Wednesday Sessions

Wednesday, October 3

• 9:30 - 10:45 AM
• 11:15 AM - 12:30 PM

Monday, October 1
Tuesday, October 2

9:30 - 10:45 AM

W1: Young Research Administrators and the Quest for Respect
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Content Level: All Levels
As research administrators, we play a myriad of roles. At times young, new and mid-level professionals can feel discredited and as a consequence “ineffective” in their roles, for being perceived as “wet behind the ears.” Being a young, or new, person in any workplace can be challenging and intimidating, especially in a field where you are likely surrounded by veteran colleagues and esteemed researchers.  The purpose of this session is to provide young, and novice, research administrators with strategies to build credibility and gain respect from those seasoned coworkers and faculty.  Seasoned research administrators will learn how to engage a younger workforce while at the same time recognizing how their behavior may impact multigenerational exchanges.
Learning Objectives:
1. Recognize catalysts that contribute to negative assumptions regarding age and experience.
2. Learn strategies to employ for overcoming, defusing, or accommodating perceptions.
Prerequisites: None
Speakers: Cira Mathis, CRA, Contract Manager, University of Central Florida; Marcia Trudgen, CRA, Business Manager, University of Alaska, Anchorage
Certificate: Leadership - Elective

W2: Practicing Servant Leadership in Research Administration
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Content Level: All Levels
Research Administration is a service-oriented profession. While we are called upon to set policy and provide leadership, our primary purpose is to free our researchers from many of the administrative burdens of sponsored research, allowing them to focus on discovery and scholarship. This session will discuss how to lead with compassion, with an expanded perspective and in a manner that can foster peace in today's stressful research environment.
Prerequisites: None
Speaker: Jennifer Shambrook, PhD, Director, Grant & Contract Management Office, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Certificate: Leadership - Required Session

W3: In-House Developed vs. Commercially Available eRA Systems: Which is Better?
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Content Level: All Levels
eRA systems are a must for proper management of sponsored research. There are a number of commercially available solutions that can be employed or an institution can opt to design and develop its own system in-house. A number of colleges and universities were surveyed about the type of system their institution used, the features it provided or did not provide, the use of shadow systems and the level of satisfaction they had with their eRA system. The survey responses of these institutions have been used to develop a summary of institutional needs and system satisfaction. Each institution has specific needs, areas of research specialization, volume of research and financial and personnel resources that can be applied to the development and implementation of an eRA system. This session examines the benefits and drawbacks to the use of commercially available systems and in-house developed systems.
Learning Objectives:
1. Better understand the variety of options available to them for the selection of an eRA system for their institution.
2. The implementation costs, both financial and man-power, involved in eRA implementation.
Prerequisites: None
Speakers: Gloria Greene, CRA, Director, Office of Sponsored Programs, and John Rogers, Senior Information Systems Specialist, University of Alabama, Huntsville

W4: How the Angles and the Vikings Buried the Hatchet: International Best Practice in Establishing Cross Border Research Collaboration!
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Content Level:
In this session, participants will learn the challenges of establishing  a successful cross border/international research collaboration including: differences in legal systems/requirements;  financial  considerations including exchange rate fluctuations, etc; difference in university structures/approaches, political and cultural differences/drivers; different drivers for industry partners, etc.
Learning Objectives:
1. Learn of  the issues to consider, the potential problems and  of solutions and pragmatic approaches that can be put in adopted.
2. Common ground and synergies in approach will also be highlighted.
Prerequisites: None
Speakers: Peter Townsend, Director, Research Office, Loughborough University, United Kingdom; Jan Andersen, Senior Executive Advisor, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

