Mission Statement

The University of California’s fundamental missions are teaching, research, and public service. The goal of the Office of Research is to promote outstanding research at UCSB.

The Office of Research helps the university community secure support for their research and creative activities. We work with all academic units to develop the best research programs possible throughout the university, and we take special responsibility for research done collaboratively across disciplines, departments, and schools. We ensure the integrity of UCSB research and provide assurance to governmental and private funding agencies and to the public that the research is conducted in accordance with the highest ethical standards. We work to make sure that research is integrated with the educational and service missions of the university. Finally, we help communicate to the university community and to the general public about the quality, breadth, and significance of research carried out at UCSB.

Responsibilities

The Office of Research has the following primary responsibilities:

Working with investigators to help them find funding, form collaborations, and write competitive proposals;

Administering and supervising several interdisciplinary research institutes and centers and the UCSB Natural Reserves;

Developing collaborative agreements between UCSB researchers and industry;

Guaranteeing that research at UCSB follows the highest ethical standards;

Managing intellectual property resulting from research activities for the public benefit;

Overseeing compliance with governmental regulations on research;

Administering sponsored research proposals prior to the award;

Communicating to UCSB researchers about research policy and its implementation.

In addition, we share responsibilities with other offices of the university in the following areas:

Setting the research strategy for UCSB, linking it with the missions of teaching and public service;

Providing matching funds required to obtain extramural funding for research;

Investing limited amounts of seed funding in new and promising research;

Providing meaningful research opportunities to graduate and undergraduate students;

Communicating to the university community and to the general public about UCSB research.