Research Analysis & Data Integration Office
The Research Analysis & Data Integration Office (RADIO), launched in 2021 and based in the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR), analyzes and integrates many types of data to serve, support and strengthen the University of Michigan’s research, scholarly and creative enterprise.
MISSION
- Knowledge to inform research leader decision-making
VISION
- Serve and strengthen University of Michigan research, creativity and scholarship, and their benefits for the world through rigorous, responsible data science.
VALUES
- Rigor: RADIO conducts systematic, replicable analyses of all aspects of the university’s research, scholarly and creative mission using the tools and methods of social, network, and data science.
- Responsiveness: RADIO is a service unit. We seek to provide timely, informative, and reliable insights to university and unit research leadership by identifying and addressing informational needs across the institution’s entire research portfolio
- Transparency: Within the bounds of secure and ethical data stewardship, RADIO seeks to make make its methods, processes, and findings as clear, communicable, and accessible as possible
- Collaboration: RADIO work must always be informed by collaborators and stakeholders from across the institutions. We build with partners, taking pains to engage and learn from domain and institutional experts.
- Care: RADIO is committed to privacy, security, and ethical data stewardship in all aspects of its work. Care for the data, the programs, and the people with whom we work is paramount to our operations.
WORK
- Data Integration
- RADIO develops, maintains, and uses data from multiple sources to support the research enterprise and reporting to meet our mission and goals. A significant portion of our work is dedicated to data integration, rigorously linking large scale datasets developed by U-M (for instance, Sponsored Projects, HR, and Financial data streams) with data on research outcomes (such as publication metadata), inputs (such as public award information) and survey data (including public release datasets maintained by the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies). Creating, maintaining, and routinely updating such integrated datasets enables all other aspects of RADIO’s work.
- Cyclical Reporting
- Using integrated data, RADIO works with research leaders and other stakeholders across schools, colleges and units to develop, implement, and improve reliable, informative, routine reporting capabilities to meet identified needs for research information and insight.
- Rapid Response Reporting
- Up to date integrated data resources also support the development of new information to help understand and address emerging problems or opportunities relevant to the University’s research, scholarly and creative mission. Quick turnaround of relevant information in response to unexpected needs and urgent questions is another part of RADIO’s work.
- Evaluation Research
- Long term retrospective and prospective evaluation studies of programmatic investments in research by the university or other funders are the third component of the office’s analytic work. These studies may be retrospective and based on the integrated datasets we maintain or prospective and designed in consultation with research development work undertaken by OVPR or other research units.
- Translation & Interpretation
- RADIO strives to translate sometimes complex descriptive and analytic findings into digestible, actionable knowledge for busy audiences and to contextualize those findings in a broad understanding of the research process and our institution. Data visualizations, presentations, reports and policy analyses will always include technical documentation suitable for expert consumers, but our primary products are designed to be easily accessible.
- Consulting and Support
- RADIO works with research leaders and research development professionals at U-M to contribute expertise to and support decision-making for both strategic purposes and specific projects or initiatives.
TEAM
- Jason Owen-Smith, Executive Director, Research Analysis & Data Integration Office, jdos@umich.edu
- Sabrina Ervin, Project Manager, Research Analysis & Data Integration Office, sme@umich.edu
- Raphael Ku, Business Intelligence Analyst, Research Analysis & Data Integration Office, rapku@umich.edu
- Contact: RADIO.requests@umich.edu