04/19/23 Research agenda ©McGill University 1

Research

Current issues Relationship with teaching Relationship with practice Critical mass requirements in relation to faculty

priorities Interdisciplinary and team focus Research support: funding, logistics & recognition

• What are the funding sources Improving research productivity - R3 (revitalizing

renowned research?) What is the business model for research? Time frame: next 12 months Time frame: 3 years out

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Research – current issues - 1

Many active researchers but often working in isolation

Area-based individual researchers often lack recognition within Faculty and University, except for “stars”

Consortia research has led to links across university Average research productivity perceived to be low Research support from Faculty viewed as

fragmented Faculty research grant “gamesmanship skills” need

upgrading to fit McGill research “business model” “Knowledge Management” of research activity

missing--If only we knew what we know and do

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Research – current issues - 2

Many active researchers but often working in isolation • “Rugged individualism” as prevalent model• Some team research

• Areas: management science, finance, and strategy (sometimes)

• Consortia: – health management (diversified funding from main

granting agencies), – social innovation (non-traditional funding from firms &

foundations) Area-based individual researchers often lack

recognition within Faculty and University, except for “stars”

Consortia research has led to links across university:• Health management – faculty of medicine• Social innovation – school of environment, geography

Hiring may be targeted to build research team critical mass rather than main emphasis on teaching needs

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Research – current issues - 3

Average research productivity perceived to be low • McGill ranked 7th in published papers per capita in 1990-1999 and in

citations per capita in U. of Alberta study, (Erkut Can. J. of Admin. Sciences 2002)

• Lagged U. of Toronto, McMaster, UBC, Queens (on publications but not citations), and Alberta (on publications but not citations)

• McGill ranked 57 in top 100 business schools in research as measured by Financial Times

• Lagged Ivey/UWO and UBC, but ahead of Rotman/ U of Toronto, Queen’s and Alberta.

• Management ranks below average on McGill research output proxy of grants per tenure stream faculty

• Measure “unfair” to research not requiring labs and assistants but “fair” in that this is basis for University attracting added resources: Canada Research Chairs, SSHRC small grant funding, indirect Federal funding, etc. and also one metric for ranking research universities in Macleans etc.

• Management Faculty research grants allocations averaged $900,000 or $21,000 per tenure-stream faculty member annually over 1996-2000.

• Conference papers not efficiently transformed into journal publications (P&T committee view 2002)

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Research – current issues - 4

Steady research productivity would dramatically raise Management Faculty research ranking• U of Alberta study indicates that if each tenure

stream faculty member published even one ISI-ranked journal article per year, McGill would rise to top of research rankings• “Slippage” factors need addressing:

– New hires with fresh PhD may need time and mentoring to “gear up”

– Faculty engaged in administrative activities may face longer publication lead times

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Research – current issues - 5

Research support from Faculty viewed as fragmented • Soft funding for new junior faculty significant amount but too often

viewed as salary supplement• Matching funding for one research assistant to faculty with external

grant is significant cost but much appreciated• 80/20 formula for untenured tenure stream faculty

– Some junior faculty request soft internal funding be eligible for matching, but this would result in little incentive to seek external grants

• 50/50 formula for tenured faculty• Research grant publicity – significant turnover: 3 persons in less than

2 years• Research grant application logistics (on-line cv) – even more sporadic

availability and use concentrated among some faculty members• PhD students viewed as important research support by junior faculty,

but funding haphazard after initial 16 months (once again, teams help)• New funding sources: TA funds from University, federal scholarships from

SSHRC and other granting agencies (but we fare poorly in local screening)

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Research – current issues - 6

Faculty research grant “gamesmanship skills” need upgrading to fit McGill research “business model” • Elsewhere in university, particularly sciences

• “Career path” for grants well known. – In some medicine departments, full time appointment withheld until

faculty member has won external grant!– Expectation that faculty members will have continuous not sporadic

research grants• Research centres leverage internal funds to get external funding

– Modest matching funds available from university for successful teams– Research centres increasingly judged by combination of external

recognition of excellence, publication output and team funding• Faculty aware of university research priorities and adept at linking

own research to priorities or getting own research included in priorities, which is key to getting some external funds such as CFI and CRC

• Need to balance team participation based elsewhere and team participation based in Faculty (too much of former in Management)

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Research – current issues - 7

“Knowledge Management” of research activity missing--If only we knew what we know and do• Knowledge management of research activity needs development

• Example of good practice: social innovation research survey for Beyond Gray Stripes competition revealed large amount of research activity not known across faculty members

