From the Trenches: My Experience with Building a Research

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From the TrenchesMy Experience with Building a
Research Sponsored Programs Office

• NCURA Region V Spring Meeting
• May 9, 2006
• Kate Felzien
• Coordinator, Research Sponsored Programs
• Northeastern State University
• Tahlequah, Oklahoma

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Structure
Choose your own

• Centralized
• Decentralized
• Pre-award
• Post-award

Lesson learned there is no correct structure -
just what works best for your institution Reality
check you probably have no choice in the matter
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Responsibilities

• Academic
• Administrative

• PI
• You

• Other

Lesson learned in a small office, you are often
assumed to be responsible for keeping everyone on
task Reality check this is difficult for one
person to do - set guidelines and continuously
communicate
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Idea
Started with a Problem How do I find out what
grants are available and keep faculty informed?
Community of Science

• Funding Opportunities - comprehensive,
  multi-discipline database of funding
  opportunities containing up-to-date information
  about grants, awards, fellowships, and other
  opportunities.

• Expertise - International research network
  containing profiles of researchers and scholars
  from leading research universities, government
  agencies, RD organizations, and more.

Are you nuts? ? This idea receives two nuts out
of a possible four nuts
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Outcome
NSU purchased the full package of COS in the Fall
of 2004

• Lessons learned
• COS provides funding opportunities and expertise
  services that are great for a small Research
  office
• Initial install is relatively painless but you
  will have to get an electronic list of all
  faculty
• Dont be surprised by some resistance even
  downright hostility

Reality check COS is pricey (especially the
expertise portion) and requires a pretty hefty
time commitment to administer in order for it to
be truly effective
For more information on COS, go to www.cos.com
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Idea
Departmental website and communication

• Need way to communicate with faculty other than
  mass mailing
• Need departmental email account
• Need place to post policies and procedures
• Need place to put forms

• Need place to put large files for dissemination
• Need place to archive information
• Need place to direct faculty to look while you
  scramble for information

Are you nuts? ? This idea receives three nuts out
of a possible four nuts
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Outcome
NSU Research Sponsored Programs website
developed Summer 2005 and announced Fall
2005 http//arapaho.nsuok.edu/research/

• Lessons learned
• Look at other sites for models
• This is an ongoing project - even a fairly static
  site requires a time commitment
• You will need help with this even if you are good
  at website development

You can communicate through your website even
with your mouth full
Reality check no matter how great it is, it is
still difficult to get faculty to use
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Idea

• Grant workshops
• Be creative and have fun with it
• Find ways to hide limitations - find help and
  look for free speakers and other experts, use the
  University library resources, use other campus
  resource people

• Focus - process versus actual grant writing
• When to pay to bring in an expert - I use Bob
  Bradley from LSU, bbradley_at_lsu.edu

Are you nuts? ? This idea receives three and 1/2
nuts out of a possible four nuts
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Big Game Grant Writing
DATE August 26, 2005 TIME 130 330 pm PLACE
Education, 110
Everything you need to know to start writing
grants at NSU
Food Adventure Learning
Host Kate Felzien, Proposal Development
Specialist, Research Sponsored Programs Tour
Guides Susan Ferguson, Coordinator, Research
Administration Jamie Holmes, Resource
Coordinator, Library Susan Woitte,
Government Publications, Library Peggy Kaney,
Access Services, Library
Special Guest Linda Mason, Ed.D., Coordinator
for Grant Writing and External Funding
Assistance, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher
Education
For more information and to register contact Kate
Felzien, x2243, felzien_at_nsuok.edu
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Research Sponsored Programs
Getting you where you need to be without any
major accidents
Kate Felzien A206, Ext. 2243 felzien_at_nsuok.edu
Web site http//arapaho.nsuok.edu/research
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Library
Finding hard to reach information
Jamie Holmes Resource Coordinator for Education
Psychology Ext. 3266 holmesjm_at_nsuok.edu Susan
Woitte Government Publications Librarian Ext.
3246 woitte_at_nsuok.edu Peggy Kaney Access
Services Librarian Ext. 3276 kaneypl_at_nsuok.edu
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Research Administration
Managing the beast once you get it
Peggy Cotten, Director Susan Ferguson,
Coordinator Nora Finnegan, Financial
Accounting Janie Hanson, Secretary A207, Ext. 2240
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Finding funding and Getting Started with Grant
Writing
Putting all the pieces together
Linda Mason, Ed.D. Coordinator for Grant Writing
and External Funding Assistance Oklahoma State
Regents for Higher Education
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Outcome
Kate has done a great job not only in working to
secure grants for NSU, but in developing programs
to train faculty in how to secure grants. For one
seminar regarding grants she developed an entire
"safari" theme. The idea was that faculty members
should embark on a "safari" to find grants. As a
result, Kate had the seminar room decorated and
the Research and Sponsored Programs staff dressed
in accordance with the theme. She said that
"since some of this stuff can be boring, we
should at least have fun." I appreciated her
extra effort and enthusiasm in planning the
event. And it was not boring, either.
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• Lessons learned
• It is a good idea to focus on one college or
  department at a time
• It is ok to be a little over the top
• Have fun with it
• Be prepared for some criticism

Reality check timing is important but difficult
and these workshops take a lot of time and energy
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Challenges and Limitations

• Never done this before
• Not my job
• Team building

• Budgetary
• Emotional
• Political

If you are not
NUTS now,
you will be
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Support Groups and Professional
Organizations (you are not completely nuts or
alone)

• National Council of University Research
  Administrators (NCURA)
• Society of Research Administrators (SRA)
• American Association of State Colleges and
  Universities (AASCU) Grants Resource Center
• Council on Grantsmanship and Research (Oklahoma)

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Future

• New staff
• Departmental newsletter
• More COS training and hand holding
• More college specific proposal development
• Continued team building

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Questions and Discussion (Personal
Experiences and Venting)
The End