2019 Western/Southern Section Meeting

Date and Time:Sunday, March 10, 2019 - 9:00am to 5:00pm

Content level: Basic

 This workshop, intended for individuals with fewer than three years' experience, is designed to give newcomers to research administration a big picture of the profession. Topics covered will include finding funding opportunities; orienting new faculty to the research environment; pre- and post-award administration; proposal development, submission, review and award negotiation; administrative and fiscal regulations; accountability and risk management; and research, fiscal, and professional ethics.

Learning objectives:

1. Identify pre- and post-award activities for sponsored research activity.
2. Understand the components of and prepare a proposal and manage the post-award process.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Jennie Amison, Director, Sponsored Research Development, San Diego State University Research Foundation; Kimberly Page, Manager, Pre-Award Services, Boise State University; Janet Stoeckert, Director, Research Administration, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California

Date and Time: Monday, March 11, 2019 - 9:30am to 10:45am

Content level: Basic

This session will cover the components of grants and contracts, distinguish between gifts and awards, reveal various funding sources and explain the implications of "strings attached or unattached."

Learning objectives:

1. Participants will be able to determine if funding is a gift or a grant.
2. Participants will be able to identify various parts of a grant or contract.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Nancy Cruikshank, CRA, Director of Grants, Research & Sponsored Programs, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania; Yvonne Brewster, MPM, Director of Research Administration and Finance, Departments of Anesthesiology and Surgery, University of Pittsburgh

Date and Time: Monday, March 11, 2019 - 3:45pm to 5:00pm

Content level:Basic

Date and Time: Monday, March 11, 2019 - 9:30am to 10:45am

Content level: Basic

The US Department of Agriculture may be one of the most complex federal departments for sponsored programs administrators to interact with. The Department is collection of 29 agencies and offices that touches the lives of all people in the US and across the globe every day. Each individual USDA agency has their own proposal and award processes making submissions and award management no easy task. The speakers will cover the basics about a) how USDA interacts with universities, b) the types of agencies and programs that provide funding for research, extension and education activities, c) the elements of a successful NIFA proposal, and d) application and review processes and post-award reporting. From the perspective of a land-grant university, the speakers will discuss their experiences with select USDA agencies (including NIFA, Forest Service, Agricultural Research Service, Rural Development, etc), mandatory cost-sharing requirements and indirect costs recovery limitations. This session promises to be more than just a load of crop!

Learning objectives:

1. Learn basic information about the USDA, its agencies and select core research, extension and education initiatives.
2. Identify key proposal and award management issues, including potential cost-sharing requirements, indirect cost limitations and compliance risks.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

William Helmrath, MSM, CRA, Grants and Contracts Coordinator, The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture; Jane Burns, Interim Director, Office of Sponsored Programs, The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

Date and Time: Monday, March 11, 2019 - 11:00am to 12:15pm

Content level: Basic

This session will cover new developments at the National Science Foundation (NSF) - programs, policies, people and budgets. Senior NSF staff will provide a comprehensive review of what is new and developing at NSF.

Learning objectives:

1. Learn about the NSF Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 and 2018 budgets and administration priorities for NSF programs.
2. Understand how NSF has implemented recent changes to proposal and award policies and procedures.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Beth Strausser, Senior Policy Specialist, Policy Office, Division of Institution and Award Support, Office of Budget, Finance and Award Management, National Science Foundation

Date and Time: Tuesday, March 12, 2019 - 9:30am to 10:45am

Content level: Intermediate

Don’t have an electronic research administration (ERA) system that provides “system-to-system capabilities? Still need to submit federal proposals to multiple federal agencies? Presenters will walk participants through an interactive discussion of the Grants.gov Workspace submission system and a discussion of “special characters,” project and attachment titles, personnel, etc. This session is directed to the intermediate level administrator who may need/elect to submit proposals to any federal agency using Grants.gov Workspace. Presenters will guide attendees through basic information needed to avoid submission errors and successfully submit proposals while providing tips and pointers to enhance the end user’s experience.

