Research Committee

To facilitate the advancement of the School of Construction and the Environment’s (SOCE) applied research agenda as it relates to and supports the educational and industry objectives of BCIT’s Institutional Applied Research Mandate.

Research interests within the School cover a broad range of disciplines related to the built and natural environment. Projects range from short-term industry-sponsored student projects to multi-year funded grant programs.

Objectives

The committee’s objectives can be summarized as follows:

1. Advise the SOCE management on research-related matters
2. Identify strategic themes and directions for applied research activities within the SOCE and, where relevant, institution-wide themes
3. Identify the required needs and resources for applied research activities within the SOCE
4. Facilitate a broader involvement of the SOCE faculty, staff, and students in applied research activities related to educational and industry requirements

Key strategies

The committee will pursue the following strategies in accordance with BCIT’s Institutional Applied Research Mandate as supported by BCIT’s Service Plan 2004/05-2006/07:

1. Develop and maintain an inventory of applied research activities within the SOCE
2. Promote research activities among the SOCE faculty, staff, and students
3. Assist with the development of research centres/clusters within the SOCE
4. Identify possible (internal/external) funding sources and disseminate the information among the SOCE faculty
5. Encourage faculty to take initiative in developing proposals for funded research projects
6. Encourage faculty involvement in multi-disciplinary research projects and activities
7. Contribute to the development of BCIT applied research theme(s)
8. Review research proposals (in the preliminary and final stages) to ensure conformance with the BCIT standards and SOCE strategic research directions (as a part of the quality assurance process)
9. Assist with the development of informational/promotional materials related to SOCE research activities
10. Review and advise SOCE management on professional development needs for the SOCE faculty and staff as related to applied research activities
11. Advise on policy issues related to the modalities for the SOCE faculty involvement in applied research activities

Complementary strategies

1. Review and develop the ethics policy as it relates to the SOCE research activities (in collaboration with the BCIT Research Ethics Board)
2. Develop task groups in collaboration with other schools and organizations at the BCIT related to research policy topics of common interest
3. Collaborate with the faculty from the Technology Centre and other schools at BCIT on research projects and activities