the 3 – 5 year plan: having a plan is a good plan piush mandhane md phd frcpc interim divisional...

The 3 – 5 Year plan:Having a plan is a good plan

Piush Mandhane MD PhD FRCPCInterim Divisional Director and Associate ProfessorPediatric Respiratory MedicineUniversity of Alberta

Objectives

• Why do you need a 5 year plan– A fantasy trip for your career

• What goes into a 5 year plan

Conflicts of interest• None to report

Sources of Data• Little data on how to develop a 5 year plan

– Writing a research plan: Science; July 26, 2002– Planning your research program

• SERC Carleton University– http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/earlycareer/research/plan.html

– Blogs• The professor is in

– http://theprofessorisin.com/2014/05/02/why-you-need-a-5-year-plan/

• Hook and eye– http://www.hookandeye.ca/2014/05/your-five-year-research-plan-guest-post.html

– Personal Experience• Advice from mentors• Learning from my many mistakes

– Career 5 – year plan• AHSA Lessons for Success 5 – year plan (pdf)• http://www.asha.org/.../L4S/Lessons-for-Success-Research-Career-Plan-Guidelines.pdf

http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/earlycareer/research/plan.html

http://theprofessorisin.com/2014/05/02/why-you-need-a-5-year-plan/


http://www.hookandeye.ca/2014/05/your-five-year-research-plan-guest-post.html


http://www.asha.org/uploadedFiles/ASHA/Research/L4S/Lessons-for-Success-Research-Career-Plan-Guidelines.pdf



Be Proactive not Reactive

• A 5-year plan is a map for your career as a research science professional– provides a framework for your short term career with

consideration of your long term goals – demonstrate your intellectual vision and aspirations

• creative and independent thinking

• Not having a plan means that you are:– Responding to what others want– Not doing what you actually need to do or can achieve






Control what you can control

• A research plan means controlling what you can.– Control: Submit a grant or paper– Not controllable: Peer review

• Not written in stone: Look up, evaluate, and adjust– You’ll miss critical opportunities to publish, get funding,

attend meetings, make connections if you spend too much time on the minutiae of your project






Creating a 5-year plan for research

1. What is the overarching theme of all of your research?

2. What are the major topics that you will pursue over the next 3 years? 5 years?

3. Pick a particular topic within your theme to which you plan to devote significant effort now or in the near future.

4. List the “products” that you want to produce that fall within the topic of item

5. Lather, rinse and repeat steps 3 and 4http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/earlycareer/research/plan.html



Research theme:______________________

Topic A:New or Continuing

Available Resources: Needed Resources:

Plans for obtaining facilities or instruments

Stage 1: Development

Stage 2: Implementation

Stage 3: Dissemination

Plans for recruiting students and collaborators

Writing ProposalsBeginning Field Work orSetting Up Laboratory

Conducting Research

Initial Presentations

Student Projects

Formal PublicationsWeb Sites

Independent Studies

Honors & M.S. Theses

Ph.D. Dissertations

New Research Ideas?

Creating a Strategic Plan for Research

What to do if not funded?




Picking a research theme• Choose an important subject that you are passionate about

– Science requires passion. • If you aren't passionate about your work, find work you are passionate about.

– Passion is necessary, but insufficient for research success– The work must be important.

– Believing in the importance of your own work, and – Persuading others that your work is important.

– Consider both your own aspirations, expectations of your institution, expertise of your institution.

• Be specific. – Need an important goal with interesting, feasible approaches.– Being specific is not the same thing as including loads of detail.

• Being specific means including only as much detail as the job requires• But not too much detail that it confuses or bores the reader

Writing a research plan: Science; July 26, 2002


1. Theme 2. Major topics

1. Differentiate graduate or post graduate research topics from ‘new’ areas of investigation.

3. Products




Identifying your major topics

• What you would like your research program to look like 5 years from now– What will be the main focus of your research?

