NCURA Region IV Spring Meeting Minneapolis, Minnesota

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NCURA Region IV Spring MeetingMinneapolis,
Minnesota
A Facultys Perspective on the Grants Management
Process April 28, 2009
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Introduction

• What are the challenges facing faculty in todays
  grants process?
• How do they view the administrators that support
  the process?
• What could be done on both sides to improve the
  challenges?

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Proposal Process

• Myth or Fact
• Faculty need time management training to meet
  deadlines
• Administrators have unrealistic expectations and
  need too much information

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Award Notice

• Myth or Fact
• Faculty think every award is made to them and
  dont communicate
• Administrators always groan about new awards in
  their already hectic workload

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Project Period

• Myth or Fact
• Faculty like to hibernate in their labs until the
  project is complete
• Administrators still require too much information
  and are barriers to the research

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Compliance

• Myth or Fact
• Faculty are oblivious to the regulations required
  by their research
• Administrators are know-it-alls when it comes to
  compliance, but are missing the point

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Project Personnel

• Myth or Fact
• In the absence of hiring the proposed grad
  student, the faculty does all the work
• Administrators think it should be easy to find
  students at an University

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Budget

• Myth or Fact
• Faculty think the budget needs to include 1
  number (the requested funding amount)
• Administrators wish it involved just one number

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Effort

• Myth or Fact
• Faculty will never understand effort
• Administrators think they understand effort

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Reporting

• Myth or Fact
• Faculty believe the sponsor knows what they are
  doing without submitting reports
• Administrators would like if there was a
  universal report template for all sponsors

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Faculty / Administrators

• Myth or Fact
• Faculty think administrators hinder the grants
  process
• Administrators think faculty hinder the grants
  process

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Questions / Discussion
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Contact Information

• Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, Associate Professor,
  Dept. of Food Science and Nutrition
• Faith Mrutu, Operations Manager, Natl Center for
  Food Protection and Defense