The Brown Center for Faculty Innovation and Excellence

Focused Inquiry Group

The Brown Center for Faculty Innovation and Excellence will support the creation of five Focused Inquiry Groups (FIGs) to explore a variety of questions, issues, or concerns focusing on, for example, student learning and success, faculty and staff well-being, or creative approaches to community building. These are just a few examples.

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What Is A Focused Inquiry Group? 

A Focused Inquiry Group (FIG) is a small working group of 4 – 5 members who meet in person or online to work together on a specific question, issue, or concern. Collaborative inquiry provides an opportunity for participants to recognize common challenges and work together to create solutions.

What Will A FIG Do?

Facilitated by the group leader, a FIG will work together to:

  • Create a space that facilitates collaboration and creative thinking 
  • Develop a critical question around a central theme or topic
  • Find sources of data relevant to the question
  • Gather data, if necessary, from members of the community (e.g., faculty, staff, students, administrators) via surveys, interviews, focus groups, etc.
  • Critically review the evidence (e.g., reports, collected and published data)
  • Create a brief final report that describes:
    • The impetus for the group’s work and the question identified to drive the work
    • How the evidence was used to guide the creation of an action plan (i.e., a well-defined description of the goal(s) to be achieved and steps that need to be taken to reach the goal(s))
    • Target Outcomes
    • Process for assessment of the effectiveness
  • Optional* Prepare a presentation of the group’s work and recommendations during the Brown Center’s Spring Colloquium on Teaching and Learning Innovation

The principal goal of this work is to foster the creation of a space that :

  • Allows for the free-flowing exchange of ideas
  • Invites Creative Risk
  • Yields an action plan that can be easily implemented and assessed for effectiveness.

A FIG project should be manageable enough to complete over the course of a semester. The group leader will be responsible for facilitating the group’s work, coordinating meetings, and working with the group to prepare a presentation and write the final report.

Additionally, each FIG will receive up to $500 to support the group’s work. (e.g., purchase of books, supplies, basic meals, refreshments, etc.). Meetings (60 -90 minutes) may take place anytime.

A FIG is expected to meet at least four times. At least once before the end of the fall semester and at least once a month during the spring semester between January and March. The presentation of the group’s project at the spring colloquium is optional. Please send Tatiana Cameron a note by mid-February if your group wishes to present their findings during the colloquium.

Important Dates for the 2025-2026 Academic Year: (Subject To Change)

  • August 2025: Call for participants
  • September 2025: Applications reviewed, and FIGS formed
  • October – November 2025: Scheduled meeting of FIG leaders with Brown Center director
  • March 1, 2026: Colloquium submission deadline
  • May 2026: Summary report due
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