Learning objectives:

1. Provide an understanding of how Grants.gov Workspace can be used on your campus, assigning the correct roles to ensure successful proposal submissions.
2. Discuss identification of funding opportunity announcements and how to complete application packages to prevent errors from happening at proposal submission time.
3. Develop a better understanding of use of "special characters," project/attachment files

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Ellen Zavala, Director of Research Services and Outreach, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Date and Time: Tuesday, March 12, 2019 - 11:00am to 12:15pm

Content level: Basic

Established by legal statute 30 years ago, Non-Profit Corporations are affiliated with the Veterans Administration (VA). Non-Profit Corporations collaborate with both the VA and affiliate Universities to provide research support and collaboration to Investigators performing research related to Veterans health. This session will discuss compliance areas, review of previous accomplishments, history and future outlook for the Non-Profit Corporations.

Learning objectives:

1. Participants will learn about Non Profit Corporation, their functions mandates by Congress.
2. Have an understanding of what the Non Profit Corporations and the VA are doing in research.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Rebecca Rosales, MBA, CRA, Chief Exectuive Officer/Executive Director, NCIRE

Date and Time: Tuesday, March 12, 2019 - 2:15pm to 3:30pm

Content level: Basic

As we continually look for funding sources, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) may arise as a potential sponsor for your investigators' research. Why? They fund a wide-range of fundamental research, covering everything from plant sciences, synthetic biology and biomedical engineering to information systems. Applying for a DARPA award can be challenging for both the investigator and the research administrator. While DARPA awards many projects to academic institutions, most investigators haven't previously worked with them. In this presentation, attendees will become familiar with DARPA from the proposer perspective. We will focus on the pre-award phase by taking a close look at the typical application process and proposal development, so that you can help your investigators navigate the necessary steps and structure (hopefully) successful proposals.

Learning objectives:

1. Understand the pre-award process and how to submit applications.
2. Interpret the opportunity announcement and how to construct proposals.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

William Helmrath, MSM, CRA, Grants and Contracts Coordinator, The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

Date and Time: Tuesday, March 12, 2019 - 2:15pm to 3:30pm

Content level: Basic

Grants Training 101 presents the overall basics for new grant or research administrators. It focuses on grant and research definitions, the grant life-cycle to include pre-award, award and post-award phases. The training will also identify various types of funding agencies and various funding opportunity sites. A budget will also be created with various scenarios to show affect on the F&A.

Learning objectives:

1. Understand the Grant LifeCycle process.
2. Develop a budget from beginning to end.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Tracy Jones, CRA, Grants Administrator, Georgia Institute of Technology

Date and Time: Tuesday, March 12, 2019 - 3:45pm to 5:00pm

Content level: Basic

Coming Soon

Learning objectives: Coming Soon

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s): Coming Soon

Date and Time: Wednesday, March 13, 2019 - 10:45am to 12:00pm

Content level: Basic

The difference between successful proposals and a re-submission often hinges upon information that can be gleaned in a phone call or visit with an agency sponsor. Yet it is often difficult to get PIs to make these calls. This session helps administrators prepare for assisting PIs with early sponsor contact, to include preliminary research on the program, potential questions to ask, and what to avoid.

Learning objectives:

1. Critically evaluate programs and identify appropriate questions for sponsors.
2. Prepare PIs for successful conference calls or visits with sponsors.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Charna Howson, MA, Director, Sponsored Programs, Appalachian State University

Date and Time: Monday, March 11, 2019 - 9:30am to 10:45am

Content level: Basic

Copyright laws protect the authors or creators of original works of authorship through the legal concept of copyright. Copyright can be a complex concept with many nuances. However, the primary product of research is more often a copyrighted publication than a patented invention. Research institutions and individual researchers need to understand copyright both as the creators of works and as users of works of others covered by copyright protection.

Learning objectives:

1. Participants will be able to identify the intellectual property that can be protected by copyright and the protections provided.
2. Participants will be able to manage the origination of copyright protections and transfers, licensing of works of others and navigate “fair use” issues in instructional and research situations.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s): J. Michael Slocum, President, Slocum & Brodie

Date and Time: Monday, March 11, 2019 - 3:45pm to 5:00pm

Content level: Basic

The session will focus on forms of ambiguity commonly found in contracting and identify strategies to reduce incidence of ambiguity. The session will also identify case law on resolving contractual conflicts due to ambiguity.

Learning objectives:

1. Identify common ambiguous terms.
2. Understand prevailing theories of ambiguity resolution.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Brian Russ, MPP, JD, Contracts & Grants Officer, University of California at Davis

Date and Time: Tuesday, March 12, 2019 - 9:30am to 10:45am

Content level: Intermediate

A summary of recently released audit findings from NSF, HHS, and other major federal agencies. The session will primarily focus on educational institution findings, but it is also important to know about some of the other major findings that have fiscal, criminal, and civil implications. We will talk about what led to these findings and how to prevent and manage the associated risk.

