Our Research Culture is embedded in our strategic vision. It is evident in the “R” of our REACH Strategic Vision – Realizing impact through research, Exceeding the expectations of our stakeholders, Actively advocating for inclusive, sustainable development, Committed to be caring professionals, and Harnessing our skills through continuous improvement and empowerment.

Within the FSS, we measure our success by the number of published, refereed papers or books that result from research. Impactful research is often showcased in Publications, Conferences and Seminars.
Efforts are continuously made to improve the quality, quantity and impact of research, innovation and publication.

Prof David Tennant on our Current Research Initiatives

The FSS emphasizes and showcases the importance of high-quality impactful research by encouraging and supporting the work of its academics through several initiatives. These initiatives encourage staff members to try to bring their work to completion, or as close to completion as they possibly can.

Several FSS strategic initiatives that are dedicated to encouraging research productivity and output include, but are not limited to:

• Enhancing Research and Publications through Academic Writing, for example, staging of an annual FSS Writer’s Retreat and Grant Writing Workshop
• Connecting Researchers through Multi-disciplinary Systems, for example, activating research clusters that connect researchers with expertise in various disciplines in a multi-campus, multi-disciplinary system, some of which are being driven by the FSS
• E.g. A research cluster that examined Small Island Developing States and the SDGs in the Wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and targeted large international research grants with the goal to generate and promote awareness of research opportunities for potential postgraduate students as well as for research collaborations with staff and students in other Universities.
• The SALISES research clusters also continue to foster multidisciplinary research within the Faculty.

FSS conducts research that responds to industry / government demands. The high quality of this research may be measured by the number of published works by faculty members in peer-reviewed journals and other notable outlets such as books, institutional survey reports, conferences and seminars (reported to Faculty Board on a monthly basis through HODs)

• E.g. Rapid Research Response to Global and Regional Health Demands - A number of research projects were initiated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and spearheaded by Faculty members
• Rapid Response Survey to COVID-19 (Dr. K. Johnson from the Faculty of Social Sciences Mona and a cross-campus team from the St. Augustine Campus and Cave Hill Campus);
• Rural small farmer households and income shocks from COVID (Dr Patricia Northover from Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies);
• The impact of COVID-19 on the employment of Household Workers in Jamaica (Dr. Heather Ricketts, Faculty of Social Sciences);
• The effect of COVID-19 on Caribbean Democracy (Dr. Lisa Vasciannie); Estimating the impact of COVID-19 on Jamaican MSMEs (Professor David Tennant, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences);
• SIDS & SDGs in the wake of COVID-19 (research cluster).
• The faculty was also represented on the National COVID-19 Research Agenda Committee (Kelly-Ann Dixon Hamil, Department of Economics)

The FSS also conducts Institutional Research to Inform Decision-Making. The FSS acknowledges that students, faculty, and staff are decision makers who affect achievement of the University’s mission and vision. As such, a number of institutional research initiatives are undertaken to gain student, faculty and staff perspectives.