Call for Applications: 2021 NORDP Leadership Forum 

Are you an established research development (RD) leader at your organization, or do you aspire to fast-track your journey to institutional RD leadership? If so, you should consider applying to participate in the 2021 NORDP Leadership Forum! 

What is the NORDP Leadership Forum?

The Leadership Forum creates dedicated space for experienced RD professionals to discuss emerging RD trends and the research landscape more broadly. It also provides a platform to workshop strategies that leverage the strengths of RD to capitalize on those trends in ways that will benefit research at our  institutions. The Leadership Forum is a benefit of NORDP membership, and carries no additional cost.

What’s happening at the 2021 Leadership Forum?

  • We’ve expanded the Leadership Forum from a half-day conference event to a series of four, 3-hour virtual workshops, plus a virtual orientation and closing/report-out session. These workshops will take place one day/week starting in late September 2021, and concluding in early November 2021, at times to be determined based on participants’ availability. 

  • The themes of these four workshops are:

    • Infusing inclusivity into RD - it’s incumbent on RD leaders to be deliberate about inclusion and diversity in the programs they manage and the research teams they build and support

    • The future of RD work - emerging innovations in RD (pandemic-driven or otherwise)

    • Network activation - inviting leaders from other campus offices and key external partners (e.g., government relations and advancement representatives) to advise RD leaders on how to best mobilize the research teams they’ve cultivated or enabling programs they are developing

    • Taking the RD approach on the road - helping other campus offices to see the value in taking a relationship-focused, rather than transaction-focused, approach to faculty in the way that is so critical to RD

  • Within the time of the workshops, each Leadership Forum participant will have opportunity to create an Action Plan to implement within their home organization, using the strategies they learn and skills they develop in the Leadership Forum

  • As always, the Leadership Forum will provide many opportunities to network with fellow institutional RD leaders within NORDP, as well as featured panelists, speakers and workshop facilitators from other research sectors (government relations, advancement/development officers, and more)

Who may apply? How do I apply? 

The Leadership Forum is for NORDP members. It is best suited for those members who are established organizational leaders, or who consider themselves to be on a clear track to organizational leadership. We assess eligibility not by job title, terminal degree or number of staff supervised, but by what insights, ideas or experiences you can bring to the conversation surrounding the four themes outlined above.  

The participating cohort will be capped at 40 people, to enable close interaction among all participants and between participants and workshop leaders/panelists. The 2021 Leadership Forum cohort will include a mix of RD leaders recommended by NORDP committees/groups, as well as NORDP members who self-identify as having interest and who are selected through an open application process. All prospective participants must first submit an application through InfoReady.

To Apply: Submit your application (profile information plus responses to questions assessing your interest and qualifications) via NORDP’s InfoReady portal by Wednesday, July 28, 2021. 

Applications will be reviewed by a committee of NORDP members, and those selected to participate in the 2021 Leadership Forum will be notified the week of August 9, 2021. 

Also Seeking Volunteers!

We will be seeking volunteers to coordinate breakout sessions and other activities during the Leadership Forum workshops. This is a golden opportunity for RD leaders (who might have more limited availability) to engage in this volunteer capacity. If you are interested in volunteering to facilitate a breakout session or otherwise assist with the Leadership Forum, please contact Daniel Arriaga, Senior Special Projects Coordinator in the UT Austin Office of the Vice President for Research, at [email protected].