Event
Event Details
Where:
Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas, NV
When:
October 31 - November 4, 2022
October 31 - November 4, 2022
Attain Partners experts are hosting several workshops and sessions during the 2022 SRAI Annual Meeting! See details below.
Pre-conference Workshops
Fundamentals of Research Administration & Management
Tuesday, November 1, 9:00a–5:00p PT
Hosted by Judy Bristow, Specialist Leader, Attain Partners; Andrea Deaton, Consulting Specialist, Attain Partners; and John Sites, CRA, Higher Education Consulting Manager, Huron Consulting Group, LLC
This workshop, intended for individuals with fewer than three years’ experience, is designed to give newcomers to research administration a big picture of the profession. Topics covered will include finding funding opportunities; orienting new faculty to the research environment; pre- and post-award administration; proposal development, submission, review and award negotiation; administrative and fiscal regulations; accountability and risk management; and research, fiscal, and professional ethics.
Learn more about this full-day workshop here.
Research Administration During “Days Like This” – Managing Through Change
Tuesday, November 1, 1:30–5:00p PT
Hosted by Dr. Susan Wyatt Sedwick, Ph.D., CRA, CSM, Attain Partners, and Dara Little, Distinguished Faculty, MPA, CRA, Assistant Vice President for Research & Sponsored Programs, Northern Illinois University
Research administration has always been a field of constant change and “it depends” – full of new regulations, government shutdowns, and campus emergencies. As research administrators, we often thrive in this environment. But a changing workforce and increased expectations for remote, or hybrid work options are pushing the boundaries for how we manage our teams and our work. The complexity of external funding continues as agencies push the envelope to meet heightened calls for fiscal accountability, research security, and diversity and equity while our organizations seek to optimize external funding. How do managers balance all of this when the thought of full staffing is as elusive as a proposal submitted well before the deadline? Will your organization’s current research administration structure fit a post-COVID-19 workforce and what metrics might be helpful to find out? And finally, how do you keep the day-to-day going and your team motivated in a remote and lean work environment?
The content of this workshop will span all the areas of the practice of research administration including leadership development (delegation of responsibilities), research administration staffing and management (metrics), research and faculty development (enabling PIs to be proactive), innovation and economic development (using data to predict impact downstream), and integrity and stewardship (strategic planning as a means of practicing good stewardship).
Learn more about this half-day workshop here.
Sessions
Successful Strategies for Industry Engagement
Wednesday, November 2, 10:30–11:30a PT
Hosted by Dr. Susan Wyatt Sedwick, Ph.D., CRA, CSM, Attain Partners, and Anthony Boccanfuso, Ph.D., President and CEO, UIDP
No single organization has the resources and skills required to tackle global grand challenges alone. Achieving and maintaining success as a research organization requires collaboration between researchers within academia and often with external partners in the industry. This session will consider recent cultural shifts by government agencies to promote university-industry research partnerships and the motivation behind this evolution. It will also examine the success elements that characterized industry-engaged research performers.
Learn more about this concurrent session here.
The Wave of the Future: Software Solutions and Implementation Partners, How the University of Wyoming Successfully Implemented Cayuse SP
Wednesday, November 2, 1:00–2:00p PT
Hosted by Andrea Deaton, Consulting Specialist, Attain Partners; Ivonne Kalinski, Senior Consultant, Attain Partners; Heather Winters, Senior Solutions Consultant, Cayuse, LLC; Jason Aeh, Senior Solutions Engineer, Cayuse, LLC; Heather Loden, Professional Services Consultant, Cayuse, LLC; and Farrell Rapp, Director, Research Services, University of Wyoming
In this “how-to” session, presales and IT experts from Cayuse will walk through the software evaluation process. We will bring experience from a university setting reviewing and implementing software, as well as, working with numerous customers at Cayuse as they navigate their own evaluations. We will also bring the often-forgotten IT perspective to the conversation. Together we will provide examples of common mistakes, share best practices and success stories, and equip you and your institution in streamlining this cumbersome process. In addition, is the idea of implementing a new eRA system using your current resources too daunting? Cayuse and Attain Partners have a solution for that! Implementation partners are the wave of the future for growing research administration offices. Cayuse and Attain Partners assisted the University of Wyoming with a successful Cayuse SP implementation. Cayuse provides the software platform and technical expertise, while Attain Partners wraps streamlined business processes around the new software functionality. The University of Wyoming championed the entire implementation process by providing solid leadership and decision-making. Join us for an interactive discussion with representatives from the University of Wyoming, Cayuse, and Attain Partners as we discuss the strategies for a successful eRA software evaluation and system implementation using a team approach.
Learn more about this concurrent session here.
Brick and Mortar No More – Recruitment, Retention, Engagement, Performance – Managing Research Administration Staff in a Virtual Workplace
Wednesday, November 2, 4:00–5:30p PT
Hosted by Judy Bristow, Specialist Leader, Attain Partners; Heather Cody, Senior Director, Huron Consulting Group, LLC; and Maryellen O’Brien, MBA, Director, Pennsylvania State University
Given that many organizations are now recruiting with the intention of allowing a fully remote environment, the process of leading a research administration team became much harder. This talk will examine the pitfalls, success stories, and ongoing challenges of managing research administration operations in a business world lacking our traditional brick-and-mortar structure.
Learn more about this deep dive here.
Don’t Gamble with Foreign Influence Compliance
Thursday, November 3, 9:00–10:00a PT
Hosted by Dr. Susan Wyatt Sedwick, Ph.D., CRA, CSM, Attain Partners, and John Baumann, Ph.D., Associate Vice President for Research Compliance, Indiana University
This session will update attendees on the latest developments in federal policy, enforcement actions, and good compliance practices related to improper influence concerns arising from foreign, political, and financial pressures. A university compliance official will provide a real-world example of how one institution has implemented its program with insights on gaining buy-in and support from senior leadership.
Learn more about this concurrent session here.
Building Contract Negotiation Skills
Thursday, November 3, 10:30–11:30a PT
Hosted by Dr. Susan Wyatt Sedwick, Ph.D., CRA, CSM, Attain Partners; Marianne Woods, Ph.D., JD, Faculty and Program Director, Johns Hopkins University; and Timothy Gehret, JD, Esq., Senior Contracting Officer, University of Colorado Boulder
This session will discuss contract negotiation skills. The session will present and examine the various critical skills and knowledge needed to successfully complete a “win-win” negotiation, where all parties leave happy to have entered into the contract. It will look at negotiation skills not only from the university perspective but also from the industry perspective.
Learn more about this concurrent session here.
First Time as a Supervisor? “Do not throw away your shot”
Friday, November 4, 10:15–11:15a PT
Hosted by Amanda Seymour, Senior Associate, Attain Partners; Nadia Kikilo, Senior Manager, Attain Partners; and Gloria Greene, Assistant Vice President, Contracts & Grants, University of Alabama in Huntsville
You were once among the employees you are now trying to supervise. This session will look at the increased pressure for administrative and clerical efficiency and the most problematic areas for first-time supervisors: human relations and technical knowledge. A supervisor must be able to think and act in terms of the total system of operation, which includes defining and assigning priorities, planning and organizing, and programming and coordinating the operational tasks of a department so that the objectives of both the department and the institution as a whole are achieved. Furthermore, the first-level supervisor must excel in interpersonal skills.
Learn more about this concurrent session here.
Learn more and register for the 2022 SRAI Annual Meeting here. We look forward to seeing you there!
