A methodology for supporting research and scholarship

The Office for Nursing Research and Scholarship was established in the spring of 1999 in a school of nursing on a large health sciences campus. In the first 2 years of operation, 11 federal grants were developed and submitted; 5 are currently funded, 3 have received competitive priority scores, 2 are in revision, and 1 awaits review. Intramural and private funding and preparation of manuscripts for publication have noticeably increased during this interval. Objective and subjective evaluation data from users are encouraging and provide a means for continuous formative evaluation and improvement. Recently, we conducted a systematic assessment of our office, focusing on service use, successful aspects, and organization. Through the assessment, we identified a methodology for organization and the essential elements needed to support successful research and scholarship. This article describes the essential services and how they are interrelated and delivered and how we structure staff responsibilities to facilitate delivery.