EPSCoR Jurisdiction/State Committee Interview Guide

EPSCoR Jurisdiction/State Committee Interview Guide

S&T planning

1. Does your jurisdiction have a current Science and Technology S(&T) plan?

   1. If yes, when was it last updated?

      1. PROBE: What are the R&D focus areas laid out?

2. Does your jurisdiction/state government currently run any programs to support R&D at universities?

   1. IF yes, PROBE FOR EACH:

      1. Is the mode of support research based, based around industry collaboration, or some other mechanism?

      2. How large is the program (M$/yr)?

      3. When was it initiated?

3. Does your jurisdiction/state government currently run any programs that are intended to broaden participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education at universities?

   1. IF YES, PROBE FOR EACH:

      1. What is the target group for the program (e.g., (e.g., undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, women, underrepresented groups, first-time college, etc.)?

      2. How large is the program (M$/yr)?

      3. When was it initiated?

EPSCoR Management

4. Which of these statements best describes the structure of your state Committee:

   1. The State Committee is an independent organization (e.g., non-profit)

   2. The State Committee is a subcommittee of an existing state government-chartered committee

   3. The State Committee is a subcommittee of statewide university system governance structure

   4. The State Committee is an informal organization without a defined organizational home

   5. The State Committee is organized in another fashion

      1. For each response given PROBE: IF SO, HOW

5. What role does the State Committee play in each of the following types of activities: (a) writing updating, and maintaining a state S&T plan, (b) serving as a managing agent for RII awards, (c) developing RII proposals, (e) selecting or replacing RII PDs, (f) coordinating with other federal EPSCoR programs in the jurisdiction, (g) facilitating coordination across institutions of higher learning in the jurisdiction, (h) facilitating coordination with other stakeholders, (i) managing other jurisdiction-level R&D funding programs, or (j) managing jurisdiction-level training programs intended to broaden participation?

   1. PROBE FOR EACH: Who besides the state committee plays an important role?

6. What is the process by which EPSCoR RII Track 1 topics are selected in your jurisdiction?

   1. PROBE: Top-down/selection by Committee vs. bottom-up/white papers from faculty

   2. PROBE: Role played by external reviewers (academics, AAAS) in topic selection

History of the State Committee

7. Describe the current State Committee structure with respect to the size of the committee, the composition of committee (do committee members come from academia, distinguishing dean/VPRs versus faculty, industry, state government, etc.).

   1. How are members appointed (By committee itself, by legislature, by executive branch)?

   2. Is there a determined length for tenure of state committee members

   3. How many members have been on the committee 5+, 10+ years?

   4. Are there specific roles played by the Chair/Co-chairs as distinct from other members?

8. Have any of these changed dramatically since the founding of NSF EPSCoR in your jurisdiction?

   1. PROBE: If so, please describe