Pre-Award Fundamentals Intensive - Program

Pre-Award Fundamentals Intensive

May 15 - June 26, 2024

1:00 - 3:00 PM ET

This six-week training program is designed to help research administrators take the first steps in understanding Pre-Award. The program will cover organizational structures and funding sources. Participants will have the opportunity to explore proposal and budget development as well as submission processes and award acceptance actions. The field of research administration is expansive with professionals in grant writing, budget development, contracts, compliance, financial management, clinical trials, etc. With almost any skillset you can find a niche in research administration. In this intensive training program, we are going to focus on the foundations of pre-award research administration.

The pre-award aspect of our discipline is the launching point of any research program, so your role is vital to the research portfolio of your institution. So, let’s get you off to a solid start on your career path. Over the next couple of weeks, we will discuss organizational structures and their tie to how we carry out our work. We will also explore how to identify funding opportunities that enhance the mission of your principle investigator, department, or institution. Another key component of pre-award work is proposal and budget development, so we will breakdown the components of a grant application, and then we will tackle how to submit proposals. But, this intensive isn’t a cliff-hanger. We will wrap up the program discussing the next steps in graciously accepting reviewers’ comments or responding to an award notification. We will be using a number of interactive learning tools, so we encourage you to actively participate.

Intended Audience

This session is intended for those just stepping into a pre-award position whether as a newcomer to the field of research administration or those changing focus within research administration. We also encourage research administrators in other areas of the discipline to attend because this course will provide a system-wide perspective on the research enterprise. Research faculty may also benefit from these workshops in gaining an understanding of differing aspects of the pre-award processes.

Learning Objectives

  • Analyze organizational structures, staff roles, and institutional commitments for pre-award administration.
  • Identify funding opportunities and align program development with agency goals.
  • Review a request for applications (RFA) and identify key components within submission guidelines.
  • Develop a proposal budget within the strictures of law and institutional policy.
  • Discuss proposal submission processes and interact with proposal submission systems. 
  • Evaluate and negotiate award notifications.
  • Set goals for their professional development.

Course Details

Online Classroom:
  • Intensive sessions will be held via Zoom.
  • You will receive login details and instructions on accessing the online classroom environment upon enrollment.
Connect Pages:
  • Access to Connect Pages will be provided upon enrollment in the course.
  • Connect Pages serve as the central hub for meeting recordings and communication.
CEU Credits:
  • This course is eligible for 12 Continuing Education Units (CEU) credits.
  • Participants who successfully complete the course and meet the evaluation criteria will receive a certificate of completion along with documentation of the earned CEU credits.
Webinars:
  • Participants will have access to 5 additional hours of Webinars related to the intensive training.