Blogs

Deciphering the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education: Current State and Long-Term Impact

Op-Ed | Please note that the following op-ed discussion is based on the authors’ analysis of the Compact and not a reflection of the editors’ or SRAI’s views. The Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education is a proposal by the Trump administration to offer universities preferential access to federal funding and benefits in exchange for adopting a wide range of policies aligned with the administration's agenda. This two-part article breaks down the Compact and discusses its potential long-term impact. Part One: Overview and Current State of the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education The Compact for ...
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Why Research Administration Needs More Storytelling: Making the Quiet Wins Visible

Career Growth & Leadership | (Part I) Research administration runs on quiet wins—decisions, judgment calls, and interventions that rarely appear in metrics. This article explores why invisible labor matters, how storytelling strengthens professional identity, and why naming the work behind smooth outcomes is essential to how the field is understood and valued. Research administration is powered by countless decisions and interventions that rarely appear in dashboards, reports, or award announcements. While success is often measured in proposals submitted, dollars awarded, or studies launched, much of what actually keeps research ...
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Shifting Landscape: DEI Policy Changes and Their Impact on Government Funding and Institutional Practices

Current Affairs | Spotlight Story As federal DEI priorities undergo a rapid rewrite, this article cuts through the noise to reveal what the legal and regulatory pivots actually mean for research funding and institutional operations, providing a strategic roadmap for navigating the transition while upholding core commitments to inclusive excellence. US federal policy shifts have imposed significant constraints on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in publicly funded institutions. The current administration’s rollback of affirmative action and increased scrutiny of DEI-related funding have forced institutions to reevaluate ...
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5 Research Security Questions Every Study Team Should Be Able to Answer

Regulatory & Compliance Oversight | Research security doesn’t start in an office—it starts with study teams. This article reframes research security as a set of everyday decisions and introduces five essential questions teams should be able to answer to protect data, participants, and institutional trust. Research security is often framed just as a technical or compliance-driven issue—something managed through policies, systems, or oversight offices. But the most consequential security decisions are made much closer to the ground. They happen within study teams, through everyday choices about funding, data, participants, collaborators, ...
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Late Career Transitions: The Art of Embracing New Possibilities

Community & Member Engagement | Is it ever too late to contemplate a career transition? Based on my experience, I would say the answer is “no.” Job satisfaction and personal fulfillment are sometimes hard to align, but no one should spend time unhappy at work. Knowing when to go is crucial not only for job satisfaction but for personal growth as well. In this article, I describe my professional journey and evolution, including a surprising late career change that allows me to grow in new and unexpected ways. In today’s world, job satisfaction and personal fulfillment are sometimes hard to align. For the past 23 years, I have been ...
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Designing AI Together: Lessons From Building with Research Administrators

Grant Development & Strategy | AI in research administration works best when it's built with the people who do the work, not just for them. The open collaboration with Denver Health's research admin team allowed Atom Grants to develop an AI tool in a way no other roadmap ever could. When people ask me what it’s like to build Artificial Intelligence (AI) for research administration, I tell them that it’s a team sport. Not a metaphorical one, a literal collaboration between our product team and the administrators who live inside these workflows every day. When we began working with Denver Health and Hospital Authority (DHHA), I knew ...
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Things I Wish I Knew Before Implementing a Grants Management System

Grant Management & Financial Oversight | When you implement an EGMS, you must know your systems, map your processes, ask more questions than you think during training, coordinate early with IT, and decide what stays and what goes. You’ll learn about your own processes and potentially improve them. It’ll empower your entire research enterprise. Electronic grants management systems (EGMS) are game-changing, but several considerations should guide you before and during implementation. One of the most important is understanding your internal systems—accounting, HR, and workflow tools—and identifying where integration is possible, desired, ...
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Let’s Talk About Change… We did at VA SIG

Community & Member Engagement Let’s Talk About Change… We did at VA SIG Spotlight Story Special Interest Group (SIG) meetings can act as a low-stakes environment for Research Administrators to gather amongst peers to network, learn, and share ideas. At our last VA SIG meeting, we talked about the changes taking place in the profession, and the increasing resilience and adaption needed to persevere in support of the national research enterprise. The second annual SRAI Virginia Special Interest Group (VA SIG) meeting took place on Friday, July 18, 2025, at the beautiful campus of the University of Richmond, in Richmond, Virginia. ...
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AI Applications in Research Administration Operations

Operations & Workflow Management AI Applications in Research Administration Operations Free open AI tools could be used with non-confidential information to strengthen communications and other plans, create onboarding and training resources, and complete custom workflow tasks. Research administrators (RAs) face pressure to increase efficiencies to help address federal funding and compliance changes, broader issues facing higher education, and shrinking resources. The authors explore applying free open AI solutions to some common operations tasks. RAs could use free tools with care not to breach confidentiality (Schultz, 2025b). ...
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Unlocking Hidden Value: Why Research Administration and Compliance Professionals Should Consider the PMP

Career Growth & Leadership Unlocking Hidden Value: Why Research Administration and Compliance Professionals Should Consider the PMP Mila Babaev, CIP, reveals how everyday tasks in research administration and compliance are really project management in action and why pursuing the PMP® credential is worthwhile. Discover why it's worth the investment. If you work in research administration or compliance, chances are you have managed more projects than you realize. Whether you have led an audit process, updated SOP’s, coordinated grant or contract workflows, overseen quality assurance activities or organized educational outreach for researchers, ...
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Choosing the Right Channel: Usage Guidelines for Communication Platforms in Research Offices

