Blogs

Spotlight: Allowability, Allocability, Reasonableness | Part 1: Incorporating AAR into the Research Administrator’s Daily Routine

By SRAI News
Spotlight: Allowability, Allocability, Reasonableness | Part 1: Incorporating AAR into the Research Administrator’s Daily Routine The Spotlight closes out the year with a study of allowability, allocability and reasonableness (AAR), essential skills in the research administrator’s toolkit. This series will define and provide examples of AAR costs, discuss compliance implications, explore internal controls, and highlight how proactively applying AAR principles can help maintain a compliant award throughout its life cycle. How often does a research administrator (RA) hear or say some variation of, “You cannot charge that expense to this account, ...
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Note from the Editor | Living in Transformation Station

By SRAI News
Note from the Editor | Living in Transformation Station As Research Administrators, we work in a world of ever-changing rules and regulations. In other words, we live in Transformation Station, that proverbial place where everything around us might change while we are in mid-stride (i.e.. in the middle of the proposal development process), or the real-life version of the staircase in Harry Potter. We have to be highly adaptable and detail-oriented people to thrive in Transformation Station. Because we are that, we are uniquely prepared for some of the changes big and small coming our way. We'll wrap up this year's Spotlight exploring Allowability, ...
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View from the Top | Building Momentum

By SRAI News
View from the Top | Building Momentum Thank you to everyone who made this year’s SRAI Annual Meeting in Chicago a tremendous success! The energy and excitement were palpable throughout the five days of learning, networking, and celebrating. Sessions were well attended, and participants were highly engaged, asking insightful questions and sharing ideas. This truly embodies the essence of professional development and what SRAI stands for – learning from one another and building networks. I hope your experience was as enriching as mine. For those who could not attend the Annual Meeting do not worry – there are numerous opportunities to continue learning and ...
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Empowering Diversity Part III | The Future of AI in Research Administration and Its Role in Enhancing DEI

By SRAI News
Empowering Diversity Part III | The Future of AI in Research Administration and Its Role in Enhancing DEI Artificial intelligence (AI) can impact the multigenerational workforce in significant and dynamic ways by influencing workplace roles and other aspects. It provides opportunities to improve workforce performance, team building, and interactions among co-workers. Here are some key aspects to consider: Adaptability Younger generations, like Gen X and Gen Z, are often tech-savvy and adaptable. This gives them an advantage in roles that require AI proficiency. Baby Boomers may need a little more time to adapt to AI; however, knowing the historical ...
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Look Up and Smell the Roses: Impact and Meaning of RA Work

By SRAI News
Look Up and Smell the Roses: Impact and Meaning of RA Work Research administrators are involved in meaningful and impactful work that supports and improves the lives of others. This is easy to miss when engaged in the daily grind and never-ending paperwork. Always take time and reflect on the impact this work has on our institutions and society. Have you ever surrendered to the feeling that research administration (RA) work is a never-ending grind? Managing grant deadlines, tracking down collaborators, navigating administratively burdensome procedures and practices, filling out HR new hire paperwork, monitoring budgets, submitting timely reports, ...
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You Say Potato, I Hear Tomato: Communication Challenges in Research Administration

By SRAI News
You Say Potato, I Hear Tomato: Communication Challenges in Research Administration When I was 11 years old, we moved from a small town near Pisa, Italy to El Paso, Texas. My dad was in the US Army, and we had been in Europe for eight years at that point. We approached El Paso like being in another foreign country because most people we encountered spoke a language that we did not. One night we were having dinner in a Mexican restaurant that we had been to many times before, being served by our favorite waiter. That night, we happened to be facing a mural and my mom looked up and read the wording on the wall. However, we did not speak Spanish and pronounced ...
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Inviting an Elephant up the Stairs: Improving Communication through Improv

