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View from the Top | The Road Ahead

2022 was an excellent period for SRAI, and 2023 is off to a great start. The foundation we built over the previous year, culminating in updating our strategic plan in November, is already yielding results. Last May, I brought together SRAI’s leadership with the University of Alabama in Huntsville to partner on a NSF funding opportunity to develop a series of training programs on research security, one of the hottest topics in our profession. I am excited to share that our proposal was accepted and SRAI is a subrecipient for NSF 22-576 Research Security Training for the United States (U.S.) Research Community. This is a great opportunity for SRAI to leverage our considerable expertise and collective intellect in support of the development of our profession. 

Funding on this cooperative agreement was awarded to 4 teams, with UAH and SRAI collaborating to develop the module entitled Research Security Training: The Importance of Research Security. The NSF recently published a press release on this initiative, which can be found here. This project will be led by Dr. Tommy Morris, Director, Center for Cybersecurity Research and Education and his expert team of educators. Evan Roberts, SRAI’s Executive Director, is the subrecipient PI, with additional support from Gina Cuevas Snyder, CAPM and Jim Mitchell, two of our great headquarters team members. Our HQ team was instrumental in developing the project plan and proposal for this opportunity and will be essential in helping our experts realize their vision for the training module. 

SRAI’s deep network of professionals with experience training the international community will be a big part of our contribution to this project. Susan Wyatt Sedwick, PhD, CRA, CSM and Andrea Deaton of Attain Partners and legal experts J. Michael Slocum, Slocum & Boddie, PLLC and Thomas E. Gilbertsen, Dueffert Gilbertsen PLLC will be leading our subject matter expert’s and focus groups that will be collaborating with federal experts across many branches of the government to develop the course material. Finally, our partners at Walden Group, LLC led by Creative Director Julie Stelter will be responsible for instructional design and creative development of the module. Ms. Stelter’s team has worked with SRAI since the earliest days of the LevelUP program and epitomizes the integrity and commitment to excellence you have come to expect from SRAI and its partners. 

As the NSF highlighted in their press release, “Addressing knowledge gaps, strengthening training in research security, managing and mitigating risk in international collaborations, and adhering to research security best practices help safeguard scientific progress and protect U.S. research interests from foreign and domestic risks and threats.” Our awareness and strategies to manage research security have grown exponentially over the last 5 years and can be seen in every corner of SRAI’s programming, from our cutting-edge training intensives to numerous concurrent sessions at the annual and section meetings. SRAI’s members were at the forefront of recognizing the importance of research security. Advancing a core element of our mission, this series of modules will be vital in building the knowledge, understanding, and situational awareness necessary in research teams and administrators to protect intellectual discoveries while maintaining our culture of collaboration and openness. 

Stayed tuned for more updates in the coming months as we work to expand our community, engage our community partners, and innovate research administration and management! 

References:
NSF 2022 Research Security Training for the United States Research Community awardees announced | NSF - National Science Foundation

Authored by Gloria W. Greene, Assistant Vice President, Contracts & Grants
The University of Alabama
SRAI Board of Directors President