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Improving Life for Your PI
“Walk a Mile” in your PI’s Shoes
What do PI’s care about?
THE RESEARCH!
What do Research Administrators care about?
SUPPORTING RESEARCH!
Do Researchers “Need” Administration?Many people believe that research
administration has grown too bigBut funding programs have become more
complex Getting funding has become more
competitive Compliance laws have changed tooThe Research Administrator helps connects
researchers to funding – without money there is no research
In Short:Giving researchers administrative tasks is eroding
their research productivity.
So, do Researchers “need” Administration?
Yes!
Howdy, Partner!We are here to work with investigators on
their research goalsWe need to be part of a collaborative team
with the institution, sponsor and the researcher
Remember: We are solution finders and problem solvers!
How Do We Do This? Know your field:Know your policies and administrative
procedures – these are important pieces in the research framework
Improve your knowledge of our field – webinars, on-line courses
Connect with counterparts in the fieldRead journals and magazines specific to the
field – The CAURA Connection, The Monitor, The Journal of Research Administration, Research Management Review, NCURA magazine, etc.
Put the Focus on Customer ServiceAccept that some of your processes are not
important to, nor appreciated by your customerHave a plan for how YOU can keep work flowing
if a researcher deviates from your preferred process
Be honest and reliableGet organizedMeasure your own performanceLearn about customer service
(serviceuntitled.com)
Administrators as advocatesAdvocacy - part of customer serviceMost research administrators use their
advocacy skills daily –negotiating agreements on behalf of their
institutionadvocating policies and procedures to
researchersadvocating for their researchers with other
research administrators and external agencies
Celebrating Customer Service!
Customer service – the key to research administration
Our customers are researchers, our institutions, our co-workers and our sponsors – but each person we deal with is an individual!
Getting to know your researchers
Meet them in personFamiliarize yourself with their research • Read your researchers’ biographies, articles,
abstracts, webpages and CVs.• If you have expertise in a particular academic
area, read the theses of the investigators in both that area and closely related areas.
• Read your researchers’ grant applications. Many include a lay summary you will understand.
Getting to know your researchersWhat are your researchers concerns?Ask and keep asking:
What would make your life easier?How can I help?I’d be happy to assistI will take over this issue and come back with a
resolution within 24 hours
Be a Great Communicator!Good communication skills and an innate desire to help are the most
important attributes a research administrator possesses!Internal Communication
Be availableMake your policies, guidelines and processes transparent by going
over them in person with new researchers and posting them on the internet
Lead education sessions on your processes Explain your specific role in supporting researchAnticipate needs and actively volunteer informationBe specific and do what you can to help your clients avoid frustration.
Send the link to the form you’re referring to and every time you mention your website in an email, send the link to the correct page
Talk to other departments involved in each administrative process to streamline the procedures for the customers
Getting to know your researchersFind out what the issue really is and be
creative in solving itBe patient and explain – the investigator may
not understand the process or the reason for it
Make it easy for your researchers to complain – it is the easiest way to improve!
Monitor your performance - Survey your researchers!
Service SurveyReliability (do I deliver?)How did the proposal submission go?Responsiveness (Speed, urgency) Did I get back to you in the time frame expected?Assurance (Credibility, Competence) Did I take ownership? Do you trust me?Empathy (Caring, Understanding) Did I listen and show concern for the situation?Tangibles (Appearance, Atmosphere) Was the office environment efficient and professional?Source: Zeithaml, V, Parasuraman and Berry. Delivering Quality Service: Balancing Customer Perceptions and Expectations. Free Press, 1990.
Top 10 Service Errors in Research Administration
Losing a proposal or awardFailure to submit financial reports in a timely mannerFailure to process documents promptlyFailure to bill in a timely mannerFailure to respond to phone calls and emailAllowing voicemail to become fullFailure to be clear and concise in communicationsFailure in following up on negotiationsPromising a response by a certain date an failing to deliverSaying NO without some consideration of other options
Source: David Richardson and the Panel
Customer Service Group
Activities
Principal Investigator Obligations are Evolving
Maximize public benefits and ROI of the research they undertake
Demonstrate Impact!Meet increasing expectations from funders
and the public SHOW how investments in research are
making a difference
Trends are Emerging for InvestigatorsMore global initiatives = multiple
perspectivesGlobal partnerships Research partnership agreementsComplex financial modelsRaising their (and the institution’s) research
profile
We Can Help!We can partner with our researcher to help
them manage these obligations
This allows the researcher to do what she/he does well….RESEARCH
How else can I advocate?Be specific and do what you can to help
your clients avoid frustration. Send the link to the form you’re referring to and every time you mention your website in an email, send the link to the correct page
Talk to other departments involved in each administrative process to streamline the procedures for the customers
Responsivenesshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=kjF4rKCR81o
Walk a Mile in a PI’s Shoes
Activity
What About Risk?How do we mitigate risk?Create a culture of responsibility Know your stakeholdersEach party needs to own their responsibilitiesFollow the funding rulesWhy? Potential loss of future funding and
damaged professional and institutional reputationsDid you know? Most research misconduct is
unintentional
Sample Negotiation GuidelinesThe following should be processed within three business days of initial review:
No cost extensionsSupplemental fundsGrantsWork orders issued under a Master Agreement
The following should be processed within ten business days of initial review:
Subcontracts Fee for service testing agreementsThe following should be processed within twenty business days of initial review:
Contracts
Source: David Richardson, NCURA TV September Program
My service improvement
Have all applicable policies on your websiteGet the contract as soon as possibleFollow up on it as well as ethics and
regulatory documentsStandardize timeline for initial review of
contract and follow ups
Why Are We Doing This?“The effort to understand the universe is one of the very few things that lifts human life a little above the level of farce, and gives it some of the grace of tragedy. ” Steven Weinberg, Physicist and Nobel Laureate