Protected Time for Research

1
Protected Time for Research

• Research Administrative Review
• Subgroup

Ali F. Sonel, MD, FACC, FACP
2
Managing Time for Research

• How are VA investigators paid to do research?
• How can VA clinicians get protected time to do
  research?
• How are NIH grant budgets prepared for people who
  also get a salary from the VA?

3
How are VA investigators paid to do research on
VA grants?

• Merit Review Awards
• MDs
• No direct salary support
• Need Medical Center support
• Non-MDs
• Direct salary support within grant)
• Career Development Awards
• Salary support

4
Managing Time for Research

• Non-Physicians
• Physicians (VHA Directive 2005-57)
• Multiple roles (Direct patient care, education,
  research, administration)
• Direct patient care pressures gtgtgt research
  performance pressures?
• Research is often not priority when time
  commitments conflict

5
More than 70 percent of research investigators
are also clinicians whose dual roles allow the
rapid application of research results to patient
care.
Source ORD Fact Sheet, ORD Web Site
6
How to Fund Protected Time

• VERA Research Allocation
• Support for salary, administrative, and
  facilities costs
• Often the basis for requesting protected time
• Other MC Resources?

7
COMBINED NIH AND VA SUPPORT

• No dual compensation VA and academic affiliate
  cannot pay for the same time
• For example, one cannot be the recipient of a
  K award, which is supposed to pay for 75
  protected research time, and be 8/8ths VA.

8
VERA RESEARCH DOLLARS vs. NIH INDIRECT DOLLARS
VERA Research dollars NIH indirect
dollars Based on grant expenditures Same using
VA as performance site Based on data from 2 yrs
ago Current year Must cover salaries
FA Covers FA only Rate 43.3 Rate
50 Based on discounted Based on full
amount of grant expenditures
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How much salary is covered by VERA ?
Maximum Salary Allocation
VERA rate
Discount rate
VA grant 100,000 x 100 x 43.3 43,300
NIH grant 100,000 x 75 x 43.3 32,475
Industry 100,000 x 25 x 43.3 10,833
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Implementation Challenges

• No firm guidance or policy for protected time
• Allocation by Department/Service Line
• ACOS/RD often not consulted
• Funding often not transparent
• VERA dollars may be insufficient to fund adequate
  time
• ACOS/RD, investigators often unaware of the VERA
  funds generated per investigator
• Lack of uniform implementation in special
  circumstances
• Junior investigators
• Bridging

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RESEARCH ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW

• Governance (Randy Petzel)
• Human Capital (Jack Hetrick, MEd)
• Organization of Research Subgroup
• Lead Peggy Hannon
• Recruitment and Retention Subgroup
• Lead John Vara, MD
• Protected Time Subgroup
• Lead Ali Sonel, MD

12
Protected Time Subgroup Members

• Ali Sonel, MD (ACOS/RD, Pittsburgh)
• Ralph Gigliotti, FACHE (MCD, Durham)
• Martin Heyworth, MD (COS, Philadelphia)
• Laurence Meyer, MD, PhD (ACOS/RD, Salt Lake
  City)
• Dean Norman, MD (COS, Los Angeles)
• Bruce Sangeorzan, MD (Orthopedic Surgeon, Seattle)

13
Managing Time for Research Needs Identified by
RAR Group

• What practices would be useful in managing time
  for research efforts?
• Need concrete formula for linking research time
  to performance measures and formula for tracking
  VERA dollars to justify time spent in research
• Need statement that VERA dollars can be used for
  research
• Need guidelines that allow administrators to
  backfill positions based on number of VERA
  dollars coming in
• Need enhanced use of study coordinators and other
  types of support staff to reduce researcher
  burden
• Need examples of good practices for effective
  time management

14
Performance Measures Initially Proposed by the
RAR Group

• Purpose of any measure is to track and improve
  research success, including productivity and
  compliance/integrity
• Proposed 5 categories of measures
• Content of research Alignment with VHA research
  goals
• Human capital Support for ACOSs,
  investigators, protected time, release time
• Infrastructure Adequacy of research
  infrastructure
• Resources Expenditure of VERA dollars and other
  funds
• Compliance Minimum necessary compliance
  processes and staffing

15
Possible Solutions

• Transparency of research VERA funds
• VERA calculations reevaluated
• VA vs. NIH expenditures
• Monitoring/Auditing of RDIS reports
• Monitoring of protected time
• ACOS/RD
• RD Committee
• Protected time as a performance measure
• Guideline vs. Handbook for protected time for
  research
• Explore changes to regulations prohibiting MD
  salary support for VA research awards

16
Protected Time Allocation Sample
Activity FTEE
PI Merit Review 3/8
Chair on VA CSP 4/8
Site PI on Merit/VA CSP 1/8
PI NIH RO1 3/8
CDA 6/8
Major Foundation Awards 1/8-2/8
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Protected Time Allocation Sample
Activity FTEE
Funded, non-peer reviewed 0.5/8 - 1/8
Chair of VA Center 4/8 - 6/8
Mentor of VA CDA 0.5/8
New investigator (3 years) 1/8-2/8
Bridge (2 years) 1/8-2/8
18
Protected Time Allocation Sample
Activity FTEE
Chair, IRB/IACUC 2/8-4/8
Member IRB/IACUC 1/8
Chair, RDC 1/8
Member, RDC 0.5/8
Chair IBC/SRS 1/8
Member IBC/SRS 0.5/8
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QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?