ABSTRACT
The dean must also ensure that resources are provided that not only promote clinical research in general, but ensure that primary care research is supported. The role of the research director is both local and communal. He/she is responsible for the development of the individual faculty scholars as well as the community of scholars within the department. It is the research director's job to nurture research at the individual level, allowing it to percolate up to the levels of the research team and the department, while focusing individual efforts to maximize the group output. The chair may represent the most important individual in the development of research within a department. Support for research should ultimately depend upon support from the chair. The research director is key in securing and providing administrative support for research projects and the career development of investigators.
