I have managed multiple research organizations, in businesses and academia. Without a goal and process the institute will be a failure. It will fail to produc

I have managed multiple research organizations, in businesses and academia. Without a goal and process the institute will be a failure. It will fail to produce interesting results. It will fail to attract and grow talent. And it will fail to do well by the researchers who you are hoping to benefit. In my own opinion, the best goal is something that you can derive a market signal for. For DeepMind, this was video game playing. For Paul Allen Institute, it is the ability to spin-off bets. If you try and sell something, you get a clear opinion of its value. The process is also important. For a research institute, my suggestion is a periodic public interaction. There are many ways of garnering this; self-publishing reports, publishing in journals and conferences, attending (or better yet holding) conferences, increasing funding from public events, or seeking out collaborations with other institutions.