IGE Hub Update: Securing Leadership Buy-in & Other Strategies for Research Project Sustainability

The IGE Hub, an NSF-funded network hosted by CGS, supports communication and collaboration across NSF’s Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) grants. The project seeks to build bridges between grantees and the broader STEM graduate education community.

On October 3, the most recent IGE Idea Lab meeting focused on best practices for creating sustainability in research projects.

IGE Idea Lab: Securing Leadership Buy-in & Other Strategies for Research Project Sustainability

Mary Lynn Realff, Associate Professor and MSCE Faculty Fellow, Associate Chair of Undergraduate Programs and Professor at Georgia Tech University, and Peter Harries, Dean of the Graduate School, North Caroline State University, led presentations on how to enhance the sustainability of research projects and programs in graduate education.

Dr. Realff and Dr. Harries provided practical guidance on securing leadership buy-in and developing robust strategies to ensure the continued impact of their initiatives. They also offered strategies for engaging influential leaders, building a compelling case for their programs, anticipating priorities for long-term success, and exploring diverse funding sources.

Key learning goals from the webinar included: Identifying potential campus partners to support program sustainability efforts.

• Applying criteria for identifying industry partners that align with project’s long-term goals.
• Developing a short-term plan for outreach to internal and external partners.

Harries is the PI for the IGE project Accelerate to Industry (A2i), and Realff is the PI for the IGE Integrating Team Science into the STEM Graduate Training Experience project.