategic Research Plan at an open forum on Nov. 20 at the Keele campus.
In his presentation, Haché noted that the feedback from the community consultations indicates the York community identifies that the plan should be inclusive, individual research should be supported and the plan should articulate a strong, ambitious vision with clear priorities, while providing flexibility to explore new opportunities.
Robert Haché
More than 1,200 members of the York community have engaged in the consultation process to date, with more than 60 members of the York community attending the open forum.
“Based on the input received from the York community, we have developed six draft themes that are reflective of the broad spectrum of research conducted at the University,” said Haché. “We invite the community to provide feedback and input on the themes as we work towards creating a new Strategic Research Plan that will help us achieve our vision of becoming a more recognized research-intensive University – an ambition reflected in the White Paper and University Academic Plan.”
Those present at the forum were asked to share their thoughts about the themes. In summary, the forum participants said they welcomed the inclusiveness of the draft themes and expressed appreciation for for the comprehensiveness and scale of the SRP consultations. Among the comments offered, there was the aspiration that the importance of international research and the role of organized research units be reflected in the plan. Additionally, participants spoke to the importance of highlighting graduate and undergraduate student engagement in research.
Haché explained that the goals of the consultation process are to engage the York community in an open, collaborative and ongoing discussion about the University’s core research values and to develop a plan that is meaningful to the community.
He was joined in the open forum by the Strategic Research Plan facilitators Celia Haig-Brown, who is a professor in the Faculty of Education, and Gary Miller, instructor in the MBA program at the Schulich School of Business and Schulich Executive Education Centre.
As part of the ongoing nature of the consultation process, York students, staff and faculty are invited to take the online survey or share their thoughts on the development of the Strategic Research Plan. Visit the Strategic Research Plan website to view the draft themes.