POLICY ON INSTITUTES AND CENTERS

UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
NORMAN CAMPUS

The purpose of this document is to set forth policies and guidelines for the designation of institutes and centers to be eligible for Double Sponsored Research Incentive (DSRI) funds at the University of Oklahoma, Norman Campus.

1. DEFINITION:
   Institutes/Centers - An institute/center is a multi-disciplinary unit organized to conduct education, research, and/or service activities. If appropriate, a center may have programmatic autonomy and annual operating budgets independent of other academic units.
   An institute/center involving faculty within a college will generally report to the dean of the college. An institute/center involving faculty from several colleges will report to a dean, if the subject area is mostly related to a single college, or to the Provost/Vice President for Research.

   After three to five years in existence, institutes and centers are expected to generate much of their operating expenses from non-E&G sources.

2. PROCEDURES FOR ESTABLISHING NEW INSTITUTES/ CENTERS:
   
   1. Those wishing to propose the establishment of a new institute/center must develop a program plan for the organization. The program plan should describe the purpose of the institute/center and develop a proposed administrative and fiscal relationship following the general format given below:
      
      1. Statement of General Purpose
         
         • Disciplines typically involved
           
         • Areas of education, research, and/or service
           
      2. Statement of congruence with University's strategic goals
         
      3. Description of institutional capability from multiple disciplines for implementing the organizational objectives including faculty strengths, prior accomplishments, etc.
         
      4. Description of administrative structure of the organization and reporting relationships. If applicable, discuss coordination with other institute/centers in the same or similar area.
         
      5. Operating Procedures for the Institute/Center
         
         • If applicable, membership procedures, rights, privileges and responsibilities
           
         • Governance
           
         • Appointment of Director
           
         • Provisions for changing operating procedures
           
      6. Resource Implications
         
         • Business Plan for the first three years
           
           • Proposed3-year expenditure budget
             
           • Proposed 3-year revenue/source of funds estimate
      7. Review Procedures
         
         • Plan for program review
           
         • Expectations
           
         • Criteria for dismantling
   2. The program plan will be reviewed by the appropriate dean (if applicable) and forwarded to the Provost/Vice President for Research for approval. The plan will be reviewed at the Deans' Council.
      
   3. After the President approves the establishment of the institute/center, a report will be provided to the Board of Regents as an information item.
      
   4. In accordance with University policies on the appointment of administrative personnel and title changes, the appointment of a director of the institute/center will be submitted to the Board of Regents for approval. The director will serve in an administrative capacity and report to the Dean (if applicable) and/or the Provost/Vice President for Research, as appropriate.
      
3. REVIEW AND EVALUATION:
   Each institute/center will be subject to an evaluation every three years by the dean (if applicable) and the dean will submit a recommendation for continuation of the institute/center to the Provost/Vice President for Research with a copy to the Research Council. Failure of an institute/center to actively pursue externally-funded, multi-disciplinary research projects may result in automatic termination of the institute/center’s DSRI eligibility.
   
4. SPONSORED RESEARCH INCENTIVE (SRI) PROGRAM:
   In order to remove the disincentive for the departments and colleges to work with an interdisciplinary center/institute, the following "Double SRI" incentive plan was established:

Double SRI is defined as the additional 20% SRI that is allocated directly to a center for a funded external proposal that was approved for the extra SRI allocation by the Senior Vice President and Provost and the Vice President for Research prior to submission of the proposal. Criteria for double SRI are found at http://www.research.ou.edu/policy/SponsoredResearchIncentive_Dbl.htm

(Approved September 1, 1993; updated 4/96; updated 10/99; updated 3/05)