Learning objectives:

1. To be able to mitigate and apply lessons learned from recent audit findings to an individual’s home organization.
2. To remain current on risk issues that are at the forefront of our profession.
3. Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Kris Rhodes, MS, Managing Director, ATM Grants | About the Money

Date and Time: Tuesday, March 12, 2019 - 11:00am to 12:15pm

Content level: Basic

Industry sponsored subcontracts present a myriad of difficulties and potential roadblocks for research administrators and contract negotiators. This presentation will provide proactive steps that begin with the prime contract between the institution and industry sponsor. Specific language and general principles to be applied to negotiating a prime agreement will be discussed and analyzed by topic. Identification of potential areas of conflict will be discussed, and solutions to those areas of conflict will be described and evaluated. The presentation will then shift to drafting and negotiating the subcontract with the participating sites. Differing drafting approaches will be compared and analyzed by their ease of implementation and maintaining compliance with the prime agreement. The presentation will conclude with tips and strategies research administrators can use in managing their subcontracts from drafting to execution.

Learning objectives:

1. Identify potential areas of conflict in prime agreements and address those issues before they become problematic in a subcontract.
2. Proactively plan, draft and negotiate their industry sponsored subcontracts efficiently and in compliance with their prime agreement.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Richard McGuire, JD, Grants and Contracts Officer, The University of Alabama at Birmingham Dont worry when you forget the syntax of an HTML element, like and iframe, a link, a table, an image or anything else. Visit HTML CheatSheet and generate the code you need.

Date and Time: Tuesday, March 12, 2019 - 9:30am to 10:45am

Content level: Basic

The National Science Foundation's Responsible Conduct of Research policy requires that institutions seeking NSF funding have an RCR plan, designate someone to ensure compliance with the RCR requirement, and be able to verify that NSF-supported students and researchers receive RCR training. NSF's Office of Inspector General conducted a review of approximately 50 institutions. The implementation of their own RCR training in response to NSF's requirement. The review identified three ways in which institutions may not be in compliance with NSF's policy and examined how NSF's guidance resulted in the institutions. The varied interpretations regarding what constitutes an appropriate RCR plan. It also characterized the differences in RCR training observed among institutions, and described practices it felt were worthy of being shared with the broader community. This presentation describes NSF OIG's review and methodology, provides results of the review, and details the fieldwork observations, with a focus on the best practices identified.

Learning objectives:

1. Evaluate your institution's RCR plan against NSF's RCR policy requirements.
2. Identify best practices for effective RCR training.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Aliza Sacknovitz, PhD, CFE, Senior Investigative Scientist, National Science Foundation Office of Inspector General

Date and Time: Tuesday, March 12, 2019 - 11:00am to 12:15pm

Content level: Intermediate

Compliance personnel have thankless jobs, most often feeling overwhelmed by what needs to be done. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has outlined seven particular elements that compliance programs should include. While this was written with healthcare in mind, it can be translated to any compliance program that needs to be put into place, including research in any realm be it biomedical or behavioral/social science. The use of these elements can strengthen departmental policies and improve accountability of researchers and staff. At the end of the day, implementing a strong compliance program can provide research programs with a culture of integrity and meaningful research outcomes.

Learning objectives:

1. Identify seven elements necessary for a strong compliance program.
2. Discover ways to implement specific areas that can be addressed in local programs so that a culture of compliance can integrated into day-to-day operations.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Tonya Edvalson, BS, CCRP, CHRC, Clinical Research Compliance Officer, University of Utah The Rubik's Cube solver calculates the rotations to sove the unsolvable cube.

Date and Time: Tuesday, March 12, 2019 - 2:15pm to 3:30pm

Content level: Intermediate

Attendees will learn the critical differences between the Pre-2018 Common Rule and the 2018 Common Rule which is effective as of January 21, 2019. Attendees will also learn the steps a university in Southern California used to transition to and implement the 2018 Common Rule.

