Pre-conference Workshops

We are so focused on large extramural grants, that we often overlook the other sources of research funding, including: philanthropy, foundation grants, research contracts and internal grants. This workshop follows the principal of diversifying your portfolio and looks at these other sources of research funding and the nuances of these opportunities. Participants will take closer looks at these other sources of funding and learn how the better position their institution to not put all their proverbial eggs in one basket. We’ll cover finding the funding, applying for, and managing these different pots of gold. We’ll also cover a variety of different internal funding mechanisms that could be started at your institution; if you don’t already have them.

Research administration has always been a field of constant change and "it depends" - full of new regulations, government shutdowns, and campus emergencies. As research administrators, we often thrive in this environment. But a changing workforce and increased expectations for remote, or hybrid work options are pushing the boundaries for how we manage our teams and our work. Complexity of external funding continues as agencies push the envelope to meet heightened calls for fiscal accountability, research security, and diversity and equity while our organizations seek to optimize external funding as much as possible. How do managers balance all of this when the thought of full staffing is as elusive as a proposal submitted well before the deadline? Will your organization's current research administration structure fit a post-COVID 19 workforce and what metrics might be helpful to find out? And finally, how do you keep the dau to day going and your team motivated in a remote and lean work environment? 
The content of this workshop will span all of the areas of the practice of research administration including leadership development (delegation of responsibilities), research administration staffing and management (metrics), research and faculty development (enabling PIs to be proactive), innovation and economic development (using date to predict impact downstream), and integrity and stewardship (strategic planning as a means of practicing good stewardship). 
Come prepared to learn, laugh, and lament. 

This workshop will introduce the structure of NIH funding mechanisms, focusing on the most commonly awarded types of the roughly 120 different grant mechanisms awarded annually by the National Institutes of Health. Participants will receive hands-on training on how to maximize their use of the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) and will learn how to locate different NIH resources for preparing applications. By the end of the workshop, participants will not only be able to discuss different award mechanisms...the similarities and differences...they will also be able to describe the best ways to find relevant funding opportunities and application preparation materials.

Department of Defense agencies, and specifically DARPA, are engaging university researchers with increasing frequency. Many opportunities to build relationships and receive funding as institutions of higher education may come with potential issues such as the interpretation of guidelines, completion of complex application paperwork, negotiation of problematic clauses, engaging with industry, and financial management of large, multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional awards. This presentation will help participants identify potential issues in all phases (pre/negotiations/post) and share some best practices for successful submissions and award management.

Free Learning Lab. Registration still required. 

This Learning Lab’s goal is to demonstrate how research administrators can overcome their writing anxieties and develop scholarly articles that could be published by a professional journal. It will introduce the complex process of academic publishing and include targeted exercises to demystify the writing process, taking an often overwhelming process and breaking it into manageable pieces. Learning Lab participants will develop basic competencies in written communication, including planning, writing, peer-reviewing, revising, and submitting a scientific or academic manuscript for publication. Participants should bring a list of ways they have already contributed to the research administration field (e.g., through their area of expertise, through conference presentations, etc.) so that by the end of the session, they can envision how to build on those efforts to develop a peer-reviewed journal article. Lab content will also address writing-related anxiety, time-management, organization, editing, and responding to reviewers. This Learning Lab is for research administrators at any level who aspire to author a manuscript for a peer-reviewed journal that describes a professional activity that advances the conduct of research administration.

Are you new to pre-award or do you feel overwhelmed when a PI contacts you for help developing a budget? Then let us help you not only understand the fundamentals of creating an effective budget for both federal and private grants, but also give you tips and tricks for creating time-saving templates. We will discuss effort and the considerations needed to account for the NIH salary cap, the benefits of a detailed travel budget, and calculating the correct F&A base. Additionally, translating the budget to the budget justification will be discussed.

Building high performance teams are critical in research administration. With the ever-changing research and regulatory landscape and the challenging times of remote and hybrid work, strategically building and developing teams through goals, communication, and resources are key for success and professional satisfaction of each individual team member and for overall team performance. As busy leaders, we often fail to think strategically about how to build and empower our teams. This interactive workshop will focus on forming and leading highly productive and satisfied teams. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss and develop best practices for forming and empowering teams and for defining and evaluating team member competencies for success. Additionally, participants will assess their own leadership characteristics and style and how these positively or negatively contribute to team dynamics and culture.

This workshop, intended for individuals with fewer than three years' experience, is designed to give newcomers to research administration a big picture of the profession. Topics covered will include finding funding opportunities; orienting new faculty to the research environment; pre- and post-award administration; proposal development, submission, review and award negotiation; administrative and fiscal regulations; accountability and risk management; and research, fiscal, and professional ethics.

Clinical trials are a rapidly changing field in research administration. Many of the skills needed to administer more traditional investigator initiated, grant funded research projects can be adapted to managing clinical trials. This teaching workshop will examine the basics of clinical trial administration from recruiting projects to archiving records, explore the differences between industry and federally funded studies, highlight special concerns and discuss best practices for managing clinical trials.

