On August 23-25, 2015 the NORDP Board of Directors met at the University Memorial Center on the beautiful campus of the University of Colorado Boulder for a retreat. The purpose of this meeting was to strategize and plan for the future of our organization and profession. The three newest members of the Board of Directors, listed below, prepared this reflection to communicate our experience to our membership. We would like to thank Michael Spires (Secretary and member of the Board of Directors) for his gracious hospitality during our stay on his campus.
What Happened (Jeff)
The 2015 NORDP Board of Directors retreat agenda focused on strategic discussions about our organization. Specifically, we explored the roles and responsibilities of our committees and set realistic goals for the coming year. It was enlightening and educational to learn about our history and to be a part of the process to advocate for our members and our profession. A concrete outcome of the retreat was a commitment to ensure regular communication with our membership. Each Board Member now has the responsibility to provide regular updates to our community via our blog. We also addressed the overall operations of our organization and made some strategic decisions about our future, including the writing of a job description for an Executive Director. More details will be announced soon. Please contact me if you have questions about volunteering for any of these committees and we will connect you with the committee chairs: Jeff Agnoli at agnoli.1@osu.edu.
Expectations (Terri)
I went into the retreat as a freshman board member without really knowing what to expect, but having been told that it would be an ‘intense couple of days’. The retreat was that indeed, but it was also an incredible experience. This is a dynamic organization filled with passionate board members who are committed to begin implementing some lofty goals. While there is a lot of work to be accomplished that will require the dedication of many people, I left the retreat feeling inspired (if a little tired), well supported, and excited to be a part of a national dialogue. Members, stay tuned for announcements throughout the year from the Member Services Committee that will highlight opportunities to engage in these initiatives. If you are interested joining the Member Services Committee, please contact me at terrisoelberg@boisestate.edu.
Future Directions (Karen)
A significant portion of the retreat was spent discussing new initiatives the Board plans to start implementing over the coming year. For example, we focused on NORD (New Opportunities for Research Development), developing a business model for revenue generation and LDRD (Leadership Development in Research Development). While NORD centers on establishing Research Development as a discipline in the larger academic world, LDRD is focused on leadership development for our members. Do you work with teams, edit proposals, and identify funding but would like to develop leadership skills that prepare you to do more strategic research planning and institutional capacity building? Are you looking to advance your career in Research Development? LDRD will be focused on your professional development so stay tuned for new programming in this area. If you have questions about the Enhancing Research Collaboration Committee, or our current project to establish The Collaboration Continuum as a tool for advancing research/proposal teams, feel free to contact me at keck@odu.edu.
Jeff Agnoli
The Ohio State University
Agnoli.1@osu.edu
Karen Eck
Old Dominion University
keck@osu.edu
Terri Soelberg
Boise State University
terrisoelberg@boisestate.edu
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