Learning objectives:

1. Describe the crucial new elements of 2018 Common Rule and identify how if differs from Pre-2018 Requirements.
2. List the steps a university used to transition to and implement the 2018 Common Rule.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Anne Dodge-Schwanz, BA, CIP, Senior Research Affairs Analyst, San Diego State University; Patricia Gordon, BS, MBA, CIP Research Affairs Analyst/Educator, San Diego State University

Date and Time: Wednesday, March 13, 2019 - 10:45am to 12:00pm

Content level: Intermediate

Many research administrators find themselves working in silos, becoming very specialized with their niche within research: contracts, grants, pre-award, post-award, compliance, ethics, etc. Understanding the multiple facets across research has become extremely important to meet compliance requirements within institutions for a research administrator to succeed. Clinical trials research billing is one element that can be overlooked or is commonly considered outside of the typical research administrator's purview.

This can lead to very challenging conversations when research administrators are working with institutional leaders, investigators, contract negotiators, and sponsors. This session will give a basic understanding of things to consider in clinical trials billing from the perspective of someone that has had to learn this in a very short amount of time, but has a very broad range of experience in the research setting. We will address patient care charges and how institutions typically identify what is considered “standard of care” and eligible for billing to the patient or insurance for payment versus what should be billed to the study. This will involve reviewing regulations administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). These lessons can be applied to any role in research to ensure that studies can be conducted efficiently and compliant with regulations as well as keeping promises to participants and paying for costs covered by the study.

Learning objectives:

1. Identify resources to complete a Medicare Coverage Analysis and appropriately determine how charges are billed to the study or patients during a research study.
2. Discuss basic billing issues with other stakeholders in research to ensure that budgets are appropriately negotiated to cover costs in research.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Tonya Edvalson, Clinical Research Compliance Officer, University of Utah The online jsBeautifier is a free online program that is worth bookmarking.

Date and Time: Monday, March 11, 2019 - 2:15pm to 3:30pm

Content level: Basic

From the first day we entered the field of research administration, we’ve had the importance of facilities and administrative costs (aka F&A or indirect costs) drilled into us. We’ve heard words and phrases such as F&A rates, facilities and administrative costs, cognitive agencies, cost pools, cost share undermines the F&A rate, MTDC, recovered F&A … We know that facilities and administrative costs are an integral part of an institution’s funding profile and that these funds are needed to support the research infrastructure of our institution. We’ve undoubtedly been told that F&A represents costs that cannot be directly attributed to a specific project, but are incurred by the institution in the support of research. However, how much detail do we know about the negotiation of our institution’s F&A rate? In this session, we will dive into the details of the all-important F&A rate. We will explore how to balance sponsor requirements and institutional costs.

Learning objectives:

1. Identify the cognizant agencies, to describe the formula for the F&A rate development, to detail the pools for the categories of facilities costs and administrative costs, and to list the types of F&A rates.
2. Evaluate the impact to institution’s F&A rate and, thus, the support of the research enterprise by factors such as the cost accounting standards and other regulatory agencies, waivers, unrecovered F&A, and cost sharing.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Kimberly Read, PhD, CRA, Assistant Director, University of South Florida

Date and Time: Wednesday, March 13, 2019 - 9:15am to 10:30am

Content level: Basic

This presentation is designed for a new project administrator or for those not so new who are seeking advice on how to better do their work. It provides information on what to do when you recieve a new grant award, what you should look for in a proposal, grant award document and budget. It describes the importance of knowing the regulations that apply, the importance of a good "checkbook" to efficiently manage the awarded funds, and how to prepare for audits and close-outs. It will provide examples of the different documents involved to help them identify the important parts. We will talk about sub-awards and the importance of the monitoring process. The topics discussed will be approved proposal, grant award and budget, applicable regulations, sub-awards, financial management, cost sharing, T&E Reporting, preparing for close-outs, audits and reporting.

Learning objectives:

1. Know what to do once they receive a new grant award, how to better manage the awarded funds and be in compliance.
2. Know to to prepare for audits and close-out process.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Ana Feliciano, BAdmin, Post Award Coordinator, University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras Campus Never forget to clean your HTML code and double check your content before publishing the articles!

Date and Time: Monday, March 11, 2019 - 9:30am to 10:45am

Content level: Basic

The world of research administration is constantly evolving and technology plays an important role in that evolution. The fairly recent audit approach called "Data Analytics" requires we take a deeper dive into our internal policies, procedures, processes, controls and systems of record to establish what is adequate "source documentation" for the various transactions we review and approve. Does your signature constitute your confirmation that your institution has adequate internal controls in place? Where have we come from and where are we headed? This session will look at the importance of establishing, implementing and assessing your internal controls as they relate to the transactional level detail and philosophical approaches to meeting the reasonableness, allowability and allocability tests,as well as research administration as a whole. Internal controls, who is in control and what are the ramifications for lack of controls? explore this with me!

