Given the meetings in which you will ask for financial support will take you right to the top, it’s important to also use them to answer the question: “What is the formal process to get recognised as a centre?”. Some intuitions will have forms, some will have a committee that meets to discuss new centres. Get a clear answer on what will be required to formally exist as a centre, what documentation is needed, and start the ball rolling. Some of these processes might require some new information you haven’t collected yet. For example, how many members will you have from each participant institution? Who are the major funders of work within your centre’s remit? What journals are people publishing in? As these questions come up, you may need to identify people who can access this information or work to collect it yourself. While people may wonder why you need access to a research finance system or bibliometric system, the answer that the VC asked for the data will enable access to almost any system.
By this point, with all of the above commitments and conversations, formal approval should be easily secured. But, it is important to cross this line officially, and celebrate when you do!
Now it’s time to plan a launch event.