St Structuring ructuring a New a New or or Res Restructur tructuring ing an an Exi Existing sting Res Resea earch rch Adm Administration inistration Of Offi fice ce at at a PU a PUI NCURA Region II Spring Meeting Buffalo, NY, April 21-24, 2013
Angela Sgroi Director, Academic Grants and Sponsored Research The College of New Jersey asgroi@tcnj.edu Ruth Tallman Director, Office of Research Administration and Advancement University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science rtallman@umces.edu NCURA Region II Spring Meeting Buffalo, NY, April 21-24, 2013
Recognizing that Structuring/Restructuring a PUI RA Office is an overwhelming task, we hope this short session will give you tools and ideas to help you to: • identify the range and scope of functions that can be undertaken as part of a RA Office; • evaluate your institution’s culture; • establish a mission and goals for YOUR RA Office that reflect YOUR institutional goals SESSION OBJECTIVES
• identify RA Office challenges unique to most PUIs; • Pre-Award Services: facilitating the proposal process • Post- Award Services: providing proactive service to PI’s • Compliance: assessing the risks • establish priorities with the help of a risk assessment analysis SESSION OBJECTIVES, continued
• identify a few broad key areas of RA office function that can be targeted to help overcome some of the most common and/or most pernicious challenges PUIs face; • Assess your resources and think about assets within your institution • share ideas for best practices in meeting those challenges. SESSION OBJECTIVES, continued
• Who are we as an institution and how does that shape what we do as a RA office? How does it define the kinds of research and sponsored programs we tend to have at this institution and how a RA office needs to interact with its people? • Who are our faculty members? Who are our students? What is important for their work and their learning that an RA office can contribute to? • Who are the administrative, faculty, and staff people across the campus whose work includes some RA functions and/or who can use RA support? WHO ARE WE?
• What is the mission of your office? • A former mentor said “The first goal of an Office of Sponsored Programs is to provide consistency, control and protection to the institution.” * * Herbert “Chuck” Chermside, resadm -l, 8/12/2004 WHAT IS RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION?
• What special challenges do RA offices at PUIs face? • What will I make RA at my college/university? • What shape will it take--pre-award, post award, research compliance (all or only some), public funders, private funders, joint w/ development? WHAT IS RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION? continued
• What does NCURA say it is? (See NCURA Scope and Standard for Peer Reviewed Sponsored Projects Organizations handout) WHAT IS RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION? continued
Chuck Chermside sums it up best for us: “So, underlying all you do, are the principles of protecting the institution and of service to the researchers….But be sure the way you do it is perceived by most...as service/assistance rather than bureaucracy/roadblocks. Good Luck!! Chuck”* * Herbert “Chuck” Chermside, resadm -l, 8/12/2004 WHAT IS RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION? continued
• Prioritize – risk assessment tools • Identify general key areas that must be addressed first (e.g.. Compliance) • How much of the activities can be accomplished at the PI level or by other units on campus? • How much can be assumed by your office? WHEN WILL I EVER GET ALL OF THIS PUT TOGETHER?
• Compliance • Research compliance (IRB, IACUC, FCOI, RCR, HIPAA, etc.) • Fiscal compliance (OMB Circulars, other endless federal/state regulations) Common Broad Areas for PUIs to Address
• Development of a grantsmanship culture • Continually encouraging and supporting increased grantsmanship; • assisting in development and/or enhancement of a research culture Common Broad Areas for PUIs to Address, continued
• Other? Common Broad Areas for PUIs to Address, continued
HOW ? POW! POW! THIS IS THE QUESTION OF QUESTIONS!
• Establish an advisory committee • Survey • Define current roles and responsibilities • Who is performing specific tasks now? • Develop a matrix of roles and responsibilities • Meet regularly with all the players • Revisit Roles and Responsibilities periodically HOW ? continued
Policy Development • One step at a time based on priorities • Don’t do it in a vacuum – form a working group, solicit advice from advisory committee • Each policy comes with clear procedures • Implement guidelines when a policy can be avoided HOW ? continued
Website and Tools • Keep it simple and easy to update • Provide lots of templates and forms • Make sure tools are used consistently • Institutional information - find and grab • Who to Contact Information • Links to Agencies HOW ? continued
Building Trust and Cooperation • Meet frequently with all the players • Discuss one aspect of compliance at each meeting • Listen to war stories, brainstorm solutions • Effective Communication • Take the time to phone or stop by • Training, Training, Training HOW ? continued
• Are you small in a big town? Consider collaborating with other institutions such as to use their IRB or IACUC or to share the cost of a license for service for funding opportunities. • Use technology whenever you can! HOW ? continued
• Network like crazy. Ask everyone you know how they do certain things. We can start that discussion right in this session with some ideas we present and by asking participants to share their best ideas and best practices. • RESADM-L@hrinet.org • Beg, steal, and borrow like crazy from your RA colleagues. See what works for you. • Try to attend NCURA meetings and conferences for best practices, hands on advice, etc. Resources
GIVE YOURSELF A HUG!
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