Strategic Initiatives: Research, Creative, and Interdisciplinary Activity

In support of the UMass Amherst For the Common Good strategic plan, the Division of Academic Affairs and the Office of the Provost will work to bolster research, creative, and interdisciplinary activity.

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Engage campus with benchmarking research and creative activities

  • Launch department-level benchmarking with peer and aspirant institutions around productivity and metrics in research and creative activity.
  • Integrate departmental work into campus-level metrics to inform strategies.

Assess and bolster supports to expand research and creative activities

  • Utilize the Operational Excellence Initiative, UMass System Audit, and other data to assess pre- and post-award bandwidth, expertise, and structures.
  • Restructure and invest in pre-and post-award services to bolster supports.

Bolster campuswide and inter-campus interdisciplinary research and creative activity collaborations through targeted seed funding investments

  • Assess the impact of SPARC and other seed funds on bolstering campuswide interdisciplinary research and creative activity collaborations.
  • Continually assess the investment in, and deployment of, seed funds considering the evolving federal funding landscape.

SPARC Seed Funding

The Strategic Partnerships to Advance Research and Creative activity (SPARC) seed funds empower creativity, support interdisciplinary collaborations, strengthen the campus's areas of excellence, promote equitable collaborations, and attract external funding to the UMass Amherst campus.
 

Meet the 2026-27 SPARC teams Meet the 2026-27 SPARC teams

Office of the Provost Strategic Initiatives

Academic Affairs contributes to the successful implementation of the UMass Amherst For the Common Good strategic plan through wide-ranging strategic initiatives that impact students, faculty, and staff throughout our campus community.

Enrollment Management Enrollment Management Undergraduate Student Success Undergraduate Student Success General Education Curriculum General Education Curriculum Graduate Student Success Graduate Student Success Faculty Teaching Faculty Teaching Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Creativity Education & Programming Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Creativity Education & Programming Global Recognition Global Recognition Faculty Recognition & Success Faculty Recognition & Success Academic Enterprise Stewardship Academic Enterprise Stewardship Campus Culture Campus Culture

Summer 2026: This page is under construction. Some content may be in development or inaccurate.