American University Translating Research into Action Center (TRAC)
Project Summary
Increasingly complex societal challenges necessitate that public and private sector leaders leverage fundamental research to make evidence-based decisions. As the demand for consumable knowledge grows, researchers striving to impact society are tasked with both producing sound research and translating that research into actionable, evidence-based ideas upon which decision-makers can act. The need is great. Yet, scholars often lack the skills or capacity needed to translate their knowledge for policymakers and practitioners. Moreover, universities often lack the institutional capacity to support current scholars and develop future scholars who enable the effective use of evidence to benefit society.
Based at American University’s (AU) Office of Research, the Translating Research into Action Center (TRAC) will create a translational research and training ecosystem within and beyond the university. TRAC will conduct research on the impact of different translation methods and establish an inter-disciplinary repository of best practices; support Seed Translation Research Projects (STRPs) across multiple scientific disciplines with the potential to have a large impact on society; cultivate a culture of research translation at AU; support a network of translational research units from Institutes of Higher Education (IHEs); and provide training that prepares doctoral students and post-doctoral scholars to engage in research translation through careers within and beyond academia. TRAC will partner with the University of Denver and The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Evidence Project, which have extensive experience building research translation capacity and broad academic, policy, and funder networks.
TRAC is among NSF’s first-ever Accelerating Research Translation (ART) awards, which aim to empower academic institutions to speed and scale translational research.
Funder(s)
Award(s)
$5,220,577 (NSF)
Principle Investigator(s)
Diana Burley, American University
Raychelle Burks, American University (Co-PI)
Susanna Campbell, American University (Co-PI)
Jordan Tama, American University (Co-PI)
Partners
Project Status
Active