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����ֱ�� State University and the University of Cincinnati have been awarded a nearly $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation's GRANTED program to launch the Supporting and Harmonizing Research Endeavors (SHARE) program. This initiative will transform how research institutions across the region collaborate, share expertise and develop the next generation of research leaders.

Led by Co-Principal Investigators Douglas L. Delahanty of ����ֱ�� State University, Jane E. Strasser of the University of Cincinnati, and James Reecy of Iowa State, the SHARE program addresses critical national needs in research leadership development and regulatory compliance support.

Innovative Regional Communities of Practice

The SHARE program will establish Regional Communities of Practice (RCOPs) – collaborative networks that provide institutions with access to expertise and resources that might otherwise be unavailable or prohibitively expensive. The model will initially create leadership development RCOPs in Ohio, Iowa, Georgia and Minnesota, while establishing specialized compliance RCOPs in Ohio and Iowa.

"Successful research requires skilled leaders and administrators," said Delahanty, ����ֱ�� State’s vice president for research and economic development. "The SHARE program creates a replicable model that allows institutions to pool their expertise and resources, ensuring that all participants – from major research universities to smaller colleges – can access the support they need to excel."

“The SHARE program will lower facilities and administrative costs – or the ‘indirect’ costs – of research for participating institutions,” said Strasser, senior associate vice president for research at the University of Cincinnati. “It will provide support and infrastructure across the state, and potentially across the country.”

Addressing Critical Research Infrastructure Needs

The program tackles a persistent challenge in higher education: many institutions struggle to justify full-time positions for specialized research administration roles, yet compliance with federal regulations is essential for all research activities. The SHARE model allows institutions to share compliance expertise, enabling them to "purchase" part of an expert from each other rather than hire full-time staff they may not fully utilize.

“It’s important that we're helping Ohio first,” Strasser said. “We can serve as a model as the program expands to new regions.”

Statewide Benefits for Ohio

Both ����ֱ�� State University and the University of Cincinnati hold the esteemed distinction of being recognized as R1 top-tier research universities by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

For Ohio specifically, the SHARE program will unite all institutions of higher education in the state through peer and senior mentoring groups, based on proven national leadership mentoring programs. 

This approach will:

• Increase knowledge transfer and institutional expertise across all participating institutions.

• Provide cost-effective compliance support for smaller institutions.

• Reduce regulatory burden through shared expertise.

• Expand the pool of qualified research administrators.

• Strengthen Ohio's overall research capacity and economic impact.

Scalable Model for National Impact

Each RCOP will begin with participants recruited from within a 300-mile radius of the host institution and will expand annually. The program is designed to be easily replicable, with plans to eventually combine Leadership Development and Compliance RCOPs into comprehensive Regional Research Networks that can be expanded across the United States.

"We're not just solving today's problems – we're building infrastructure for the future," Delahanty noted. "This model has the potential to strengthen research administration capacity nationwide, which directly translates to enhanced national research capacity."

Supporting the Next Generation

Beyond immediate institutional benefits, the SHARE program will develop publicly available tools and resources, provide valuable training opportunities for the next generation of research administrators, and increase job readiness among participants. The program recognizes that without skilled research leaders and administrators, research stagnates, funding opportunities are missed and students lose access to training in tomorrow's careers.

The four-year grant period will allow the team to thoroughly test and refine the RCOP model, creating a template that can be adopted by institutions nationwide. The collaboration between ����ֱ�� State University, University of Cincinnati and Iowa State University demonstrates the power of the very partnerships the SHARE program seeks to foster. 

����ֱ�� ����ֱ�� State University: ����ֱ�� State University is the highest-ranked public university in northern Ohio on the Top Public Schools and Best National Universities lists by U.S. News & World Report. The university also holds the esteemed distinction of being one of only seven institutions in Ohio to be recognized as an R1 top-tier research university by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. ����ֱ�� State is one of Ohio’s leading public universities and a major educational, economic and cultural resource far beyond the Northeast Ohio region it has served since 1910. The university has a global footprint with eight campuses throughout Northeast Ohio, a College of Podiatric Medicine, a Twinsburg Academic Center and academic sites around the world, including New York City; Florence, Italy; and Curitiba, Brazil. ����ֱ�� State offers award-winning student support services that help students succeed. Its diverse student body comprises more than 34,000 students, including 2,200 international students from 102 countries, and the worldwide alumni family exceeds 280,000. ����ֱ�� State provides transformational educational experiences and leads with its values, which include kindness, respect and freedom of expression. For more information about ����ֱ�� State, visit www.kent.edu.

����ֱ�� the University of Cincinnati: Founded in 1819, the University of Cincinnati ranks among the nation’s best urban public research universities. Home to more than 53,000 students, 12,000 faculty and staff, and over 350,000 living alumni, UC, a Carnegie 1 institution, combines research prowess with a physical setting The New York Times has called “the most ambitious campus design program in the country." UC's momentum has never been stronger as the anchor of the Cincinnati Innovation District, the oldest cooperative education (co-op) program in the country with students earning $94 million annually through paid experiences, an academic health system, and as a member of the Big 12 Conference. The university contributes $10.6 billion in economic impact to the city and $22.7 billion to the state of Ohio. At UC, next is all of us. Learn more at .

Photo Credits:  

• Rami Daud, ����ֱ�� State (Top photo)

• Colleen Kelly, University of Cincinnati, Marketing + Brand (Middle Photo)