SRP IMPLEMENTATION PLAN PRIORITY PROJECTS
2023 SRP Progress Report
A detailed summary of the progress we made on SRP Priority Projects in 2023.
SFU Strategic Research Plan (SRP) Priority Project
Valuing and Measuring Scholarly Impact
On this Page:
Challenge
The ways in which we generate scholarly impact are varied. They include publications in high-impact journals, publishing books, performances, exhibitions, the engagement of community in research and the mobilization of knowledge to the non-academic community. Current incentive and reward structures within the university do not always reflect modern measures of research impact.
Action
Working with the provost, deans, chairs and directors, the library, and SFU Faculty Relations, we will examine SFU’s incentive and support structures to assess whether they align with the way the university values research impact as well as equity, diversity and inclusion.
Project Goals
- Develop shared definitions of core scholarly impact concepts for SFU to support understanding and alignment. link
- Continue the momentum of the work done by the first working group (April 2023 - May 2024) that was established to kick start the project. link
- Understand and analyse the current Tenure and Promotion Committee (TPC) practices across SFU departments and faculties. link
- Understand and analyse the resources that SFU provides to guide faculty search and renewal practices across SFU departments and faculties. link
- Review SFU internal awards and procedures and explore opportunities to include assessment criteria alternatives to traditional academic metrics, and guidance on how to use these. link
- Build resources for faculty to improve the development of strong, competitive, impact narratives for funding (internal and external) opportunities. link
- Develop recommendations for administrators, faculty, tenure and promotion committees, and hiring committees to enhance scholarly impact assessment and administrative recognition approaches such as awards, faculty renewal plans and department or faculty evaluations. link
- Create materials and resources to support implementing these recommendations. link
1. Develop shared definitions of core scholarly impact concepts for SFU to support understanding and alignment
2023 - Ongoing
Updates
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September 2023
The working group has established a definition of Valuing and Measuring Scholarly Impact (VMSI) for alignment of the working group and sub-committees, as well as for conducting interviews for TPC Chairs.
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July 2023
Collected a library of background literature and tools on research assessment, defining research impact, and international initiatives. If you are interested in learning more or sharing resources, contact Lupin Battersby.
2. Continue the momentum of the work done by the first working group (April 2023 - May 2024) that was established to kick start the project.
2024 - Ongoing
Updates
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May 2024
The membership of the working group has been renewed for another year and some new members have been added. This working group will have its first meeting in June 2024. See below for a list of current working group members.
3. Understand and analyse the current Tenure and Promotion Committee (TPC) practices across SFU departments and faculties.
2024 - Ongoing
Updates
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April 2024
The sub-committee developed a project plan and a semi-structured interview schedule for interviewing TPC chairs across the university in order to understand how scholarly impact is measured and valued in TPC processes. This will help inform the development of tools to support TPCs.
The interviews began in April and will continue over the summer semester.
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March 2024
The sub-committee submitted the project for exemption review by SFU Research Ethics which was granted. (Article 2.5 of TCPS 2)
4. Understand and analyse the resources that SFU provides to guide faculty search and renewal practices across SFU departments and faculties
2024 - Ongoing
Updates
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April 2024
The sub-committee will be reviewing and providing inputs and guidelines for the material being developed by SFU Equity Office to refresh the required EDI training for search Committees on their hiring, tenure, and promotion processes.
5. Review SFU internal awards and procedures and explore opportunities to include assessment criteria alternatives to traditional academic metrics, and guidance on how to use these.
2024 - Ongoing
Updates
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April 2024
The sub-committee has started reviewing relevant awards across other Canadian universities for promising practices that may be useful in providing guidance on internal awards at SFU.
6. Build resources for faculty to improve the development of strong, competitive, impact narratives for funding (internal and external) opportunities.
2024 - Ongoing
Updates
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April 2024
The sub-committee has started collecting and synthesizing literature and guidelines for writing impact narratives to inform the development of a made for SFU resource.
7. Develop recommendations for administrators, faculty, tenure and promotion committees, and hiring committees to enhance scholarly impact assessment and administrative recognition approaches such as awards, faculty renewal plans and department or faculty evaluations
2023 - Ongoing
Updates
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December 2023
The working group will develop these recommendations and materials over a longer-term horizon as more understanding and knowledge is gathered through the above review of the current practices at the university that involve scholarly impact.
Key Achievements
Conduct a broad review of scholarly impact incentive and reward structures at SFU
2023
Updates
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2023
To address this project goal, three subcommittees were formed in 2023 with the following areas of focus:
- Tenure Promotion Committees
- Faculty Renewal & Retention
- Administrative
Each subcommittee has identified specific actions and deliverables related to their areas of focus which are now listed as separate project goals above.
Working Group
| Name | Role | Department/Office |
|---|---|---|
| Lara Beth Aknin | Professor, Area Coordinator, Social Psychology | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences |
| Juan Pablo Alperin | Associate Professor, Publishing Associate Director of Research for the Public Knowledge Project | Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology |
| Lupin Battersby | Knowledge Mobilization Manager | VPRI |
| Derek Bingham | Professor, Statistics & Actuarial Science | Faculty of Science |
| Tracey Brennand | Professor and Chair, Geography | Faculty of Environment |
| Varundeep Chahal | Strategic Projects Manager | VPRI |
| Habib Chaudhury | Chair and Professor, Department of Gerontology | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences |
| Pooja Dharamshi | Assistant Professor | Faculty of Education |
| Sharon Gorski | Professor, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry | Faculty of Science |
| Wenona Hall | Associate Professor, Indigenous Studies | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences |
| Elicia Maine (Co‐Chair) | Associate Vice-President, Knowledge Mobilization and Innovation (AVPKMI), Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship |
VPRI Beedie School of Business |
| Alison Moore | Digital Scholarship Librarian | SFU Library |
| Carman Neustaedter (Co‐Chair) | Dean | Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology |
| Kam Phung | Assistant Professor | Beedie School of Business |
| Jane Pulkinham | Senior Advisor, Academic Affairs Professor, Sociology | Office of the Provost and Vice President Academic |
| Carolyn Sparrey | Associate Professor, School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering | Faculty of Applied Science |