Learning objectives:

1. Enumerate the tangible versus intangible aspects of internal controls.
2. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of source documentation.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Denise Clark, Associate Vice President, University of Maryland

Date and Time: Monday, March 11, 2019 - 11:00am to 12:15pm

Content level: Basic

Cost transfers are our friends. Cost transfers help “keep us on our toes”. During this presentation, we will build the base of knowledge that we need to determine whether a cost transfer is needed. We will explore several examples and talk about language usage in a cost transfer. The way the words flow can make or break our cost transfer and our patience if we let it. Finally, an exchange of ideas between colleagues is always the best way to learn and not reinvent the wheel. We will explore how in our various spheres we have managed to “tame the dragon” and come out stronger for it.


Learning objectives:

Identify basic knowledge.

Identify good language to write a good cost transfer.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Paulette T. Jones, Administrator, University of Montana This document has been composed with the online HTML editor. Use the online visual HTML editor will help you a lot while you are working on your articles.

Date and Time: Tuesday, March 12, 2019 - 11:00am to 12:15pm

Content level: Basic

As a research administrator, you are often faced with difficult decisions as to what purchases are allowable on a grant, no matter how unique. Making determinations on these purchases often requires a positive working relationship between the central office, the Principle Investigator (PI), and yourself. Also, ensuring all purchases are allowable, allocable, and appropriate during the management of an award prevents you from becoming a headline in the newspaper, or used as an example at a conference as to what is an inappropriate use of funds.

Learning objectives:

1. Make informed purchasing decisions based on sponsor's intended use of the funding.
2. Understanding your role and responsibilities in navigating the relationships between the department, central office and PI.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Daysi Ardon, Business Operations Supervisor; Billie Cruz, Business Operations Specialist; Rachel Hayes, Business Operations Manager; Zachary Wicklund, Fiscal Specialist, Arizona State University

Date and Time: Tuesday, March 12, 2019 - 2:15pm to 3:30pm

Content level: Intermediate

Attendees will receive tools and concepts to provide Researchers with accurate and understandable reports in Excel from raw data.

These tools provide:

1. An increase in transparency by allowing Researchers to make informed financial decisions
2. Areduction in reporting errors by eliminating and/or reducing manual entry
3. A reduction in time taken to generate reports by increasing automation through the use of formulas

The tools that participants will be able to identify include:

• Reporting Structure
• Formulas
• Conditional Formatting
• Data Validation

Learning objectives:

1. Identify tools in Excel that aid Researchers in making informed financial decisions.
2. Identify the benefits of using a standard format (Excel) to provide information to Researchers.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Ross Babinec, MSA, Budget Analyst, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Date and Time: Tuesday, March 12, 2019 - 3:45pm to 5:00pm

Content level: Basic

This session offers a lively discussion of Uniform Guidance, the over-arching regulation governing federal grant administration. The presentation provides a condensed overview of the Uniform Guidance, and highlights the changes from the previous Office of Management & Budget grant Circular directives.

Learning objectives:

1. Identify the origins and structure of the Uniform Guidance document.
2. Understand and navigate the UG regulations.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Amy Roberts, BS, CRA, Associate Controller, Special Funds, Appalachian State University

Date and Time: Wednesday, March 13, 2019 - 10:45am to 12:00pm

Content level: Basic

A pass-through entity is responsible for monitoring the programmatic and financial activities of its subrecipients to ensure proper stewardship of sponsor funds. Failure to perform this requirement may lead to audit findings which may jeopardize current and future funding for the pass-through entity. This session will provide information and guidance regarding a holistic review of all phases of interactions with a subrecipient from proposal submission to closeout. This will include determination of the relationship regarding subrecipient versus contractors, the pass-through entities responsibilities, a review of roles and responsibilities of individuals and offices as the pass-through entity, conducting a risk assessment and options regarding how to manage those subrecipients that are not low risk as well as ongoing monitoring throughout the life of the subaward and closeout processes.

Learning objectives:

1. Learn best practices for conducting risk assessments for subrecipients and how to manage risk mitigation.
2. Recognize the required actions needed to adequately monitor your institutions sub-recipients.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

John Sites, CRA, Higher Education Manager, Huron Consulting Prank sombody with the fake Windows 10 upgrade screen which never ends. Open the site in a web browser and go full screen with the F11 key.