Growing Research Opportunities (GRO)

Faculty from any campus who are interested in leading research teams, especially interdisciplinary ones. We welcome your self-nomination regardless of prior experience leading or working on interdisciplinary research. 

• If you are interested in working on interdisciplinary teams but have not done so yet, GRO Academy will help you apply new knowledge for cultivating connections that will expand your research portfolio.
• If you are currently engaged in interdisciplinary research, GRO Academy will position you to take the next step and effectively lead a collaboration.
• If you already have a leading role on an interdisciplinary team, GRO Academy will help you align your team’s activities with team science principles to maximize its success.

• You will be recognized as a research leader at Ohio State and designated as a GRO Fellow.
• You will gain self-knowledge, learn about leadership and team science principles, and develop practical skills that you can use right away.
• You will grow your network through interactions with fellow cohort members, GRO Academy alumni, facilitators from across campus and national experts, and Office of Knowledge Enterprise staff during this experience and after.
• It is offered at no cost if you are selected to participate.

The 2024 GRO Academy runs from February 9 - April 12, 2024 (excluding spring break) and is comprised of approximately 32 hours of program participation, including preparation and attendance at:

• A half-day, in-person, kickoff retreat at the STEAM Factory (Friday, February 9) 
• Eight, two-hour in-person sessions on Main Campus held on Fridays from 2 - 4 p.m., from February 16 through April 12 (excluding spring break)
• Eight, one-hour-long intersession small group discussions held over Zoom at mutually agreeable times on either Tuesdays or Wednesdays each week

The Friday sessions are highly interactive and will support your knowledge development  with active exercises and practical applications. The weekly small-group sessions are held by Zoom and led by GRO Academy alumni. They will enable you to reflect on, apply, or practice what you learned in the large-group sessions.

Topics for our in-person workshops may include:

• Connecting with your career vision
• Developing your personal and team research leadership style
• Creating collaboration agreements
• Selecting team communication, collaboration, and task management tools
• Building diverse and inclusive research teams
• Handling conflict in research teams
• Creative problem-solving when leading interdisciplinary projects
• Creating shared vision and role clarity for your research team

Each week will require about one hour of pre-work. Depending on the topic, this may include short readings, self-assessments, videos, or case studies. Over the 9-week program, participants will also develop a 3 to 5-year research leadership plan.

To apply, please prepare a 3-4-page document consisting of a short CV and a personal statement. Please also include a headshot and bio (200 words max) to be publicly distributed if selected as a 2024 GRO Research Leadership Fellow. Applications are due Friday, November 17, 2024 at 5 p.m.

• A brief CV or biosketch (≈ 2 pages). You can use an NSF or NIH format biosketch or other CV you have prepared for another purpose. 
• A 1-2-page personal statement, discussing: 1) how participation in GRO Academy will help you achieve your long-term research goals and contribute to interdisciplinary research in the context of your field; 2) your prior experiences (positive or negative) working as part of a collaborative team, including the nature and purpose of the team and your role within the collaboration; 3) a description of your research plan/goals for the next 3-5 years, including any plans to apply for federal funding.  
• Include a cover sheet with your name, title/rank, email, department, and college (not included in page limit).
• Please save the combined 3-4 page application plus cover page as follows: lastname, firstname_college_GROAcademy
• Please upload a headshot named: lastname, firstname_college_photo
• Please upload a short bio (200-word max) named: lastname, firstname_college_bio

Spring 2024 applications are now closed. 

Our goal is to recruit a diverse cohort across all disciplines, genders, races and ethnicities, abilities, and other attributes to build an inclusive and representative cohort. The Office of Knowledge Enterprise will make final selections. We anticipate inviting 20-24 faculty to participate in each cohort.

If you have questions, please contact Kellie Gross (gross.735@osu.edu) or Rachel Kajfez (kajfez.2@osu.edu).