• Similar exercise was started but abandoned by globalization/international consortium because of discontinuity in research staff support (departure of Blossom Thom)

• Knowledge of what we do would help develop critical mass in research• Elsewhere McGill, key research themes and projects are widely

known both within and outside a faculty• Knowledge of what we do would help in developing links to practice

and to teaching• Now limited to “local knowledge” of a few people

• Need internal recognition / prizes for research excellence, as for teaching

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Linking research to teaching

Research should inform learning • Pedagogy Excellence Project (PEP) Report made some useful

suggestions, including the following:• Can bring research into the classroom by having Faculty members

incorporate their own research-related activities into their course curricula• Research on leadership, ethics and social issues can help develop

professional ethos of students• Expanded internships, including research-internships

• U.S. Boyer report on undergraduate teaching in research universities has recommendations

• Inquiry-based freshman year, use of projects in courses, structured involvement of some undergraduates in research by doctoral students and faculty; integrated courses

Learning can also inform research• Life-long learning activities create links between researchers and

practitioners, providing knowledge of current “theory in use”, current issues facing practitioners, and access to research sites

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Linking research to practice - 1

Research and practice should be linked in professional faculty • “Nothing is so practical as a good theory” (Kurt Lewin: Field Theory in

Social Science, 1951: 20)• More regular popularization of research output, linked to

development efforts• Packaging existing research around important current topics (e.g.

innovation, governance)• Possible Karma-like annual subscription service by firms (need

volume)• Advisory boards for research consortia and research centers?• Using overall advisory board as “suggestion box” for thematic

applied research • Risk of disappointing external organizations if no researchers

interested or researcher if no funding available for suggested research

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Linking research to practice - 2

• “Reverse engineering” research to create links to practice• Taking inventory of industry contexts of our current and

recent empirical research• Targeting firms in those industries as likely clients for our

research activity– Example: research on promotion of packaged goods would

likely interest firms such as P&G, J&J, L’Oreal, etc.• Seeking ways to link some research streams to local

technology “clusters”: aerospace, pharmaceuticals/biotech, multimedia/entertainment, forest products, transportation, metals, etc.

• Could also explore benefits of linking research to industry associations (as opposed to specific firms), perhaps also other groups: Technovision, chambers of commerce, etc.

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Critical mass requirements in relation to faculty priorities

Challenge of getting critical mass in relatively small faculty • Need to move beyond identifying “slots” based on critical gaps in

teaching to create critical mass in key research themes• Need interdisciplinary themes that can link to strategic

research priorities of McGill, community, and profession• Need to learn how to use research themes to build case with

university and external donors for added resources: CRC chairs, other chairs, funding for large-scale projects

• Need to leverage faculty research capacity through themes that cut across faculties, universities, communities, sectors and regions to engage others in helping develop our research

• Need to develop ability to “package” and “repackage” on-going research to link to emerging themes: emotions in advertising gets linked to decision-making in health management and persuasion in health social marketing

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Interdisciplinary and team focus

How to develop interdisciplinary teams • Two contrasting approaches to form teams –

• Top-down “push” approach (the three thematic consortia) • Organic bottom-up “pull” approach (perhaps team around

decision-making)• Do we need to encourage both approaches?

• What incentives are needed for bottom up approach?• Thematic consortia have been a useful start, but need to build

momentum• Need logistical support to develop team research grants• Need motivation (and incentives?) to develop team research

grants• Need motivation, institutional know-how and support to

establish one or more Quebec-style research centres (multidisciplinary but thematic) based in Management Faculty (examples elsewhere: intellectual property based in Law, digitized entertainment based in Music, GERAD based at HEC)

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Interdisciplinary and team focus

How to develop interdisciplinary teams - continued• Whether top-down “push” approach or organic bottom-up “pull”

approach to forming teams, we need codified (not just informal) surveys of research to identify research along themes

• Examples:• Social innovation (largely completed)• Health management (done informally, rapidly out of date)• Globalization/internationalization• E-commerce / e-learning / blended learning (large amount of scattered

activity – could be significant)• Integrated risk management / managing uncertainty (another “hidden”

research consortium)• Decision-making models (individual and group, rational and emotional,

also cross-cultural)• Blended learning as research theme: E3, VRQ, etc.

Encouragement for teams & consortia should not “leave behind” those wishing to continue the individual research model

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Research support: funding, logistics & recognition - 1

Funding • Need to publicize and tap internal and external funding sources

• Need tap traditional sources (SSHRC, CIHR, NSERC, FQRSC etc) and learn to use themes to tap sources in creative way --- management science seeking CIHR funding etc.

