VPnet convened the heads of research from its member organizations to develop a plan for promoting greater research collaboration across our region.  Dr. Leonard Peters, Director of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, provided tremendous context for the discussion.  Dr. Peters reinforced the elements required for successful collaboration:

• A shared vision, mutually supportive goals, and open Communication

• A focus on issues that intersect regional and national interests

• The ability to align and "market" related assets

With the high-bandwidth technology infrastructure that now exists in our region and which connects us to other national and international research and education networks, Dr. Peters reiterated that we are now only inhibited by our own creativity and imagination.

After providing additional context for the group around the tools and resources that exist in our region that make collaboration easier for researchers (e.g. VPnet, Connect NW, SIRTI) the group discussed several ideas for creating research awareness and further promoting research collaboration:

• Utilize VPnet network for research collaboration (e.g. video conferencing, Data Transport)

• Initiate a "meet the researcher" seminar series in various sites, leveraging existing VPnet research projects

• Survey and catalog the region's research resources

• Identify underutilized resources across disciplines to develop collaborative teams

• Fund an entrepreneurial expert to develop familiarity of researchers, institutions, and research projects in the region