Research is governed by important pillars of compliance to protect (a) the integrity of the research itself and (b) universities and research institutes from adverse reputational, financial and other serious consequences. At a higher-level picture, we need to support these compliance pillars in a multi-faceted approach, including input from senior management and extending to all involved in research and its administration. In this session, attendees will take a closer look at the various requirements for ensuring compliant and ethical research. This workshop aims to provide everyone involved in the the oversight of research at their institutions – research administrative and research compliance professionals - research administrators with professionals with a broader understanding of the world of research compliance. For administrators, a deeper understand of the details of research compliance and the pivotal role they play; for compliance staff, deeper role of the integration of research compliance and administration. Topics include, but are not limited to: subjects research, clinical trial administration, research involving animals, conflicts of interest, privacy, and research misconduct at both a national and international level.

As Dr. Seuss wrote, “Oh, the places you’ll go! Your mountain is waiting so get on your way.” If you need help climbing that mountain to NRSA funding success, this session will ensure you are confident and surefooted in keeping your trainees and fellows on the safe path to funding. This interactive workshop will focus on issues specific to grants awarded under the auspices of Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards, specifically Individual Fellowships (F's) and Institutional Training Grants (T32's). Scale new heights with an overview of the Kirschstein-NRSA Guidelines, recent and anticipated changes and navigate the mandatory electronic submission process for applications and forms.

What are the most important Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) or metrics that can help sponsored research institutions understand their institutions strengths and weaknesses. These KPI's/metrics will help identify trends, display a snapshot or measure over time, and track other measures such as efficiency, quality, timeliness, and performance. These KPIs and metrics provide information that is critical to decision making at research institutions and we will showcase how to use them in this session.

The "theory of everything" (TOE) is a hypothetical theory studied in physics; its intent is to fully explain and link together all known physical phenomena. The Introduction to Research Law workshop is similar to TOE in that it attempts to explain and link together all known issues of research administration. Legal issues arise throughout research, starting with intellectual property issues, continuing through contract and grant matters and living on in post research licensing, "derivative works disputes" and post-clinical trial liability questions. This workshop is for new research administrators who need a "boot camp" approach to recognizing the legal issues that they will face daily.

As leaders, we take our best technical staff and make them managers. However, we don't give them the training, coaching, and mentoring they need to excel. We rely on their technical skills while at the same time overlooking their soft "people" skills. What should we be doing to avoid setting them up for failure? The old command-and-control management approach is officially over…in this era; only leaders who can COACH their employees will advance their careers. Because EVERY company explicitly wants LEADERS WHO CAN COACH EMPLOYEES! Ask yourself: have you promoted a manager who orders employees around? OR do you want a manager who is more subtly inspiring, motivating, and asking questions (AKA COACHING)?

The International Compilation of Human Research Standards enumerates over 1,000 laws, regulations and guidelines that govern human subject protections in 131 countries as well as standards from various international and regional organizations. With the increased number of multi country research awards, research administrators are faced with additional challenges of managing not only the regulatory components of US laws, but also those of the countries where the part of the research is being implemented. Whilst there are a lot of similarities in the regulations, there exists also some critical differences that need to be carefully understood and hence managed for a fully compliant research. This half-day workshop will augment the knowledge of research administrators in learning what those are and how they can maneuver the difficult ones to attain a win-win for everyone… best of both worlds.

This workshop will provide an understanding of the 2 CFR 200 Requirements Related to Subrecipients vs. Contractors

• Under 2 CFR 200, there are two paths:
     o Subrecipients – Simply put members of the larger team supporting the Public Program under a Grant or Cooperative Agreement. The subrecipient receives the same 2 CFR 200 requirements placed on the Recipient.
     o Contractors – An organization providing products or services for the use of the recipient or subrecipient that are ancillary to the operation of the Federal program. The Procurement Standard within 2 CFR 200.317 through 200.327 are in place to govern these procurements and, at a minimum, the provisions within 2 CFR 200 Appendix II must be included.

In many higher education environments, faculty and research administrators often have a strained relationship; competing priorities and shifting deadlines can cause stressors in an otherwise productive workplace. One of the most vital, and often overlooked, areas of research administration at all levels is realizing that forging a solid working relationship with our faculty can help us all (RA & faculty alike) do our jobs more effectively. Through the lens of both central and departmental administration, we will discuss practical aspects of building camaraderie with your faculty members at all career levels. We will discuss many aspects of relationship building (how to build trust, working together effectively, mentoring junior faculty, etc) as well as providing a panel of faculty at the end of the workshop to answer all of the burning questions about increasing camaraderie you have (and others we’ve come up with during the workshop)! In the end, participants will receive a suggested communication framework to take home for how to engage with your faculty effectively to increase collaboration and promote positive work relationships.

This workshop will provide a basic understanding of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Participants will learn to the basics of the federal contracting process, how to navigate the FAR, how to negotiate FAR contracts, and how to properly document the corresponding award file.

When research administrators in pre-award offices help new investigators learn how to apply for grant funding and more experienced investigators update their grant skills and knowledge, they must be able to assist investigators to understand the different types of proposals and how to write each effectively; how to read and interpret proposal guidelines; how to plan the proposal, involving timelines, partners; what proposal parts or sections are expected, how to address them, and the need to relate the various sections to each other. In addition, this workshop will focus on sections of the proposal: goals and objectives, problem/need statement, methodology/project description, evaluation, and abstract. It will also include incorporating timelines and budget justifications; using charts and tables to explain complicated data and save space; instruction on clear and effective writing; editing for formatting, grammar, and content; and tips on proposal writing style to make proposals more fundable.