GRANTED: Visioning, Organizing, Leading, and Advancing the Research Enterprise at HSIs Institute (VOLARE Institute)

To support Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) in increasing their research enterprise (RE) capacity, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) will organize a series of VOLARÉ Institutes; a series of research capacity building institutes for HSIs, encompassing three cohorts of institutions over three years. Each Institute will span a yearlong program of activities.

The VOLARÉ Institutes will train a new research workforce at HSIs in a deliberate and systematic way by offering accessible and actionable information and tools to build a strong and inclusive national research system.

The VOLARÉ Institute will build upon HACU’s strong network of HSIs to broaden participation in STEM. VOLARÉ consists of research capacity building institutes spanning three years involving cohorts of institutions. Its primary goals are to launch research initiatives by providing administrative leaders, staff, and faculty with a framework for conducting needs assessments and collaborative action plans.

VOLARÉ also aims to create cooperative consortia among regional HSIs to share research resources and expertise. Additionally, it offers professional development, mentoring, and coaching to help VOLARÉ institutions pilot new research strategies and build the capacity to sustain and expand expertise and infrastructure.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.