• Need to use capital campaign to strengthen thematic critical mass • Need to involve external advisory bodies in suggestions for fund-

raising for research Logistics

• Need attention to link between research productivity and PhD program and its structure

• Need consistent research logistical support for publicizing funding sources and for research grant logistics (assistance with on-line forms and on-line CVs, budget tips and templates) and for grantsmanship tips

• Need logistical support, motivation (and incentives?) to develop team research grants and Quebec-style research centres (multidisciplinary but thematic) based in Management Faculty

• Need space for research assistants, post-docs, research associates, & labs

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Research support: funding, logistics & recognition - 2

Recognition• Establish research prizes (based on overall record, depending on

rank): • Untenured initial 3 years (refereed conference papers, publications,

grants)• Untenured 3+ years (refereed journals, research grants)• Associate professor (includes citations, team grants, research program,

editorial board membership etc.)• Full professor (includes mentoring doctoral students and junior faculty,

citations, awards, international recognition, journal editorial boards etc.)• Do we need bonuses for publications in top journals as is done a

some schools (doesn’t sound like McGill?) • Can we agree on what are top journals in main fields based on

Journal Citation Reports or other sources to help guide junior faculty?• While all tenure stream faculty are expected to publish in academic

journals, should we recognize that publications in top practitioner journals (HBR) are more likely by senior academics with broader institutional knowledge and contacts?

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Research support: funding, logistics & recognition - 3

Recognition - continued• Should we re-establish Faculty-wide Friday

seminars? e.g. mandatory presentation for those with research-related course relief or with all teaching in one term?

• Could areas be subsidized to hold “brown bag” seminars?• Example: 3 seminars per area per year, with

enough funding to bring external speakers– Important in period of limited hiring to get

outside windows on research

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Research support: funding, logistics & recognition - 4

Recognition - continued• Build on codified surveys of research along identifiable themes (examples

listed earlier on slide on interdisciplinary themes)• Need to keep Development Office informed of research themes• Need to link research themes to new research plan process being

established by the Principal • Should we establish a quarterly Faculty Research newsletter to circulate

externally (and internally)?• Can use contractual consultants to develop promising themes for

publicity and external funding• What is maximum number of “big themes” to avoid dilution? • Do we need to be more responsive to university needs in developing

themes? • Examples:

– Technology start-ups and incubators (much desired by McGill OTT)? » Possible added link to intellectual property research centre in Faculty

of Law– Governance (possibly desired by advisory board and potential donors)?

• Do we need Faculty-wide or decentralized working paper series on web?• Need to explore selective contract research around thematic strengths

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Research productivity

Improving research productivity - R3 (revitalizing renowned research?)• Is concentrated teaching in one term appropriate route

to better research productivity?• Are condensed courses by junior faculty (as at LBS)

appropriate route to better research productivity?• Are summer scholar/mentors (external scholars

who come for a month to work with junior faculty on research projects) an effective way to mentor junior faculty in areas that have few senior members?

• To move more conference papers into better journals, do we need “master” workshops on publishing skills (similar to publishing course for doctoral students offered in Strategy by Ann Langley at HEC)?

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Diversifying research funding sources - 1

Understanding and improving the research “business model”• Traditional McGill/Canadian research business model

• Continuous stream of research grants and publications• Develop research team around theme research program including

doctoral students, post-docs, research associates.• Develop MSc program as feeder program for doctoral program and

reduce time to completion• Develop multidisciplinary research centre around focused theme

and get university matching funding and Quebec research team funding

• Base case for increased number of doctoral students on training opportunities with outstanding high calibre research team

• Get federal infrastructure funding for centre (CFI grants)• Build critical mass with research release stipends and CRC chairs• As success builds, tap into non-governmental foundations in

Canada and elsewhere• Work towards international recognition to become member of Royal

Society of Canada

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Diversifying research funding sources - 2

Understanding and improving the research “business model” - continued• Non-traditional research business model for a management

faculty? (for example see Rand Graduate School http://www.rgs.edu/)• Develop contract research around consortia themes• Develop contract research around hub-and-spoke clients• Fund larger number of doctoral students through contract

research• Recruit doctoral students around current contract themes• Develop research internships to supply contract research• Develop MSc program to feed needs of hub-and-spoke clients and

support doctoral teams engaged in contract research• Build development case around responsiveness to current

themes of client organizations• Develop executive programs around findings from thematic

research Is there a hybrid research “business model”? Is there a third model?

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Time frames for action (TBA)

Next 12 months• • • • • • •

3 years out:• • • • • • •