II. Strategic Plan

MISSION

IPIA will be a center of excellence at the University of Utah that serves as a catalyst and provides expanded and exciting new opportunities for students and faculty to participate in innovative inter-disciplinary research, learning, civic engagement, and service, and thereby attracts national and international attention and externally-funded grants and gifts.

OVERALL STRATEGY FOR ACHIEVING THE MISSION

IPIA will aggressively pursue opportunities to excel in research, teaching, and service-to-communities in selected areas in applied politics, public policy, international social sciences and cross-border security, government, and governance, by building on existing strengths at The University of Utah. Thus, IPIA will energize and aggressively expand the University’s activities and programs in these areas of excellence.

IPIA will serve as a catalyst that helps attract, engage, coordinate and support existing faculty, centers, programs and institutes across the University that conduct research, teach, and provide service to the University’s communities, and will seed the establishment of new units and activities.

LONG RANGE GOALS AND STRATEGIES IN PUBLIC POLICY

Goals and Strategies

1) Become a premier research and teaching institution in a few selected areas of domestic and international public policy.

This goal will be accomplished by building on existing faculty research capabilities in substantive public policy areas where there are grant funding opportunities for inter-disciplinary research with agencies of the U.S. government. This strategy will take advantage of the extensive but fragmented UofU faculty research interests and analytical capabilities in myriad substantive policy areas where the social sciences are central and, in particular, where federal “infrastructure grant” possibilities exist – as well as “project grants.” (“Infrastructure grants” support research capacity building. They help a university expand its ability to conduct policy research in an area of public policy. “Project grants” support specific projects.)

IPIA will expand its fundable research capability in substantive public policy areas through the formation of teams that are attracted to work with and through IPIA because of the presence of lead faculty with successful records of obtaining and performing successfully on funded research grants, and the availability of technical and administrative support services. This strategy requires the expansion of resources available to researchers including, for example, for fixed-length faculty “buy-outs” (arrangements that free faculty from some obligations and thereby permit them to focus on research), grant management services, graduate assistants, editing services, and temporary working space.

The foci of the policy research opportunities must be selected carefully. The areas of family and social policy, migration, health policy, health disparities, cross-border relations, and transnational policy have particular promise at this time. The IPIA inter-disciplinary research teams need to have high energy and remain focused. When grants are obtained, the research teams must perform well. All new hires and temporary appointments of existing faculty in IPIA must be wise decisions.

2) Become a highly trusted and widely used source of data, information, and analysis about public policy issues in Utah and elsewhere.

IPIA will expand the University of Utah’s analytical research for use in public policy decision-making, and strengthen outreach to individuals, groups, and agencies in Utah and surrounding states that shape and influence public policy. This strategy takes advantage of existing faculty research and research capability that can benefit public policy decision-making. To this end, create a small professional research staff team that supports faculty research in public policy, conducts and disseminates applied public policy research (with or independent of faculty), and uses research findings to advise public decision makers and policy influencers.

The balance between revenue-generating applied public policy research and research for good will/public service will become an important question as IPIA’s reputation develops. Demands for research conducted by professional staff will grow as it becomes evident that faculty often cannot or is not willing to engage in applied research that has short due dates. Problems of legitimacy and ethical issues will arise. They must be anticipated, prevented when possible, and confronted when they occur.

3) Educate professionals who are able to frame and conduct rigorous policy analyses that inform and/or influence public policy decisions.

IPIA administers the new Master of Public Policy (MPP) degree program. IPIA will join with faculty from departments and colleges across the University in introducing public policy through new graduate programs or new opportunities for students in existing graduate programs. These may include joint degrees, concentrations, allied fields, and other arrangements.

Strategy Implications for Future Funding Streams (See Section III: Long Range Financial Plans.)

Infrastructure grants and project grants from agencies of the U. S. government that include full “indirect costs” (or “returned overhead”) are essential for this strategy to be successful. Infrastructure grants develop reputation and visibility as well as funding streams.

By expanding IPIA’s analytical research activities in public policy and engagement with individuals and agencies that shape and influence public policy, contract research engagements should also increase. Although contract research usually pays for direct costs, it usually pays no or minimal indirect/overhead.

The Master of Public Policy (MPP) program should increase opportunities for contract research by establishing close relationships with students in the program, employers of students, and adjunct instructors. The MPP program will also generate some limited new funds from student enrollments. (See Section III.)

The MPP will be a highly visible program and thus must maintain high credibility among practitioners and in the academic community. New faculty and existing faculty with IPIA appointments need to use their skills and expertise in the MPP program as well as serve as leaders on research teams.