By SRAI News
Inviting an Elephant up the Stairs: Improving Communication through Improv Improvisation is about listening and helping individuals work together to improve communication, enhance teamwork, increase creativity, and create more open and better leadership. Improv skills align perfectly with the necessary skills required to be a successful research administrator, whether working with colleagues or faculty. Research management is typically thought of as an intricate network of rules and regulations that must be followed. However, we also facilitate, mitigate ambiguity and complexity, and ultimately are communicators ( translators ) to our stakeholders ...
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SRAI Professional Development Framework

By SRAI News
SRAI Professional Development Framework In 2023, SRAI commissioned a task force to develop a systematic framework to be used as a tool to assist with identifying the knowledge and capabilities required to be an effective research administrator and to guide practitioners through their career journey. At the 2024 SRAI Annual Meeting in Chicago, the professional development framework was unveiled. Members can now use this tool to identify their learning needs and connect those to specific SRAI program opportunities . It has long been realized that no one goes to school saying, "I want to be a research administrator when I grow up.” Much of the knowledge ...
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Your Questions Answered | What Are Your Favorite Research Administration Acronyms?

By SRAI News
Your Questions Answered | Advancing Your Career Throughout this year, the Catalyst will feature a question posed to our panel of SRAI Distinguished Faculty members to get their take on all sorts of topics encompassing research administration. Do you have a research administration question for our experts? Send your questions to catalyst@srainternational.org ! This month, we asked our experts: What are some of your favorite or most used research administration acronyms? Dara C. Little, Associate VP for Research/Executive Director Sponsored Programs, Northern Illinois University, SRAI Distinguished Faculty My favorite is probably FFATA (Federal ...
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Note from the Editor | Expanding Our Horizons

By SRAI News
Note from the Editor | Expanding Our Horizons This month’s Catalyst aims to inspire new ideas, strengthen connections, and propel your professional growth as we get ready to wrap up the year and start planning to prepare for 2025. We’re thrilled to bring you Part 3 of Hanna Bates’ insightful series on Relationship Building . This latest installment dives even deeper into the power of connections in our field, offering strategies to foster collaboration and trust. Gloria Greene’s View from the Top gives us a taste of Halloween with The Spooky Office of Sponsored Programs: Haunted Deadlines and Creepy Compliance. The SRAI DEI Committee continues exploring ...
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Introducing Our New Distinguished Faculty Members!

By SRAI News
Introducing Our New Distinguished Faculty Members! Please join us in celebrating the recent induction of these exceptional members as SRAI Distinguished Faculty: Terry Campbell Mir Khan Mark Lucas Karen Mitchell Pamela Montgomery Nana Oye Akuffo Maria Soliman Jennifer Woodward Click here to learn more about our newest Distinguished Faculty members. Who are SRAI’s Distinguished Faculty? SRAI’s Distinguished Faculty are accomplished leaders in research administration who elevate the professional growth of their peers by developing and delivering high-quality educational content. They play a critical role in shaping ...
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Relationship Building Part 3 | Putting it all Together: Effective Communication Resolves Conflicts

By SRAI News
Relationship Building | Part 3: Putting it all Together: Effective Communication Resolves Conflicts The Spotlight concludes its relationship-building series with a focus on how to draw upon effective listening and communication techniques to effectively mitigate conflicts at work. Potentially harmful situations can be transformed into positive outcomes through targeted, meaningful self-awareness practices. Conflict in a workspace is often the result of disagreement between individuals caused by several variables, such as differences in temperament, communication styles, or a variance in goals and perspectives. Contentious situations can frequently be stressful ...
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Empowering Diversity Part II: Potential Cautions of AI on Diversity, Engagement and Inclusion (DEI) in Research Administration

By SRAI News
Empowering Diversity Part II: Potential Cautions of AI on Diversity, Engagement and Inclusion (DEI) in Research Administration AI, with its potential to revolutionize how organizations approach DEI in research administration, offers significant benefits. Its ability to swiftly and accurately process large volumes of data using advanced algorithms can uncover patterns and trends, empowering institutions to gain deeper insights into their DEI metrics and make faster, more informed decisions. For instance, AI can scrutinize internal grant distribution data, identifying and resolving gender and racial disparities in funding and resource allocation, thereby promoting ...
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A New Approach to Career Paths: Career Latticing – Benefits and Pitfalls: Part 2

