## COIL Connect Research Group
When individual members join COIL Connect, we ask each to select up to two roles they have in our field. 348 of those who responded to this query over the past nine months indicated that they are researchers, representing 25% of the 1,400 individual members who were active on the COIL Connect site over that period.
Knowing that so many of you have a strong research interest is exciting. In response to this information, COIL Connect is developing a research group framework to support COIL virtual exchange (VE) researchers and research projects focused on COIL VE theory and practice.
To understand better who our researchers are and what would be helpful to them, we are undertaking a survey of these research members.
In March or April, we will call an online meeting to expand the dialogue amongst COIL Connect researchers and define the activities of the Research Group. If you have questions or comments, you may post them in the Connect Space [(https://coilconnect.org/connectspace)](https://coilconnect.org/connectspace) forum topic: “Research Initiative”.