W5: Managing Core Facilities From Start To Finish
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Content Level: All Levels
The management of core facilities is a vital, yet challenging role for research administrators. Core facilities are small businesses with all of the risks and twists of any shop struggling to meet the demands of its customers and the cost and performance standards of its competition. This session will take the audience through the process of starting and managing a core facility. It will begin with an assessment of the need for the facility through the cost accounting of rate setting to the monitoring necessary to sustain a viable business. It will demonstrate the tools used by the Cancer Center to support a core facility including the rate setting worksheet, the electronic Shared Resources Database used for utilization and financial management, and the Business Plan which annually updates the needs and performance of the facility.
Learning Objectives:
1. Calculate a recharge rate for a core facility; develop and complete a business plan.
2. Analyze an electronic billing and utilization system for core facilities.
Prerequisites: None
Speakers: Ira Goodman, CRA, Associate Director for Administration, and Sonia Ashley, Director, Business Operations, University of California, San Diego, Moores Cancer Center

W6: What Encouragement Can Research Administrators Provide to Faculty?
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Content Level: Intermediate
Research administrators at institutions where the faculty have guaranteed contracts are often faced with the question, “What is my incentive to do research?” There are a variety of answers one can provide to such an inquiry: “You can receive a course release to concentrate on your research” and “You can receive summer salary.” However, as research administrators, what approach do people take when those types of answers do not suffice in convincing a faculty member to submit a proposal? This session will give some common examples of faculty incentives and be highly interactive with the audience. All attendees will benefit from the knowledge of what is happening at other institutions and have an opportunity to brainstorm with colleagues for new ideas.
Learning Objectives:
1. Develop a plan that can be used to help increase applications.
2. Build a program that will encourage faculty members to submit proposals based on the success of other institutions.
Prerequisites: None
Speaker: Dominic Esposito, CRA, Director of Operations and Research, CUNY Institute for Demographic Research

W7: Audit Findings and Corrective Action
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Content Level: Intermediate
Sponsors fund universities, colleges, hospitals, and non-profit organizations to conduct research and advance science. Research funding from sponsors requires all recipients to follow regulations, guidelines, sponsor rules and best practices. With these rules come audit findings from A-133 audits, direct cost audits and sponsor priority areas for compliance reviews. This session will discuss how to prepare for an audit, the audit methodology, recent audit findings and corrective actions, while providing an opportunity for attendees to bring their own examples and questions relating to audits on our campuses. This session will be interactive and discussion is encouraged to provide guidance to all attendees.
Learning Objectives:
1. Fully understand the audit process and how to prepare the institution for any audit.
2. Be aware of recent audit findings and the appropriate corrective actions.
Prerequisites: None
Speakers: Keith Graff, Grants Management Practice Leader, and John Case, Higher Education Strategy Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Certificate: Financial Management - Elective

W8: America Invents Act
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Content Level: Basic
The America Invents Act is the most significant change to the U.S. patent system in more than 50 years. This talk provides a general overview of the recent changes to the law. The focus will be on its potential effect on Universities, related start-up companies and university technology transfer efforts.
Learning Objectives:
1. Provide a basic understanding of the changes to the law.
2. Provide an understanding and guidance on areas where universities may want to change thier current practices.
Prerequisites: None
Speakers: Valerie Landrio McDevitt, JD, Assistant Vice President, University of South Florida Division of Patents & Licensing; Anton Hopen, JD, Managing Partner, Smith & Hopen, P.A.
Certificate: Research Law - Required Session

W9: Creating a Compliance Office: How to Be the “Good Cop"
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Content Level: Basic
Small organizations may, historically, not have had the staff available to dedicate fully to research compliance functions, from animal care and use to financial conflict of interest to misconduct in science. This session will discuss the essentials of establishing the research compliance function and the critical elements and records that must be monitored and maintained in order to ensure compliance with federal regulations, as well as the areas where there is some latitude in how the regulations can be interpreted.
Learning Objectives:
1. Identify the key components that should be monitored by a research development office, the policies and procedures that should be in place.
2. Identify the tools that can be used to maintain accurate records of research compliance activities.
Prerequisites: None
Speaker: Karen Otiji, CRA, Assistant Director, Grants Management, Smithsonian Institution; Timothy Sparklin, Campus Compliance Officer, University of Maryland, Baltimore
Certificate: Research Integrity - Required Session

