The Institute for Research on Innovation and Science (IRIS) is a consortium based at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research (ISR) IRIS is designed to transform the successful Universities: Measuring the Impacts of Research on Innovation, Competitiveness, and Science (UMETRICS) initiative developed by the Committee on Institutional Cooperation into a permanent national resource by creating a secure professional data platform for the research community and university administrators.
IRIS will extend UMETRICS by developing national and international partnerships to:
- Collect, improve, protect, and use big data on the dynamics of science and the economy
- Validate and disseminate new metrics on the economic and social effects of research
- Support university members who pursue credible advocacy using those indicators
- Partner with universities to design data products anchored in rigorous research findings
- Develop an interdisciplinary research community that applies IRIS data to address pressing social science and policy questions
IRIS will be the global source for safe, secure, comprehensive, and accessible data to document and improve the value of public and private investments in discovery, innovation, and education. Trusted data and rigorous evidence will support effective policy and advocacy to increase the productivity, value, and impact of universities and other organizations whose contributions to knowledge create economic growth and improve the quality of human life.