By SRAI News
A New Approach to Career Paths: Career Latticing – Benefits and Pitfalls: Part 2 Last month, we looked at the concept of a career lattice approach to professional growth and development, rather than a career ladder with defined succession steps rising to the top of an organization. This month we will touch on the benefits and pitfalls of following a career lattice approach. What are the benefits of a career lattice approach? By moving into different areas of your profession, you can learn more about the background, concepts, and overall mission of what you choose to do. In research administration, it could mean much of what I have been fortunate to experience. ...
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Create Training Experiences to Maximize Knowledge Retention and Skill Development

By SRAI News
Create Training Experiences to Maximize Knowledge Retention and Skill Development As a research administrator, you may have certain outreach responsibilities to train university colleagues on sponsored programs processes and compliance. In training endeavors, you must engage an audience of seasoned professionals, while also imparting vital knowledge that will remain with the audience long after they have left the event. Adult Learners When presenting to an adult audience, consider characteristics that make adult learners unique and capable of retaining knowledge and skills. Adult learners are not blank slates—they bring a wealth of experiences with them. ...
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Research Administrators and Faculty Researchers: A Study on Relationships and Compliance Outcomes

By SRAI News
Research Administrators and Faculty Researchers: A Study on Relationships and Compliance Outcomes As we consider relationship building in research administration, we must also consider the complex nature of the environment in which most of us work. The complexity of the structure dates back to when higher education was operated purely through a collegial model of self-governance; however, modern day regulations, statutes, and financial constraints have turned colleges and universities into more bureaucratic and political communities (Manning, 2018). The combination of the academic and bureaucratic structures within the university may seem at times tensive; ...
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‘Tis the Season: For Annual Reporting of Data

By SRAI News
‘Tis the Season: For Annual Reporting of Data As many approach or have just closed a fiscal year, thoughts are now turning towards annual reporting of data. ‘Tis the season for research administrators to measure, count, and identify new paths! This may occur across higher education institutions, industry, and private research bodies. In terms of research administration, data is a key driver of information about financial health, supports financial planning and forecasting, and can be key to determining volume of work as well as human resource planning. By using data to create a clearer picture, forecasting around system upgrades and infrastructure needs, personnel ...
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Research Administration – How many Languages Do You Speak?

By SRAI News
Research Administration – How Many Languages Do You Speak? We live in a multicultural world, and there are over 7,000 languages spoken in the world. Today’s technology allows us to learn with language apps such as Babbel and Duolingo, even teaching Navajo and Hawaiian languages. We use it daily in our home for Italian, French and Russian, but we are far from fluent. Professionally, we often have to learn another language – or add to the vocabulary we already have. For example, fluency in grant speak is critical for research administrators, thus it comes to communicating with our PIs and other departments, and there’s no app for that. After attending school ...
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Advancing Your Research Administration Career: A Professional Growth Journey

By SRAI News
Advancing Your Research Administration Career: A Professional Growth Journey Embarking on a career in research administration is a journey of continuous learning, relationship-building, and leadership. Like the lifecycle of a research project, your career unfolds in distinct phases—each offering opportunities to build new skills, establish meaningful connections, and grow into leadership roles. Let’s explore how you can advance your career at each stage of your professional growth journey by engaging in sessions at the 2024 SRAI Annual Meeting in Chicago , Oct. 26-30. Building a Solid Foundation Advancing your career starts with mastering the essential ...
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Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle

By SRAI News
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle The term burnout is common in research administration. Whether you are at a conference or catching up with others at your institution, emotional exhaustion is present in so many of our conversations. As I enter another year in this field, my conversations with mentors have shifted to a common message, “You’re too young to burn out.” So I did what anyone these days does, I went to the internet for help. I searched through numerous books and found Burnout: the secret to unlocking the stress cycle, by Emily Nagoski, PhD and Amelia Nagoski, DMA. The book’s three parts work to explain the stress cycle through scientific ...
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