What will be your subsidiary interests?– What will your lab space be like?– What equipment will you have, or have access to?– How will you fund your research?– Will your research program be integrated with

your teaching / clinical?




Consider the challenges and opportunities

• What support is available to you to help you achieve your major topics?

• What impediments stand in the way? – Are they insurmountable? – How much of your time and energy will they consume? – What strategies will you try first to overcome any

impediments?• Do your major topics take advantage of

opportunities that exist and appeal to you?


Carefully examine your major topics.

• Are they appropriately ambitious, considering your challenges and opportunities?

• Do they appeal to you? • Can you see yourself happily working toward

them? – If not, go back to step one and revise them as

necessary. – You want a research program that motivates and

excites you.



1. Theme 2. Major topics3. Products

1. Manuscripts, conference presentations, reports, field guides, books

2. Networking goals: emerging new research or writing projects




For each product, identify the following:

1. Who will create these products1. Undergrad, MS, PhD, post doc, or you? 2. Are the products of correct scope for your students or do you need

to break them down into smaller pieces?

2. What resources do you need to accomplish each of these projects?

1. Equipment, supplies, funding, collaborations, space or field access 2. List possible sources of funding, equipment

3. Deadlines for completion, submission, and revision4. How is this ‘product’ related to the others?

1. Do they naturally fall into a sequence that builds upon itself, or do they form a cluster around the central topic?




http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/earlycareer/research/plan.htmlProject Role Partners Funders Dates

CCHCSP



Intermediate goals

• Where will you need to be, a year from now, to accomplish your long-term goals?

• What do you need to accomplish this semester to get on track toward your long-term research program goals?

• What deadlines do you have /anticipate




Short-term goals

• What will you do this month to make progress toward your research program goals?

• What will you do this week to make progress toward your research program goals?

• What deadlines do you have /anticipate




Need, Nice, No

• Does your plan fit in with what you are doing already?– What are you doing currently?– Do they fit with your goals.

• Assigned priorities for your projects in light of your goals.– Need: This is stuff you need to do– Nice: This is stuff you want to do– No: This is stuff you need to remove off your plate.

http://www.hookandeye.ca/2014/05/your-five-year-research-plan-guest-post.htmlTobi Kollman; UBC


Plot it out over time

• You have a list of your major topics and projects– Assign priorities and timelines

• You have your list of “needs” and “nices”– Assign priorities and timelines

• Put them together and find your busy and less busy periods– Can you move things/projects around to make for

more even work flow?

Consider a Gantt Diagram

Use an APP – e.g. Anydo

No affiliation

Stick to the plan• Doing a plan shouldn’t be an occasion for guilt.

– We are all going to be surprised by opportunities in our work lives– It’s a good idea to go back and review goals, shuffle priorities and

revise the plan from time to time. • From “The Professor is in”:

– “In sifting through the many reactions to the 5-year plan idea on facebook and twitter and in the comment stream to the post, I have gotten the impression that for many readers, the 5-year plan feels like a large, epic, “major life goals” kind of endeavor.

– But its really more of a “stay on top of deadlines” kind of endeavor. – Staying on top of deadlines is exactly what allows a person to

achieve huge life goals.” • Success is 10% inspiration, and 90% perspiration

– Thomas Edison http://www.hookandeye.ca/2014/05/your-five-year-research-plan-guest-post.html





Thanks

• Dr. Mark Inman: Mentor– Pick an important topic that you can own

• Dr. Norm Rosenblum: Mentor– “Fire in the belly”

• Dr. Tobi Kollman: Collaborator– Need/Nice/No

• Dr. Dean Befus: Mentor– Gantt diagrams

the 3 – 5 year plan: having a plan is a good plan piush mandhane md phd frcpc interim divisional...

Documents

controla research plan

year plan pdfhttp

strategic plan

research themechoose

year planahsa lessons

year plana fantasy trip

short term career

overarching theme