Research Development

Research Development (RD)

The Research Development (RD) certificate is designed for specialists who work with researchers to improve the number, size and quality of their grant proposals, and who participate in the development of strategies and practices to enhance and expand the institution’s research agenda. The certificate’s aims are:

  1. To support new and ongoing initiatives that will grow the institution’s position in sponsored research
  2. To provide strategic direction and expert support for the institutional research enterprise
  3. To develop investigator capacity to submit more and better individual proposals
  4. To improve the success rate of proposals submitted by the institution, especially those targeted to larger, more complex grant programs.

Two (2) half-day workshop and seven (7) concurrent sessions (four (4) required sessions; three (3) elective sessions)

Required Workshop

WS6: The Organizational Structure of Research Administration - Who Decides?

Date and Time: Sunday, April 28, 2019 - 9:00am to 12:30pm

Content level: Advanced

Research Administration is a fairly recent acknowledged profession. At the core of every research enterprise is an organizational infrastructure that supports researchers in their endeavors to change the world by exploring new and novel ways to address today’s societal challenges. This workshop highlights the various ways to set up an efficient organization.

Learning objectives:

  1. Analyze the various administrative functions in a successful strategic continuum.
  2. Recognize the impact of developing a strategic continuum approach to organizational structure.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Denise Clark, Associate Vice President for Research, University of Maryland; Ann Holmes, Assistant Dean, College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Maryland

WS8: Fundamentals of Research Development

Date and Time: Sunday, April 28, 2019 - 1:30pm to 5:00pm

Content level: Intermediate

This is a required workshop for the new certificate in Research Development, intended for individuals with three years or fewer in research administration or more experienced research administrators transitioning to roles in research development. Research development provides strategic, proactive, catalytic, and capacity-building activities that serve the research enterprise at large by supporting individual faculty members, teams of researchers, and central research administrations in attracting extramural research funding, fostering relationships, and developing and implementing strategies that increase institutional competitiveness and innovation.

To give a big and broad picture of research development, topics will include the role of the research development professional, how research development complements and differs from research administration, developing individual and institutional grant capacity, understanding and applying institutional strategies to enhance the overall research portfolio, orienting investigators to the research environment and research development, an overview of proposal components and the agency review process and providing leadership and support for large-scale, collaborative proposals.

Learning objectives:

  1. Describe the approach and components of research development for the institution.
  2. Apply these strategies in the participant's home institution to increase grant capacity and proposal success.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Marjorie Piechowski, PhD, Emerita Director of Research Support, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Required Concurrent Session

M103: How We Successfully Implemented Shared Services to Support Faculty Research

Date and Time: Monday, April 29, 2019 - 9:30am to 10:45am

Content level: Intermediate

The increased complexity and changing nature of research administration led us to evaluate the models we use institutionally to provide services to faculty. This session will look at Yale’s approach to regionalizing research administration services for academic and non-academic departments. Our organization, Faculty Research Management Services, seeks to raise the level of service to Principal Investigators while increasing compliance and mitigating risk. During this session we will discuss how the current model was designed and implemented on our campus, provide the challenges and successes during the transition, and provide an opportunity to have a discussion about all aspects of this model.

Learning objectives:

  1. Identify the types of services that can be offered and how to successfully brand.
  2. Understand the benefits, challenges and successes in implementing a shared service.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Joanne Bentley, MBA, Senior Director, Yale University

M403: Strategies for Developing Large-Scale, Complex Grant Proposals

Date and Time: Monday, April 29, 2019 - 3:45pm to 5:00pm

Content level: Intermediate

As the complexity of today's most pressing research requires collaboration and team science, grant proposals have become more complex to plan and coordinate. This session will present strategies to manage the proposal process and help investigators prepare competitive large-scale, collaborative grant proposals, which differ in many ways from individual research grants. The speaker will describe typical proposal components, provide examples of complex, large-scale proposals from many funding agencies, and consider the organizational challenges of these proposals. Other topics will include advice on organizing research teams, assigning responsibilities for developing the proposal narrative and budget, reviewing and editing proposal narratives, and submitting the final proposal package. Audience participation and questions are highly encouraged.

