NEWS

As many already know, it takes a lot of planning to achieve the NSF EPSCoR goal of improving the R&D competitiveness of researchers and institutions within EPSCoR jurisdictions, and NM EPSCoR is no exception. Team leaders, State Committee members, and NM EPSCoR staff and participants are gathering today and tomorrow at the UNM Science and Technology park for a 2-day Strategic Planning Retreat, facilitated by New Mexico First. Attendees will gather together and in small breakout groups to discuss the implementation of the newest NM EPSCoR grant, Energize New Mexico. Because the RII4 project involves many people in different disciplines across the state, the retreat is meant as a "roadmap" to track and achieve the objectives of the the five year project. To help organize and facilitate the retreat, New Mexico First set objectives and outcomes for the retreat.

The goal of the retreat is to produce a dynamic, living plan for managing and tracking NM EPSCoR RII4 progress. During the retreat, component team members will:

• Document SMART goals, activities, milestones, and metrics;
• Plan for project synergies; and
• Identify project risks and mitigation approaches.

Monday will focus on Project Planning, and participants will divide into groups based on their EPSCoR component after an introduction to the retreat by EPSCoR Director Bill Michener and NSF Program Officer Dr. Jeanne Small. Tuesday will focus on synergy recommendations and assessment of project risks, as well as a mixed-team discussion on how to mitigate those risks. NM EPSCoR expects to use the results of the retreat to drive the project forward and keep all components on track through the entire 5-year grant.