2011: Continuous Improvement in a Time of Change | Research Compliance & Reporting | Duke

The 2011 Symposium for Research Administrators is sponsored by RACI - the Research Administration Continuous Improvement initiative. RACI continues to support the professionalization and career development activities of Duke University's grant management community through the Symposium and other initiatives.

Participants at the 2011 Symposium for Research Administrators enjoyed a fast paced, highly informative keynote presentation by Dr. Michael Merson, founding Director of the Duke Global Health Institute. The symposium theme, Continuous Improvement in a Time of Change, was reinforced as Dr. Merson engaged participants in the challenges of conducting health-related research from a global perspective. His presentation concluded with a powerful video that reinforced the importance of Duke's rapidly expanding global research initiatives.

Breakout Sessions for the May 2011 Research Administration Symposium

Grant managers from across the university voted for the topics they wanted to learn more about during the 2011 Research Administration Symposium on May 11. Below are descriptions for the 14 topics for the 2011 breakout sessions.

Please note there are several sessions that offer Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credit for individuals that hold a national certification. These sessions are have an asterisk * following the title.

Not Your Every Day Responsible Conduct of Research

This session will include discussions on what the Grant Manager should know about misconduct in scientific research, plagiarism, and other research compliance issues.

Taking the Stress Out Of Work Relationships and Workplace Change*

We often find ourselves in a position where job demands require us to voice opinions, protect our free time, handle seemingly unreasonable demands, and manage increasingly complex and challenging roles. In this session you will be introduced to skills which will win you self-respect, and enable you to deal with work stress in a professional manner.

Budget Justifications: Building a Budget to Survive the Real World*

Sponsors are requiring more extensive details in Budget Justifications and Budget Justifications are increasingly scrutinized in Federal Audits. What details do you need to include in your Budget Justification? Where can you go to find the answers that you need?

This session presents an overview of the components of a Budget Justification providing examples of differing Sponsor expectations and requirements. It outlines the detail that you need to get from your PI and the variations in requirements for different Sponsors, Subcontracts, and budget categories. Examples of comprehensive Budget Justifications for different Sponsors will be provided.

An experienced panel will answer questions and provide a listing of resources to consult for Budget Justification rules and agency-specific requirements.

Show Me the Money!

Managing revenues for certain sponsored activities can be a challenging task. At Duke University, revenues are tracked by both the departments and OSP. How does the process work? This session will discuss the processes involved in managing and monitoring revenue from project inception through project closeout.

Topics will include answers to the following questions:

Expenses are charged to a project….how does Duke get the money?
How the financial report/invoice is prepared and what role the department has in this process?
Where is the money? How do I track revenue?

Challenges and Opportunities in International Grant Management: The Zebra Ate My Contract*

As Duke University becomes increasingly engaged in global research, grant managers must develop a broader understanding of the issues and requirements relating to managing international projects. This session will feature an introduction to the basic concepts of managing international research funding, followed by perspectives from two department representatives on how they have met and managed some of the more interesting challenges in global research. This interactive session will provide time for participant questions, comments and sharing expertise.

Clinical Trials: The Things You Need to Know

This session will provide an overview of the changing landscape of clinical research at Duke University. This session is applicable to research administrators at all levels.

Surviving a Financial Audit*

Will you survive if your department’s sponsored projects are audited? The best way to survive an audit is to be prepared!

This session will cover topics such as: What is an audit? Who conducts audits? What is expected during an audit? Best practices on how a department can prepare for an audit.

Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer: A Primer for Grant Managers

What is intellectual property? What is the difference between a patent and a copyright? How does Duke commercialize inventions that result from sponsored research?

The session focuses on the work of Duke University’s Office of Corporate Research Collaborations (OCRC) and Office of Licensing and Ventures (OLV). Office of Corporate Research Collaborations will provide an overview of basic intellectual property concepts and the federal regulations that govern intellectual property and sponsored research, including a review of basic intellectual property concepts. Office of Licensing and Ventures will present an overview of the technology transfer process at Duke, from an invention disclosure to patenting to marketing.

The target audience is beginning to mid-level research administrators who have not worked extensively with intellectual property.

A Broad View of Effort

This session is targeted to research administrators of all experience levels. The discussion in this session will focus on the Campus effort management changes.

Panelists will discuss the recent changes in the way Duke handles PI effort from a broad policy overview to detailed implementation by several Schools. This session will provide an opportunity for research administrators to ask questions about implementation and discuss issues they are encountering at the department level.

Making the Most of Reporting Tools

This session will feature demonstrations of various SAP R/3 and Web based Reporting tools available to Grant Administrators.
Reports and tools to be covered include:

Finance tab on Duke@Work
New field being added to Cost Center master data, how it will be maintained and impact on Accounting View of Payroll.
New fields in Project Master, what do all the date fields mean
Sponsored Research IT Projects, current ones in development and planned projects
Use of Dynamic Selections for reporting on Multi-Code projects

The Largest Piece of the Pie: Human Resources/Payroll Challenges in Grants Management*

Eighty percent of sponsored research expenses are payroll costs. Do you know how to manage them?

In this session, you will learn about best practices you can implement in your area regarding: payroll transaction timing; payroll expenses on grants; payroll general ledgers; cost sharing; compensatory and non-compensatory payments; Issues unique to students and foreign nationals; proposed vs. actual effort; and payroll reporting tools available to you.

Services Centers and Core Facilities

Does your department charge other departments for services or shared instrument use? If you do and have not established a Service Center or Shared Resource you may need to do so. Proper administration of Service Centers and Shared Resources is a compliance concern for Sponsored Research projects. Many departments at Duke provide services to other departments/institutions (both within and outside of Duke) or have instrumentation that is used by other departments.

This session will outline the criteria for establishing Service Centers and Shared Resources, the different levels of services provided by Service Centers and Shared Resources, how the costs for these services are determined, and how Service Centers and Shared Resources are administered. Examples of Service Centers and Shared Resources will be presented.

Financial Management of Clinical Trials*

This session is an intermediate to advanced level discussion of clinical research management by our featured panel of experts; representing central administration, site based research units and departmental administration. This session is for administrators and coordinators who may have financial responsibility of managing clinical research budgets.

Our panel of experts will discuss financial management challenges such as:

What does the feasibility process involve?
After the budget is developed and funds received, how are the funds managed?
How can you track how much revenue a clinical trial is generating?
How are tracking tools developed?

Applying for and Managing Non-profit Funding: Grant Administration Tips for Successful Programs*

Non-profit sponsors have a wide variety of requirements that often do not match the best practices that Duke University uses for federal sponsors such as NIH, NSF and DoD. Grant managers at all levels will benefit from this review of best practices specific to our non-profits sponsors. The complete life cycle of a non-profit sponsored award will be examined, and participants can expect to walk away with detailed information on how Duke grant administration professionals can best help their principal investigators apply for and manage such awards. If your department or division receives or could expect to receive funding from a non-profit, this session will help make your job easier and help you avoid common pitfalls with such sponsors. Sponsors under discussion include foundations, corporate philanthropy groups, professional associations and societies, non-governmental organizations, non-profit interest and advocacy groups, and other, small non-profit organizations.

Dear Grant, How can I make everyone happy?*

Being a Grants Manager often means you are in the position of pleasing multiple parties, which can be like trying to walk a tightrope. Everyone, including federal agencies, want it all done immediately, and what they want constantly changes. Fortunately, this is a balancing act that can be mastered.

Please join us for an honest and humorous discussion of the realities that plague all research administrators and receive some innovative suggestions on how to manage these situations.