W10: National Institutes of Health (NIH) Update
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Content Level: All Levels
This session will cover the latest news from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including information on the NIH budget, current policy topics, policy reminders and updates on NIH eRA activities.
Learning Objectives:
1. Learn basic information concerning the NIH, including new, emerging initiatives as well as recurring policy reminders.
2. Learn basic information concerning NIH eRA activities, including eRA Commons and electronic submission of NIH grant applications.
Prerequisites: None
Speaker: David Curren, Assistant Grants Policy Officer, National Institutes of Health

W11: All You Need to Know About PI Transfers
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Content Level: Intermediate
More than ever, investigators are moving from one institution to another.  Research administrators are often charged with managing the complicated process of a PI transferring a grant to or from the institution or in some cases, requesting a new PI to be named. This session is designed to examine the PI transfer process from both a central and departmental perspective. We will examine the process of having a new PI named on a project when, for one reason or another, the previous PI is unable to continue in this capacity.   In addition, we will provide an overview of the general administrative requirements and documents that must be submitted to NIH for PI Transfers. 
Learning objectives:
1. Develop knowledge and skills to process various types of PI transfers or replacement situations.
2. Become familiar with the documents required when submitting a PI Transfer request to NIH.
Prerequisites: None
Speakers: Tiffany Walker, Grants Management Specialist, National Institutes of Health; Laurie Henry, CRA, Director, Office of Research Administration, Duke University Medical Center; Domenica Pappas, CRA, Director, Sponsored Research and Programs, Illinois Institute of Technology

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11:15 AM - 12:30 PM

W12: Creating a "Dream Team"
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Content Level: All Levels
Teamwork and collaboration has long been accepted as the primary means of getting work done in a variety of settings, including research teams. To meet the demands of a fast-changing work environment, people are being asked to come together for a common purpose with a willingness to work toward common goals. From the principal investigator on down, the effectiveness of the team is not only based on the technical skills, but also the influence and 'people' skills that move the team toward its goals. This session will focus on seven key indicators of a 'dream team' and how to recognize what may be missing from your research team.  It will also reveal three key steps to maintaining high performance.
Learning Objectives:
1. Describe 7 key indicators of a 'dream team' and 3 steps to creating one.
2. Benchmark your team's productivity, morale, and dynamics against high-performing teams.
Prerequisites: None
Speaker: Stephen Murphy, President and Chief Executive Officer, Murphy Performance Strategies
Certificate: Leadership - Elective

W13: The Mentoring/Coaching Model for Research Administrators
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Content Level: Intermediate-Advanced
Research administrators not think about mentoring either as a method of professional development or as something they themselves could do, but the truth is that research administration is very well suited to the concepts of mentoring and coaching.  An organization that adopts a mentoring/coaching approach to increasing employees’ skills and knowledge can achieve enhanced efficiency organization-wide and improve the work environment at the same time.  This session will provide a foundation for participants to 1) comfortably establish themselves in the mentoring/coaching role and 2) establish effective and sustainable mentoring and coaching programs within their organizations.  The presenters have over 40 years of combined experience in program administration, and each has been in coaching and mentoring roles for over 10 years.
Learning Objectives:
1. Enumerate at least four roles that individuals can fill as mentors
2. Describe similarities and differences between mentoring and coaching
3. Identify traits that they have that will make them effective mentors
4. Plan for the implementation of mentoring programs within their organizations
Prerequisites: None
Speakers: Russ Price, Federal Compliance Manager, Utah State University; John Sites, CRA, Manager, Higher Education, Huron Consulting Group
Certificate: Leadership - Required Session

W14: Compensation Nightmares, Mine, Yours, and Ours
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Content Level: Intermediate
This session focuses exclusively on compensation practices and provides an opportunity to talk hypothetically about a topic that worries many of us more than we want to admit – salary costing. Compensation is a subject that can cost institutions dearly. This session looks at ways to go wrong, what we are required to do, and where it says we have to do that. This session will provide a discussion of the many ways we can go wrong, recent audit findings, and the challenges of compliance. The discussion will focus on our need for institutional understanding, education, policies, supportive systems and the institutional expectation to incentivize faculty efforts.
Learning Objectives:
1. Identify the foundation for the institutional salary compensation requirements.
2. Identify institutional weakness associated compensation practices and expand one's toolkit for addressing these issues with administration.
Prerequisites: None
Speaker: Doyle Smith, Director, MAXIMUS

