The Value of a multilayered approach - Southern Cross and Outside Opinion collaboration
prof frances shannon & Prof Mary Spongberg | July 2024
Prof Frances Shannon
The Outside Opinion team are delighted to congratulate Southern Cross University on its recent achievements in international rankings. It was a particular pleasure to see Prof Mary Spongberg, Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research), receive a Recognition Award on behalf of SCU as the Most Improved University in the Oceania region at the QS EduData Summit 2024. The result was driven by research, with SCU scoring 299 for citations by faculty, reflecting the improvement in the quality and impact of research over the last five years.
While receiving great research results and increased funding (HERDC doubled since 2018), the University continues to serve its students, recently being ranked in the country’s top ten universities in Australia for salary and employment outcomes (GOS).
While the team at Outside Opinion values individual projects with a range of universities, it is when we work across a university at different levels and over several years, that we feel we can and do add significant value. Outside Opinion has been working with SCU for 5 years and Prof Spongberg says, “The help of Senior Associates from OO has really helped shape research strategy at SCU, contributing to great funding success, as well as building the capability of individual researchers.”
Examples of the work we have done with SCU include: individual grant application reviews; mentoring and coaching for senior research leaders; co-designing the new research landscape, through research cluster development and impact frameworks; and working with individual faculties to build research strategy.
According to Prof Spongberg these projects have contributed to research being valued across the institution. “Transdisciplinary research is the future and working with OO to develop Research Impact Clusters around themes rather than disciplines has been critical to improved research performance across the University. Citations have increased, funding has doubled and researcher capability has grown.”
I have had the pleasure of leading a number of initiatives with SCU and have always been impressed with the dedication of the staff to their disciplines and to working to develop opportunity in their regional context. The devastating Lismore floods of 2022 was a particular challenge for the University and for the individual staff directly affected. Following the floods, SCU partnered with the University of Technology Sydney and the Reconstruction Corporation to create a Living Lab in Lismore. The Lab brings together high impact research and deep community engagement to imagine housing solutions and catchment regeneration that will allow the Northern Rivers to thrive in this time of great climate uncertainty. (https://www.llnr.com.au/lookahead)
Outside Opinion has built a team of experts across all academic disciplines as well as expertise from public policy, research management and the private and not for profit sectors so it has the capability and capacity to work with an institution on many and varied aspects of research strategy. We pride ourselves on providing frank and independent advice tailored for each client.