Operations & Workflow Management Choosing the Right Channel: Usage Guidelines for Communication Platforms in Research Offices As Research Administrators, we may communicate across multiple platforms and in a myriad of ways. How do we know where, when, and how to communicate with whom? And how do these diverse platforms impact the overall clarity and effectiveness of our messages? The world we live in today is inundated with numerous communication platforms and methods. Prior to 2010, most professional communication occurred sluggishly via phone, email, and later, text. When the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly moved corporate offices into ...
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NIH_narrative_draft3_penultimate_updated_finalfinal: The Importance of File Naming Conventions

Grant Development & Strategy NIH_narrative_draft3_penultimate_updated_finalfinal: The Importance of File Naming Conventions Who has gone back to files for an earlier submission and had to sort through dozens of documents with wild names to find the final version that was submitted? You found what you needed, so does it matter? According to the Pareto Principle, yes, it does matter. Show of hands! Who has gone back to files for an earlier submission and had to sort through dozens of documents with wild names to find the final version that was submitted? After all, two days before the submission deadline for that big NIH grant, revisions ...
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Choosing How to Travel

Grant Management & Financial Oversight Choosing How to Travel Read Part One: Travel Trouble: Why “Just Charge It to the Grant” Isn’t Always Safe You’ve been approved to travel—now comes the fun part: figuring out how to get there. Transportation costs are among the most scrutinized parts of sponsored travel, so let’s unpack planes, trains, and automobiles before your grant takes an unexpected detour. Federal regulations don’t dictate how you should travel, but your institution probably does. Rather than using a strict “drive vs. fly by X miles” rule, my institution applies a cost-comparison approach, which allows flexibility ...
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Catalyst Quarterly: January 2026

View the Full Issue (PDF)* Volume 01, Issue 03: January 2026 Editor's Note Dear Readers, As we start a new year, I would like to express my gratitude to all the authors, readers and feature editors who help make the Catalyst a success. I wish everyone a year filled with collaboration, dedication, and shared achievements. In this third (ever!) issue of the Catalyst Quarterly, we look back on the lessons learned and experiences had during the 2025 SRAI Annual Meeting, which took place last October in San Antonio, Texas, drawing over 1000 attendees from all over the world. These specially curated pieces range from detailed session breakdowns ...
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Volume LVI, Number 2 - From the Editor's Desk

SRAI Journal of Research Administration Volume LVI, Number 2 From the Editor's Desk Author Jennifer E. Taylor, Ph.D., M.B.A. Rush Medical Center and University The Journal of Research Administration (JRA) is the premier scholarly publication in research administration and management. We publish timely, essential work that enhances the knowledge base for research administration and supports research administrators worldwide, making JRA a crucial resource for career development as well as to grow the overall knowledge base for the field. Our contributors share best practices and innovative strategies to help research administrators worldwide ...
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The Needs And Challenges of the Research Administrator Workforce

Volume LVI, Number 2 The Needs And Challenges of the Research Administrator Workforce Jennifer E. Woodward, PhD University of Pittsburgh Evan Roberts Society of Research Administrators International Abstract Research administrators are integral to the research enterprise, yet the profession remains hindered by the absence of standardized job titles, responsibilities, and compensation frameworks. These inconsistencies drive turnover, restrict career progression, and weaken institutional efficiency. The findings and recommendations from a three-phase National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded GRANTED conference are presented in this study. ...
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Ghostwriting Grants: Uncovering the Experiences of Professional Research Staff in Grant Capture

Volume LVI, Number 2 Ghostwriting Grants: Uncovering the Experiences of Professional Research Staff in Grant Capture Jacqueline M. I. Torti Centre for Education Research and Innovation, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada Kevin Oswald Centre for Education Research and Innovation, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada Farah Friesen Centre for Advancing Collaborative Healthcare & Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Mariam Hayward Western Research, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada Lorelei Lingard Centre ...
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The 2025 Research Admin Superlatives: A Lighthearted Look Back at the Year

Community & Member Engagement The 2025 Research Admin Superlatives: A Lighthearted Look Back at the Year Spotlight Story In the spirit of appreciation — and a little well-deserved humor — we present the 2025 Research Administration Superlatives, honoring the skills, strengths, and superpowers that kept our institutions running, our investigators compliant, and our sanity (mostly) intact. As research administrators, we spend our days navigating regulations, managing deadlines, translating PI urgency into actionable workflows, and occasionally performing miracles disguised as routine tasks. At the end of the year, it’s important ...
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From Sand Dunes to Skylines: Building Research Administration in Qatar

Operations & Workflow Management From Sand Dunes to Skylines: Building Research Administration in Qatar Qatar wowed the world with the 2022 FIFA World Cup — but did you know they also built a research empire in just two decades? It's like going from 'budget cuts' to 'funding surplus' in record time! When most people think of Qatar, they picture desert sand, futuristic skylines, or perhaps football stadiums. Fewer know that beneath the cranes and glass towers, a national research ecosystem has been taking shape at breakneck speed. In less than two decades, research management in Qatar has developed what took many countries generations ...
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Grant Anatomy: A Crash Course in Proposal Timelines

Grant Development & Strategy Grant Anatomy: A Crash Course in Proposal Timelines Do your faculty scramble to meet a grant deadline like Meredith Grey? Kimberly Pratt and James Taylor share how proposal timelines can transform chaos into clarity. Learn practical strategies to streamline submissions, avoid last-minute drama, and support your research team without the tears. We — Kimberly and James — first met through SRAI’s Odyssey mentoring program, and we quickly found out we’re both fans of Grey’s Anatomy. That shared interest helped build a connection, making our mentoring relationship feel more like a partnership. And while the ...
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