W15: Anatomy of a U-Grant: Practical Tips and Guides
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Content Level: Basic
This session will provide practical tips and guides to ensure successful submission of a multi-year, multi-site cooperative grant agreement to the National Institutes of Health. The session will cover effective strategies, communication and collaborative approaches at different time points of the grant preparation process. The role of the research administrator(s) will be highlighted as complementary and critical to the grant submission. Using an actual grant application, the audience will be walked through the grant application preparation process. The audience will be encouraged to participate in the discussion.
Learning Objectives:
1. Provide a real-world case example of how to prepare and submit a cooperative grant application.
2. Share strategies that contributed to the success of grant submission.
Prerequisites: None
Speaker: Joseph Cosico, CRA, Vice President, Research Operations, Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation
Certificate: CTRA101 - Elective

W16: Effectively Working with Internal Audit: Leveraging IA for Success
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Content Level: Basic
Audit is a dreaded word, especially in an industry with as much regulation and oversight as research. When receiving notification of an upcoming audit, most people’s first response is, “What? Wait, who’s coming? Why my department? How long will this take?” However, even more so than external audits [or dreaded Office of the Inspector General (OIG) audits], you can leverage your Internal Audit department as a useful tool in assessing the design of processes and compliance with rules and regulations. Best of all, they work for your institution and are really focused on ensuring that it is operating as well as possible. Internal Auditors can help you understand the tricky compliance landscape and identify potential gaps or concerns in the design of controls related to them.
Learning Objectives:
1. Contrast internal audits with the conduct and focus of external and OIG audits, and learn how 'modern' internal auditors REALLY are 'here to help.'
2. Understand the types and structure of internal audit engagements and explore the role of research administrators in the internal audit process.
Prerequisites: None
Speakers: David Clark, Manager, and Kim Ginn, Principal, Baker Tilly

W17: Transforming the Research Administration Enterprise
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Content Level: Advanced
This session will outline methodologies and principles for assessing the organizational and operational performance of your research administration enterprise and for working collaboratively within your institution to implement long-lasting change. This session will describe experiences in implementing sustainable improvements in customer service, communications, operations, compliance management, technology utilization and research administrator job satisfaction throughout the campus research administration infrastructure. This session will emphasize the interrelatedness of operations and systems among all research administration organizational units including. central human and animal research compliance and pre- and post-award offices, as well as PI/departmental organizations.
Learning Objectives:
1. Understand how to assess your organization’s current performance and Learn techniques for working collaboratively between central operations and campus departments.
2. Acquire tools for implementing sustainable improvements to your research enterprise.
Prerequisites: None
Speakers: Marcia Smith, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, University of California, Los Angeles; Nathan Haines, Senior Director, Huron Consulting Group

W18: Fostering a Team Approach to Cost-Sharing
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Content Level: Basic
Cost sharing in proposals is a common issue for research administrators. What is cost sharing? What is mandatory vs. voluntary cost sharing? What are the do's and don'ts? Are some costs better than others for institutions to offer as cost sharing? How does cost sharing affect the project once it is awarded? What types of documentation are sufficient? This session will cover these topics as well as give examples of team approaches to resolving cost sharing challenges in research administration. Examples of one institution’s policies and documentation will be provided to participants.
Learning Objectives:
1. Apply the basic concepts of CS to real life situation Define different types of CS.
2. Form team approaches to solving CS challenges Take home an example of one institution's cost sharing policy.
Prerequisites: None
Speakers: Jennie Amison, Director, Sponsored Research Development, and Sandra Nordahl, CRA, Co-Director, Sponsored Research Contracting and Compliance, San Diego State University Research Foundation
Certificate: Financial Management - Required Session

