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