Learning objectives:

  1. Describe challenges and list strategies that will enhance the development of complex, large-scale, multi-disciplinary grant proposals.
  2. Define interdisciplinary research, team science and collaboration and understand the increased emphasis on team science and collaboration in grant programs.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Marjorie Piechowski, PhD, Emerita Director of Research Support, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

T104: Sponsored Project Lifecycle: It's Time to Submit a Proposal. Let's Do This!

Date and Time: Tuesday, April 30, 2019 - 9:15am to 10:30am

Content level: Intermediate

The process of submitting a proposal is challenging due to the amount of information that has to be gathered and reviewed before the submission can occur. Understanding the sponsor’s requirements, adhering to sponsor and institutional guidelines while keeping the principal investigator on track to meet the sponsor’s due date can be like a circus act. This workshop will help you get through common and not‐so‐common proposal development obstacles and develop skills so you can expertly guide the process. We will cover proposal submission from beginning to end, including the proposal solicitation, regulatory requirements, budget development, justification for funding, scope of work, working with PIs and everything else you need to get the proposal out the door.

Learning objectives:

  1. Identify the key components of successful proposal development and submission.
  2. Provide information on how to develop skills to effectively communicate and collaborate with faculty during the proposal process.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Tolise Dailey, CRA, Training Manager, Johns Hopkins University The Rubik's Cube is not just a forgotten toy from the 80's. The fact is that it's even more popular than ever before.

T203: How to Successfully Submit Your Next Proposal Submission?

Date and Time: Tuesday, April 30, 2019 - 10:45am to 12:00pm

Content level: Basic

In this session, we’ll describe the review process to submit a proposal from initiating PI meeting through portal submission. You’ll receive FAQs, resources, and best practices to put on track for a successful submission!

Learning objectives:

  1. List RFA/PA requirements and how to prepare for initial proposal meeting.
  2. Identify tips and tools for effective time management.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Hilah Zia, (MPA) Master of Public Administration, Research Business Manager, Children's National Medical System

Elective Concurrent Session

M305: Two Perspectives, One Goal: Achieving University-Industry Collaborations

Date and Time: Monday, April 29, 2019 - 2:15pm to 3:30pm

Content level: Intermediate

This presentation will identify key issues impacting university-industry collaborations and how to develop an agreement that works for all stakeholders at both parties.

Learning objectives:

  1. Identify the key issues impacting university-industry collaborations.
  2. Discover how to develop an agreement that works for all stakeholders at both parties.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Carlos Braxton, Associate Director, Office of Research Administration; Stephen Fisher, Associate Director, Research Administration, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

W104: Personnel Budgeting: Who, What, Where, and When?

Date and Time: Wednesday, May 1, 2019 - 9:15am to 10:30am

Content level: Basic

Personnel costs on a grant make project management complex, both during proposal development and post award grant management. Budgeting during proposal development involves many nuances and there can be lots of moving pieces to consider during post award management. Budget execution has its own complexities. This workshop will discuss pre- and post-award methods, complexities, and management, and will include both lecture and hands-on budget development scenarios for various funders.

Learning objectives:

  1. Understand the many facets of personnel budget development.
  2. Identify various personnel considerations when executing the award.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Rene Hearns, MPA, CRA, Assistant Director-‘IIRECC’/Study Coordinator/Budget Analyst, Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center; Kate McCormick, CRA, Senior Grants Administrator, Suffolk University

W204: Research Funding from Everything Except Extramural Grants. AKA: Diversifying Your Portfolio

Date and Time: Wednesday, May 1, 2019 - 10:45am to 12:00pm

Content level: Intermediate

We are so focused on large extramural grants, that we often overlook the other sources of research funding, including:

  • Philanthrop,
  • Foundation grants
  • Research contracts
  • 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.

Learning objectives:

  1. Learn the unique aspects of funding from non-traditional sources.
  2. How to seek, find and apply for research funding from sources other than large extramural grants.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Kevin Titus, MBA, Business Director, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Rubik's Cubes make a perfect gift for any occasion. Learn more about this amazing puzzle here .