2025 ADFM Annual Conference

As our department rose out of the pandemic, leaders sought an initiative that would advance the development and wellbeing of all faculty whether they be clinicians, researchers, educators, or a mixture with an emphasis on non-research faculty. A two-day retreat revealed that the common wind in the sails of faculty members was curiosity. In response, our leadership team developed Inquiry over the past two years, a program that turns faculty and staff members' curiosity into deliberate and structured projects that can make a difference through sharing at the local, regional, national, and international levels. Our tag line: “Turning curiosity about what matters to us into inquiry that makes a difference to us.” Development of the Inquiry initiative has included creation of our Inquiry Portal, a centralized online location where requesters can share what they are curious about and ask for support in developing scholarship around their questions. To further this work, we have curated a team of part-time professionals including a research services specialist, a technical writer, a statistical data analyst, and two evaluation designers. Whereas the Inquiry Portal primarily accommodates requests narrow in scope (e.g., creation of a survey or manuscript assistance), the Pilot and Exploratory Program is staffed and funded to assist with multiple stages and needs of longer-term pilot or exploratory projects from start to finish which provides a small amount of funding and more research support for non-research faculty to advance their Inquiry projects.