iSRA Departmental Administration - Program

Program Objective

The Departmental Administration Research Training Intensive was developed for early career individuals responsible for directly supporting investigators and research teams. The content is designed to provide a strong foundation necessary to manage the complexities and nuances of departmental research administration. Participants will self-train at their own pace with micro-credentialing modules, then participate in five 90-minute cohort sessions online to discuss key elements and review course concepts.

Program Description

iSRA's Departmental Administration Training Intensive will occur over a six-week period, March 13 - April 17, 2023. The cohort will meet weekly on Monday's at 1PM EST for 90 minutes.

This cohort experience is designed for early career individuals responsible for directly supporting investigators and research teams. This course combines LevelUp micro-credential modules that participants complete on their own time with weekly virtual instructor-lead sessions. The content is designed to provide the strong foundation necessary to manage the complexities and nuances of departmental research administration. 

Participants will begin by learning sponsor, regulatory and organizational landscapes before progressing to pre-award research concepts including guideline reviews, budget development, and proposal preparation. Subsequent sessions and modules will cover the administrative and financial responsibilities for managing active awards including charging expenses to research accounts, effort reporting, sponsor reporting, and award closeouts. Throughout the program, participants will also be introduced to regulatory compliance areas that ensure research integrity and protect research participants. Finally, all cohort members will have access to the Intensive experts through weekly office hours and via SRAI’s Connect platform to interact and discuss essential topics.

The course includes the following LevelUP Micro-credentialing Modules

At the end of the course, participants will receive a Level II LevelUp Badge. Click here, for more information about SRAI’s LevelUp program.

Learning Objectives

After completing Departmental Administration, participants will be able to:

  • Gain a better understanding of the unique and complex role of Departmental Administrators in Research Administration.
  • Identify and recognize sponsor frameworks, guidelines, policies and procedures, approaches for effective proposal submission.
  • Become familiar with essential budget development concepts.
  • Learn departmental administrative responsibilities for managing and reporting on active projects.
  • Understand general principles of cost allocations, financial compliance, and award closeouts.
  • Develop familiarity with key compliance concepts as they relate to animal and human research participants, financial conflicts of interest, and basic research ethics.

Intended Audience

This program is intended primarily for the research administrators with less than 3 years experience who are involved in departmental administration. 

Program Instructors

Laura Wennstrom Sheehan

Manager of Research Administration
Department of Family Medicine
University of California Los Angeles

Sean Scott

Research Administration Lead

University of Kentucky

Quick Links