Winter 2014 News Bulletin
As we enter 2014, this edition of our News Bulletin highlights SR-PD efforts throughout the 2013 calendar year and outlines plans for 2014.
2013 has been a challenging year for sponsored research grantees, primarily due to the federal sequestration (e.g. NIH and NSF), the government shutdown, and other federal budget woes. Preparing for the upcoming implementation of a substantial reform in federal grants policies, which has been in the works for two years and is due to become effective December 2014, has been another demanding challenge. Furthermore, as federal agencies have continued to develop and mandate new electronic tools for e-management of grants such as NIH’s ASSIST (Application Submission System and Interface for Submission Tracking), and NSF’s and NIH’s RPPR (Research Performance Progress Report), SR-PD has anticipated and responded with significant training efforts and the development of new resources.
InfoEd’s major upgrade last fall proved to be an especially labor-intensive project. As the University’s online proposal/award management environment, InfoEd had to be updated to accommodate new regulatory and procedural modifications such as new NIH application forms, as well as to continue and improve its own usability and stability. As part of our commitment to adopting new solutions and resources that address our constituents' needs, we are currently working to convert our Routing Form to a web-based tool embedded within InfoEd, and with RUIT support our funding weekly alerts are about to become mobile-friendly and more useful to our community.
Meanwhile, the number of RU applications supported by SR-PD has continued to grow in the past year. The submission volume in 2013 was 13% higher than in 2012 and 8% more than in 2011. From January to December 2013, 389 new and competitive renewal applications were supported by SR-PD, ~53% to public and ~47% to private sponsors (32% Collaborative/Multi-PI, 30% Single PI, 36% Career/Fellowships and 2% Other). During this same period, the university received 85 awards, ~53% from public and ~47% from private sponsors (37% Collaborative/Multi-PI, 35% Single PI, 27% Career/Fellowships, and 1% Other). The number of active awards has remained fairly stable in the past three years: 330 in 2013, 335 in 2012, and 330 in 2011.
Following a brief hiatus, we resumed our ResAdmin Forum for RU laboratory administrators. The latest Forum in December offered updates on sponsors’ policies (e.g. NIH and NSF), a refresher on internal procedures, along with other updates. In addition to our participation in the semi-monthly Human Resources’ orientations to new researchers and the individual guidance we provide daily, in the last six months of 2013 SR-PD members conducted 18 training sessions, such as InfoEd and 1:1 tutorials for new research administrators, with 36 RU investigators and administrators. The number of visits to the SR-PD website in 2013 was 23% higher than in 2012 (36,337 and 29,539 respectively).
The Tri-Institutional Collaboration Network (TCN) workshop series opened the 2013-14 academic year last September with NIH Career Development & Training Award Workshops, followed by The Phases of Grant Writing: Preparing Successful Grant Applications in November. In December the MSK President joined us for A Conversation with Craig B. Thompson, which is part of a special TCN Meet the Tri-I Presidents series, and in January we presented the ABCs of Research Compliance and Grants Management. TCN events coming up or being considered for this academic year are Deciphering Funding Announcements and Responding to Critiques, Open Access Policies, Basic and Translational Research Training Strategies, International Research and Regulatory Challenges, and another grant writing workshop. Our TCN events rotate between the Tri-I institutions, each organized by the local host. The target audience includes researchers at all levels, research administrators and senior officials. Close to 130 RU members attended TCN events in calendar year 2013.
We are happy to announce the newest SR-PD member, Betty Chan, who recently joined our Pre-Award area in the position of Grants Management Specialist. Betty comes with a wealth of grants experience and she looks forward to working with you.
News at a Glance (July – December 2013)
We look forward to a dynamic and productive 2014 with a further increase in RU sponsored research applications and awards, the successful completion of pending projects, and the launching of new services in response to and in anticipation of evolving sponsored research policies and processes.
We wish you a healthy and rewarding New Year!
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2013 Summer News Bulletin
2013 Winter News Bulletin
2012 Summer News Bulletin
2012 Winter New Bulletin
2011 Summer News Bulletin
2011 Winter News Bulletin
2010 Summer News Bulletin
2010 Winter News Bulletin
2009 Summer News Bulletin
2009 Winter News Bulletin
2008 Summer News Bulletin
2008 Winter News Bulletin
