ART Track 2: GROW: UWM TRANSLATE: A System-Level Model for Building Sustainable Research Translation Capacity at a Public Urban Research University

Award ID: 2612263

Research universities generate discoveries with significant potential to improve economic competitiveness, public health, environmental sustainability, and societal well-being. However, many institutions lack the systems, incentives, partnerships, and translational infrastructure needed to consistently move research beyond publications and patents toward widespread adoption. This challenge is particularly important for public urban research universities, which serve as major engines of talent development, innovation, and regional economic growth. This project will address these barriers by creating a scalable institutional model for strengthening research translation capacity and increasing the ability of researchers to engage in use-inspired research that responds to societal and industry needs. By improving pathways that connect researchers with external stakeholders, strengthening translational workforce development, and modernizing institutional policies and incentives, the project will expand opportunities for faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students to translate research into practical solutions. Outcomes will contribute to stronger university-industry partnerships, enhanced workforce preparation, increased innovation capacity, and improved regional and national competitiveness. This project will develop and evaluate a system-level model for increasing Research Translation Readiness Level (RTRL) at a public urban R1 research university. The project is based on the hypothesis that durable increases in translational capacity occur only when people, processes, policies, and partnerships advance in parallel. To test this hypothesis, the project will implement three integrated thrusts. The Industry Pull Thrust will establish structured mechanisms for problem discovery, stakeholder engagement, industry advisory boards, and alumni-enabled industry connections that align research activities with external demand. The System-Level and Culture Thrust will redesign institutional policies, incentives, governance structures, and translational infrastructure while establishing an ART Ambassador Network and Faculty Fellows program to support sustainable culture change. The Seed Translational Research Project (STRP) Pipeline Thrust will create a milestone-based pathway that advances high-potential research opportunities toward adoption through technology scouting, translational funding, commercialization planning, and industry validation. Educational programs will build translational competencies among graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, faculty, and university leaders. Project outcomes will be assessed through longitudinal mixed-methods evaluation of RTRL advancement, policy and culture change, researcher behavior, translational project progression, stakeholder engagement, and downstream adoption outcomes. The project will generate transferable tools, practices, and governance models that can be adopted by other public research universities seeking to strengthen research translation ecosystems and accelerate the movement of research into societal and economic use. The ART Program, supported by the NSF TIP Directorate, seeks to advance U.S. scientific and economic leadership by building capacity and increasing the number of robust translational research ecosystems in Institutions of Higher Education that span across the full geography of our nation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Program Director: Hina Mehta