W19: FAR, FAR Away with the Federal Acquisition Regulations
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Content Level: Intermediate
FAR contracts can appear daunting when first received. Learn how to simplify your review of FAR clauses, how to know which clauses MUST be in an agreement vs. what can be removed, how to choose the appropriate FAR alternates and a discussion on previously successful tactics to negotiate the troublesome clauses received directly from the federal government or through flow-down provisions embedded in subcontracts.
Learning Objectives:
1. Learn how the FARs are structured and how the matrix can help you.
2. Identify troublesome FAR clauses and how to negotiate out of them.
Prerequisites: None
Speaker: Cindy Kiel, JD, CRA, Executive Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, University of California, Davis
Certificate: Research Law - Required Session

W20: Disclosure and Privacy Issues in a Digital Age 
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Content Level: All Levels
We all live in a world of digital data, generating an information trail as we e-mail and study, conduct research, use health care, shop with loyalty cards, and make wireless calls. In response, individuals and watchdog groups are raising alarms about the Orwellian implications and government agencies are increasing regulation and instituting severe punishment for privacy infractions. In Europe and the United States, elaborate bodies of law as well as a structure of non-legislative rules and regulations  have formed around privacy issues. Computer technology, and increasingly biotechnology (e.g., genetic information gathering) is getting ever more powerful and sophisticated and the issues of digital privacy and disclosure of personal information is rapidly coming to the fore. This program will cover topics such as:

1. PRIVACY REGIMES: US V. THE REST OF THE WORLD 
2. PRIVACY AND PUBLIC RECORDS
3. GEOGRAPHIC, AND OTHER PERSONAL INFORMATION
4. E-HEALTH RECORDS
5. CLOUD COMPUTING AND OTHER NEW ASPECTS OF THE “DIGITAL AGE”
6. CROSS-NATIONAL TRANSFER OF DATA
7. PENALTIES FOR INAPPROPRIATE DISCLOSURES V. SUMMARY
8. PERSONAL AND ENTITY IDENTITY THEFT

Learning Objectives:
1. Identify the privacy issues that arise in the research enterprise and the steps governments taking to regulate and control research activities use of personal information and development of technology that can invade privacy and that can protect individuals from identification or location?
2. Examine the laws and regulations that most affect the compilation and use of personal, private, and confidential information in research and resulting from research, treatment and education.
3. Analyze the legal issues surrounding the development and use of technology such as “anonymizer” applications that allow individuals to interact anonymously, encryption programs and other means to both protect individual privacy and evade tracking by governments, universities and businesses, and law enforcement.
Prerequisites: None
Speakers: Randall Rueth, JD, Partner, Marshall, Gerstein & Borun, LLP; J. Michael Slocum, JD, President, Slocum & Boddie, PC
Certificate: Research Law - Required Session

W21: ITARS, Dual Use Technology and Classified Research
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Content Level: All Levels
This session will provide you with the current information on ITARS, Dual Use Technology and how to handle classified research on your campus. Learning goals include: Knowing what to ask, when to ask it and whom you should ask; becoming aware of potential HR issues related to classified research and foreign nationals on your campus; examining ways to track compliance related to the above.
Learning Objectives:
1. To understand the administrative compliance issues related to handling classified or dual-use technologies on your campus.
2. To identify possible partnership opportunities for working with other service centers on your campus for strengthening your compliance program.
Prerequisites: None
Speaker: L. Eric James, JD, Associate Vice President for Research, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology

W22: Understanding the Agency Review Process
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Content Level: All Levels
For successful grant applications it is important to understand how the agency review process works and how to tailor the application to make best use of that process.  This session will present detailed information about the similarities and differences in the review process at major federal and selected private funding agencies.  Participants will learn the stages of the review process, how reviewers are chosen, the role of the program officer, what reviewers look for in successful proposals, how to become a reviewer, and why research administrators can benefit professionally and personally from serving as a reviewer.  Questions from the audience will be welcomed.
Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the selection of reviewers and the review process at major federal and non-federal agencies; apply that knowledge to submit effective, successful proposals.
2. Understand benefits of becoming a reviewer for the individual and the institution; increase credibility with investigators; understand and describe agency differences in review processes.
Prerequisites: None
Speaker: Marjorie Piechowski, PhD, Director of Research Support, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

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Monday, October 1
Tuesday, October 2