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Friday Focus: March forth

- by Nettie La Belle-Hamer, vice chancellor for research

Although perhaps not as fun as May the fourth (be with you), March fourth comes with a feeling of forging ahead. Today I want to focus on a team I see marching forth and making significant progress: PDITe (Proposal Development Implementation Team, pronounced "P. Diddy"). 

As a research university, development of successful research proposals is one of the most important activities we support administratively. At UAF, we do a good job in that the success rate of our faculty is higher per person than many of our peer institutions. For us to achieve the next level, we need to make sure this process is poised for expansion while maintaining the high quality we are known for. We need to support our researchers efficiently and effectively as they strive for excellence. The PDITe was formed to put into place some of the no or low-cost ideas that can help UAF’s proposal development thrive. 

Using both the Proposal Development Tiger Team report from earlier this year along with the feedback from you on the report, the PDITe chose six tasks to advance in the short term. I am happy to say they are making excellent progress. Better still, they are working to transition the tasks out of a task force environment and into operations to sustain the work inside the appropriate units at UAF. In a way, you can say they are putting themselves out of business. So, what are the tasks?

Task 1, led by Taps Wray and Jennifer Harris, is to draft a research administration job family within the university system. Research administration is a professional field that is specific to the work of a research university and needs to be acknowledged as a valued career path for UAF staff. This task is still in the beginning stages with the expectation that adding a new job family will take a long-term commitment. It will be well worth it when we have position descriptions that are consistent across staff already working in this field with well-defined career paths complete with opportunities for certifications, education and professional growth. 

Task 2, led by Sandra Boatwright and Brandy Pederson, is to build a library of both new and existing tools to be shared across the proposal developers in the units. Our distributed model with proposal developers in units promotes growth not only of skills specific to that unit, but also to symbiotic relationships with the faculty. This has served us well. We need to gain cross-training and backup capacity that will help us move continuously forward. To that end, the tools of the trade need to be shared and made accessible. While many tools currently exist, such as templates and special instructions for agencies, access to them has been limited at best. Many proposal developers were unaware of their existence until PDITe started digging into this task. By creating an open sharing system across research administration staff, we create a stronger team overall. As an added benefit, a self-directed proposal coordinator cohort is forming, led by Sandra Boatwright, to create consistent communication and an overall sense of teamwork.

Task 3 is the creation of a much-needed roles and responsibilities matrix for proposal development led by Julie Benson. This matrix will help end duplicate work and confusion of task ownership. Just working through the iterative, inclusive process of putting this matrix together has already shed light on some areas we can immediately improve. The matrix is finished now and will be handed over to another newly created cohort composed of the unit executive officers that will be organized by Hild Peters.

Task 4, led by Lillian Anderson-Misel, is focused on needed staff training specific to proposal development support. After listening to input from many staff, both in the units and in OGCA, the plan is to generate online training to be available in MyUA - similar to other training for UAF staff. This would give new and continuing proposal developers a common language and culture, moving towards the goal of having fully trained backups for each position. We see this being done in collaboration with eLearning and MyUA, with the proposal coordinator cohort giving content and input. This task is at the beginning stages of development and, once developed, these trainings would be a part of the MyUA training and accessible to UAF staff.

Task 5, led by Tara Borland, is similar to Task 4 but focused on faculty and their training needs. In collaboration with the Provost’s Faculty Development Team’s research lead, Srijan Aggarwal, a road map for faculty training needs, specific to proposal development, is under construction. Once developed, these trainings will be a part of the faculty accelerator. These trainings will support not only the faculty, but will improve the whole proposal process to hopefully lead to even higher success rates!

Task 6, led by Julie Benson, is to define a road map for putting together a large-scale, collaborative proposal for some of the larger grant opportunities. These projects are materially different from the single investigator proposals that drive the UAF research engine. With opportunities for centers of excellence, science and technology centers, engineering research centers, and large facilities, these large proposals take longer and require more assistance from staff to be successful. At UAF, we want to be sure we are ready, willing and able to successfully propose for these opportunities as they arise. This road map will serve to put principle investigators on a solid path to success for large-scale proposals.

These six tasks are just the beginning. These are examples of how we can make progress, even when resources are constrained: by listening to each other and thinking outside the box. While it is important to start with what is not working and brutal facts, real progress is made when we talk about what we CAN do with what we have. With each task part of a well-defined transition plan to move it forward into operations, we can indeed march forth with their ideas! 

Note: Pun courtesy of Taps and the whole PDITe.

Friday Focus is a column written by a different member of UAF’s leadership team every week.