About

Mission

NC State’s Research Facilitation Service (RFS) is available to help researchers navigate a broad range of possible research solutions to conduct efficient and secure research. The RFS partners with existing research computing and data providers on campus to meet campus needs, maintains knowledge about available community resources, and monitors emerging technologies to advocate for areas of potential growth at the university.

A joint endeavor on the part of University Libraries, OIT and ORI, the Research Facilitation Service not only provides a single point of contact for computing and data questions, but also strengthens communication among service providers and supports continuous assessment of researcher needs.

What we do

Staff

Who we are

A brief history of the RFS

In early 2020, a team was charged to survey existing campus research computing and data services, identify and prioritize gaps, and propose a framework service model to support needs through all phases of a research project's lifecycle. The team found that while the university offers a wide variety of computing and data services that facilitate and increase research productivity, these services are offered by numerous units and departments scattered across the university, making it difficult to find and access necessary services. This difficulty was attributed to several important obstacles, including siloed communication, a lack of visibility around services, imperfect or nonexistent coordination among researchers and service providers, and an absence of processes or a framework to continuously assess and adjust service offerings to meet researchers’ needs.

Among the team's recommendations was the creation of a Research Facilitation Service, which would help address challenges related to discovery and access to these services. The proposed model also presented an opportunity to increase and improve communication between campus service providers, and to document researchers’ growing and emerging needs and advocate for resources to address these needs from university administration.

In early 2021, a larger, cross-campus task force and the newly formed Research Facilitation Service team utilized this high-level model as a basis for designing and implementing an operational RFS. Throughout 2021 and 2022, the RFS began onboarding staff and building relationships with campus service providers, gradually rolling out the service to campus with an eye to accomplishing its goals.