Blog
March 11, 2021
We’re kicking off the spring season with our annual participation in the National Council of University Research Administrators’ (NCURA) Financial Research Administration (FRA) and Pre-Award Research Administration (PRA) Annual Conferences—and this year, we’re excited to make our NCURA debut as Attain Partners! Talk to our team, visit our virtual booth, and learn more about this exciting evolution and what it means to your organization. We may have a new name, but our steadfast commitment to helping the research community thrive remains the same.
Though still virtual, we’ll be providing the same informative education sessions and workshops during both events. Read on for details from our team of experts.
FRA
Hot Topics in Post-Award Administration
Susan Sedwick, Vivian Holmes, and Cynthia Hope
March 16, 2021, 3:45p – 5:00p
Hopefully spring will bring hope for a return to a somewhat more normal work environments for our offices, normalizing of current hot topics and we will have moved on to the next big group of challenges. I will assemble and moderate a panel of senior level post-award administrators to present the next five biggest issues that will face our profession. After all, it is the Endless Frontier.
The Role of the Post-Award Office in Foreign Influence Compliance
Susan Sedwick, Ara Tahmassian, and Jim Luther
March 17, 2021, 2:00p – 3:15p
Addressing foreign influence concerns does not stop with pre-award and the post-award office has a critical role in monitoring throughout the life cycle of a project. Effective strategies go beyond a “one and done” approach and educating post-award and departmental staff can expand your capabilities to provide oversight. I will assemble a panel of senior post-award administrators who have played an active role at their institutions in foreign influence compliance.
WORKSHOPS
Workshop: Foreign Influence: Responding to Agency Inquiries and Non-Compliance
Susan Sedwick, Kim Melville-Smith, and Trey Atchley III
March 22, 2021, 1:00p – 5:00p
Where do you start when you suspect non-compliance or when you receive an inquiry from a sponsor that one of your researchers has not complied fully with reporting outside activities and interests? When non-compliance is suspected, knowing what steps must be taken initially to ensure your institution and your science is protected. Seasoned research administrators will provide guidance on how to investigate allegations of non-compliance in science security and respond to agency inquiries with insights from what was learned from the NIH Survey on foreign influence practices at institutions.
PRA
Educating Clinical Researchers on Foreign Influence Concerns
Susan Sedwick, Martha Ogilvie, and Winona Ward
March 23, 2021, 2:00p – 3:15p
When we think of clinical researchers and foreign influence, our first thought is of global humanitarian impact of research and the importance of medicine without borders. For most clinical researchers it is antithetical to fathom questioning the need for collaborating internationally to address health issues and certainly, never more so than this past year. Educating physicians and clinicians on the concerns that have arisen for the security of our intellectual capital and research takes a tailored approach. This session will delve into the approach taken by two university academic centers and will provide an interactive forum for answering questions from the clinical research administration community.
Global Warming: Combatting the Chilling Effect of Foreign Influence Compliance
Susan Sedwick, Courtney Swaney, and Kim Melville-Smith
March 25, 2021, 3:45p – 5:00p
One needs only to peruse the annual list of Nobel Prize winners in the scientific fields to understand the importance of international collaboration in science. Unfortunately, fear over concerns about foreign influence have had a chilling effect on international collaborations. I will assemble a panel of senior level research administrators who have moved beyond compliance and back to our equally important role of facilitating research as we support and help make research happen.
Interested in connecting directly with our experts? Email [email protected].
