executive committee mark burns (mcubed director, engineering) alec gallimore (engineering) june...

Executive CommitteeMark Burns (MCubed Director, Engineering)

Alec Gallimore (Engineering)June Howard (LSA)

Valerie Johnson (MCubed Managing Director)Charlotte Mistretta (Dentistry)

Mary O’Riordan (Medicine)Robert Ortega (Social Work)

Ann Verhey-Henke (Public Health)Thomas Zurbuchen (Engineering)

Michigan’s Revolutionary

Seed Funding Program

• Review in traditional funding mechanisms biased against novel, interdisciplinary research

• Most traditional funding sources are slow compared to the pace of research

• U-M is large, broad in research areas, but difficult to know who is doing what across campus

Motivation

Rapid distribution of seed funding to self-organized,

multi-unit faculty/studentteams to initiate

innovative projects.

What is MCubed?

MCubed Core Principles

• No formal review: peer-to-peer evaluation, token-based “buy-in”

• Funding through interactive website

Rapid funding of new ideas

Interdisciplinary collaboration • Stimulate innovative research,

scholarship & education• Require cubes span schools and colleges

Education and training focus• Fund students (UG/Grad) and postdocs• Present at MCubed symposia

How MCubed Works• Faculty get virtual token worth $20K,

based on unit-defined eligibility.

• Faculty create projects on MCubed website. Other faculty respond to indicate interest.

• Faculty member who posted project can commit token to become project owner. Then invites two other faculty to join.

• Cube is 3 tokens from at least two different units = $60K for project.

• Cubes hire personnel (UG/grad, post docs).

MCubed 1.0 Data (2012-2014 Cycle)

Over 200 cubes funded: All schools and colleges represented plus ISR, Graham, Libraries, LSI, UMOR; 2100 faculty members in system.

Participation: Highest number of faculty in cubes, in ranked order: Medicine (180); Engineering (142); LSA Natural Sciences (74); Public Health (51); and LSA Social Sciences (34)

New collaborations: 75% report never working together as a team before MCubed.

Education: Cubes use undergraduates (23%), graduate students (54%), and postdocs (19%); over 800 total personnel.

Evaluation of MCubed

Karina Kervin, Doctoral Student, School of

Information

Funded by the Provost’s Office and College of Engineering

PI, Professor Michael Traugott

Co-PI, David Howell

Outcomes of MCubed 1.0 (Sept. 2014)

External funding: $20M in funded proposals based on MCubed results (60% success rate)

Publications: 39 publications achieved, with 32 under review and 52 in preparation

Invention Reports: 11 cubes filed invention reports or were in the process of doing so

Scholarly Products: 42 cubes achieved products such as artistic performances, conference presentations, interactive websites or platforms, or digital archives

MCubed Symposia

2013 and 2014

“Impossible not to find something captivating”

“An innovation accelerator in and of itself”

“The excitement in the room was palpable . . . Loved it!”

Feedback on MCubed 1.0: Strengths

• Catalyzed new multidisciplinary collaborations and high-risk research/scholarship that wouldn’t have emerged or advanced otherwise (even beyond formal MCubed program)

• Provided unique research/scholarship opportunities and multidisciplinary mentoring for students

• Led to larger grants/projects, attracting high ratings because of multidisciplinary work and early results

• Set U-M apart from other institutions

• Functioned as recruitment tool for new faculty

Feedback on MCubed 1.0: Areas for Improvement

• 85% funds for personnel doesn’t align with ways that research and scholarship occur in many units. More flexibility in spending desired.

• $60K per cube isn’t a “one size fits all” model—too little or too much

• High level of faculty financial contribution per token inhibits participation among faculty with limited discretionary funds

• Administrative challenges in managing funds

MCubed 2.0

• Addition of mini-cubes ($15K vs. $60K)• Units with 10 tokens or less can restrict

cubing to 1 token per cube from unit• Current cubes can’t form second cube• Increase flexible spending from $9K to

$30K (50% of cube’s funding)

Changes based on input

Timeline• Solidify unit commitments by June 2015• Modify website to handle new rules• Launch program in late summer or fall 2015

Decisions for MCubed 2.0What MCubed Decides

(general program requirements)What Units Decide

(specific unit requirements)

Rules for cube formation --At least two units per cube --Must be new research/scholarship --No traditional peer review

Definition of eligible token holders by group or category Example: all tenure-track faculty with at least 50% appointment

Schedule of cubing events --Semi-random cubing --First-come, first-served cubing

Maximum number of funded tokens, which equals maximum unit contribution

Rules for spending Funding model per token

Distribution of Tokens

MCubed Diamond Program

Funder shares concept for cube.

Faculty respond with specific approaches. Project owner is identified and invites other collaborators.

Donor funds entire project at $60K.

Add photo of cube: commemorative cubes at reception

mcubed.umich.edu mcubedinfo@umich.edu