The general and specific objectives with their corresponding strategies are contained herein:
Gain recognition as the preeminent civil infrastructure research center in the Caribbean at the service of the Americas;
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- Promote the recognition of the CIRC as a unique resource
- by disseminating the labor and image of the CIRC
- by informing influential people of the community about the CIRC activities so that they can tell their constituents about the Center
- Establish ties and participate in civil infrastructure research centers in North America, the Caribbean, and South America
- by establishing contacts with other universities in North America, the Caribbean, and South America
- by using the network that CoHemis has established by using the contacts of the professors associated with the Center
Become a major source of information and dissemination of civil infrastructure problems, needs and priorities in the Americas
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- Prioritize the regional civil infrastructure problems identified by other institutions to be studied by the Center
- by organizing periodic conferences and workshops with the government and private industry and reporting the results
- by promoting ad-hoc committees with members from industry, government and the Center
- by organizing a seminar series for the industry, the government, and other institutions in Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and the Americas
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- Facilitate, develop, and transfer criteria for the solution of civil infrastructure problems
- by providing forums for discussion of civil infrastructure problems
- by disseminating criteria for the solution of civil infrastructure problems
- Keep archives of the documents that show the research productivity of the Center
- by producing periodic technical reports for each project of the Center
- by publishing an annual report of the Center’s projects and activities
- Increase the number and quality of publications and presentations
- by exploring new mechanisms for promoting more publications and presentations
- by providing incentives to the productive researchers by organizing workshops on technical writing and strategies for producing successful publications by establishing a mentoring system for young researchers
Obtain a diversified and sustained funding portfolio
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- Duplicate the research funds in the next five years
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- by diversifying the sources of funds
- by sponsoring workshops on effective proposal writing
- Reduce the dependency on NSF EPSCoR for research funds
- by submitting competitive proposals to a wider variety of sponsoring agencies
- by seeking funds from the private industry
- by inviting program directors to visit the Center and meet with the researchers
- by promoting the visit of researchers to the funding agencies
Foster multidisciplinary, comprehensive and environmentally conscious research in civil infrastructure
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- Promote solutions to civil infrastructure problems that are environmentally benign
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- by incorporating in research projects environmental considerations compatible with social concern
- Promote multidisciplinary and integrated solutions to civil infrastructure problems
- by incorporating a multidisciplinary and
integrated focus on research projects
- by promoting the participation of several
principal investigators with different backgrounds in a single project
Sponsor activities that complement education related to civil infrastructure
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- Develop research that supports formal graduate and undergraduate education in the UPR and other universities
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- by developing projects that incorporate research into the curriculum
- by using civil infrastructure projects to enhance the education of students of engineering and and related disciplines
- Support the professional development of the Center’s researchers
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- by supporting travel to workshops and conferences
- by encouraging informal talks and brainstorming sessions among researchers
- by sponsoring meetings and workshops about research in civil infrastructure
- Contribute to the awareness of the society to the problems related to civil infrastructure
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- by integrating in undergraduate courses the knowledge acquired with CIRC research
- by organizing a student paper competition related to civil infrastructure issues
- by disseminating general information to the public through different means and media
Continue to deliver high quality products and services
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- Improve the evaluation process of the Center’s performance
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- by formally establishing a formal outcome assessment program
- by establishing metrics to evaluate the researchers’ performance
- Improve the Center’s management processes
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- by implementing a TQM program
- by familiarizing researchers, students and staff with the concept of TQM
- Increase the Center’s administrative support to the researchers
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- by facilitating the initiatives of new researchers
- by providing clerical and editorial support to the researchers in the development of proposals
- by seeking matching funds from other sources in order to make the proposals more competitive
- by continuously training the administrative personnel of the Center
- Optimize the use of the computer center of the CIRC
- by disseminating information regarding the available resources in CIRC’s computer center
- Continuously update the computer facilities by allocating funds in each proposal to improve the facilities of the computer center
- by seeking donations, grants and subsidies from leading computing manufacture