LONG RANGE GOALS AND STRATEGIES IN INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCES AND CROSS-BORDER SECURITY

1) Develop a reputation for research excellence in a limited number of areas in international social sciences and cross-border security.

Achieving this goal will require IPIA to define its focal areas of excellence carefully, and develop capability strategically around selected existing faculty who then influence faculty with related areas of interest to join IPIA research teams. Decisions about new hires must be made with great skill and creativity. In some research related to cross-border security, faculty in the sciences, engineering, law and health sciences will be in the lead, and social scientists will play important supporting roles.

2) Educate managers for organizations that work internationally, including business firms, governments and inter-governmental agencies, and non-governmental organizations (INGOs and indigenous NGOs).

Offer a master’s degree program and possibly doctoral degree fields that prepare professional managers for careers involving international trade, commerce, service, security, and cooperation.

Strategy Implications for Future Funding Streams (See Section III: Long Range Financial Plans.)

Funding sources exist for research on myriad international issues, but U of U researchers need to be more closely connected with funding sources. Funds from tuition will help support instructional programs in internationalism, and some grant possibilities exist. IPIA probably will be a collaborator but not be a lead unit in security-related research funding at the U of U.

LONG RANGE GOALS AND STRATEGIES IN APPLIED POLITICS

Goals

1) Offer the most highly respected undergraduate and graduate programs in campaign management, polling, and lobbying/advocacy in western U.S.

2) Be the best known, most highly trusted, and most frequently used source of current information about politics and political trends in Utah and the Rocky Mountain region, for the media, the general public, and politicians and political parties.

3) Become a respected source of research on selected aspects of national and international elections, voting, political parties, legislative bodies, and elected leadership.

4) Continue to expand the number, variety, and quality of political internship placements available to Hinckley Institute of Politics (HIP) interns in Utah, Washington, DC, other states, and other nations.

5) Continue to expand the number, quality, and diversity of students who serve political internships.

Strategies

IPIA will continue to build on the Hinckley Institute of Politics’ (HIP) reputation in applied politics, its reservoir of public recognition and support, and its large network of connections and opportunities particularly in Utah and DC. This strategy has worked well and will be expanded. This strategy is also a practical necessity because of the current near-absence of U of U faculty research interests and capability in applied politics and political communication. IPIA is also implementing a secondary strategy of increasing student interest and engagement in politics through the new minor in applied politics.

In order to establish a reputation in the academic field of applied politics, the UofU needs faculty who can secure support for research from foundations and attention from media outside of Utah. The strong presence of the Hinckley Institute provides excellent opportunities if the recently strengthened relations between HIP and the academic departments continue to advance. In developing faculty capability, IPIA and HIP would be best served by having researchers whose research interests in politics also include aspects of public policy, public administration, and/or international relations.

Strategy Implications for Future Funding Streams (See Section III: Long Range Financial Plans.)

Most individual, family, and local private foundation sources prefer to support public information, education, and service events, and financial aid to permit undergraduate students to engage in political activity/learning. This strategy will not lead to funding opportunities beyond local philanthropy or to developing a reputation that extends beyond the internship programs. National foundations, the most obvious source of future revenue beyond personal/family gifts, do not provide much potential for supporting new graduate programs.

LONG RANGE GOALS AND STRATEGIES IN GOVERNMENT AND GOVERNANCE

1) Maintain the excellence of the MPA program and expand its national reputation. (The U of U’s MPA program is in the top 17 percent of master’s programs in public affairs nationally, in the most recent U. S. News & World Report rankings.)

Maintain the quality of students admitted to the program, expectations for student performance while in the program, and of the faculty, curriculum, and staff support. Expand placement opportunities. Continue to place U of U Ph.D. graduates on faculties in solid MPA programs across the U.S. and in other countries.

2) Increase the MPA program’s usefulness to students with a variety of career interests by offering new joint degree programs, areas of concentration, and other creative degree arrangements.

Instead of hiring new faculty to develop and teach courses in new areas of specialization, take advantage of expertise in other departments and colleges to provide students with a variety of program options.

3) Expand the U of U’s strength in teaching, research and service-to-community in the area of nonprofit organizations and the relationships between nonprofit organizations and organizations in business and government.

The most recent U. S. News & World Report ranking placed the U of U’s MPA concentration in nonprofit organizations among the top 12 in the U. S., and the MPA faculty that specializes in nonprofit organizations has been strengthened since that ranking was done. A likely strategy for building on this strength is to create a nonprofit academic center in IPIA which should make IPIA more competitive for grants and contracts to supplement university resources.