The VT IDeA Retreat is being organized by the Vermont Biomedical Research Network. We encourage your participation in this exciting program that will bring together faculty from across Vermont to strengthen our biomedical research infrastructure - a key goal of NIGMS’ IDeA program.
This VT IDeA Retreat is being organized by the Vermont Biomedical Research Network. We encourage your participation in this exciting program that will bring together faculty from across Vermont to strengthen our biomedical research infrastructure - a key goal of NIGMS’ IDeA program.
Program
8:15-9:00 Opening Remarks from VP/Research, Dr. Kirk Dombrowski, and VT IDeA Programs Overview
Each IDeA program will give a 5-minute introductory presentation with an overview of the program’s research focus and research resources that are available to the broader VT IDeA network (e.g. core services, etc.)
9:00-12:00 Strategic Doing Workshop
Sarah James, a trained facilitator from the Atkisson Training Group (ATG), will lead this workshop. Participants will be separated into groups of 5 to 7. Each group will engage in a process to answer the following four questions that form a loop in which groups plan, do, reflect on that doing, and then make their next plans.
- What could we do?
- What are all the possible opportunities before us, based on the resources that we currently have, that would help us move toward the future we’d like to see?
- What should we do? We can’t do everything – which opportunities, out of all the possibilities, should we pursue right now?
- What will we do? What commitments are we going to make to one another to start pursuing that opportunity that we’ve identified as the best one?
These overarching four questions are broken down into 10 rules that provide the skills that are underneath, guiding the conversation to help groups effectively answer the questions. At the end of the workshop, each group is expected to have identified a pathfinder project that will take between three and six months to complete, have made a plan for the next 30 days, and set a regular meeting schedule for the time estimated to complete the project. The commitment will be small – usually around an hour over the next 30 days – but when everyone is making a commitment, it’s amazing how much can get done.
If you have any questions, please contact VBRN directly at vbrn@uvm.edu.