Event
Event Details
Where:
Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas, NV
When:
March 6 - 8, 2023
March 6 - 8, 2023
Meet Attain Partners’ experts—read our 2023 NCURA FRA Speaker Spotlight here!
Attain Partners experts are presenting during several discussion groups, sessions, and workshops at the NCURA FRA Conference! Learn more about the event here.
Are you attending? Add these informative sessions to your conference agenda—or stop by Attain Partners Booth #108 to talk with our experts one-on-one. We’d love to discuss solutions for any current issues your institution may be facing. Contact us today.
Monday, March 6
Post-Award Management from the Departmental Perspective
Discussion Group | Monday, March 6, 10:15a – 11:30a
Hosted by Benjamin Garvin, Attain Partners, and Heather Dominey, Brown University
Learn the ins and outs of post-award management from a departmental perspective, best practices in the department to manage post-award from funding to closeout, and how to build and nourish relationships with all the players involved in the successful execution of a sponsored award.
Improving Post-Award Processes After Implementing an ERP
Concurrent Session | Monday, March 6, 2:45p – 3:45p
Hosted by Shacey Temperly, Attain Partners, and Nichle Orogun-Thomas, Georgia State University
Your institution has implemented a new ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning system). Now what? How can this impact your job? What new tools can you utilize to better serve you and your customers? While every implementation is different, even within the same system, there are commonalities across all that we will discuss that can help you better manage your research portfolios. We will discuss system tools and reports as well as tools developed by end users. We will cover the basic post-award financial business processes and how ERP systems can be leveraged to increase efficiency and accuracy.
Departmental Roles and Responsibilities: Defining the Boundaries Between Departments and Central Offices
Concurrent Session | Monday, March 6, 4:00p – 5:00p
Hosted by Kathleen Halley-Octa, Attain Partners, and Nichle Orogun-Thomas, Georgia State University
Do you have boundary issues? Sometimes the line between central office and departmental responsibilities can become blurred. How do you assign responsibilities between offices while ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks? In this session, we will explore strategies for delineating roles and responsibilities while fostering positive relationships and working together as a team.
Learning Objectives
- Navigating when work transfers between offices
- When to get other parties involved
- Understanding how each person’s work impacts the overall picture
Prerequisites
- Participants will benefit from a basic understanding of research administration and some experience managing people or processes.
Tuesday, March 7
Managing a Departmental Team in a Remote or Hybrid Environment
Concurrent Session | Tuesday, March 7, 8:15a – 9:45a
Hosted by Courtney Swaney, Attain Partners; Darren May, Auburn University; and Denise Rouleau, Tufts University
Research Administration looks a lot different nowadays with hybrid and remote work environments being the new norm. Some employees are anxious to go back into the office, while many have developed a taste for remote work and are leaving their current institution in search of remote opportunities. As the Research Administration workforce shifts, institutions that are fully in-person or hybrid are feeling the crunch. Those institutions that have allowed fully remote work often have employees from all over the country. Managers of hybrid and remote teams have the uneasy task of maintaining employee/team productivity and building morale without micromanaging and often without the option of bringing the team together in person. Come to this interactive presentation to share and gain ideas on how to best encourage employee engagement with others to help build strong, cohesive teams.
Learning Objectives
- Leave with a better understanding of managing a team in a diverse environment including both hybrid and fully remote environments.
- Leave with ideas for best engaging employees in both hybrid and fully remote working conditions.
Prerequisites
- Open to current and aspiring team leaders and managers
Communicating Effectively with PIs
Concurrent Session | Tuesday, March 7, 1:00p – 2:15p
Hosted by Kathleen Halley-Octa, Attain Partners, and Lindsey Hornsby, George State University
Building a successful career in research administration involves more than just learning technical skills. One of the most important qualities of a good research administrator is the ability to communicate effectively with PIs, particularly in stressful situations. This is especially true for departmental RAs who often serve as the liaison between central offices and faculty. The ability to communicate clearly, concisely, and with empathy can help build trust with central office colleagues and faculty, ultimately making our jobs more enjoyable. In this session, we will discuss strategies for defusing stressful situations, advocating for the needs of our faculty while maintaining successful relationships with our colleagues and upholding compliance standards. This session will be interactive and involve case studies to test your communication skills.
Learning Objectives
- Explore strategies for effectively communicating with PIs
- Learn how to use communication skills to defuse stressful situations and build trust with PIs
- Use interactive case studies to show examples of both poor and effective communication
Prerequisites
- Basic knowledge of communication styles and experience working with faculty preferred.
Jumpin’ into Career Overdrive? Keep Out of the Danger Zone
Concurrent Session | Tuesday, March 7, 1:00p – 2:15p
Hosted by Paige Robinson, Attain Partners; Brian Sevier, Yale University; and Leigh Stephens, University of West Florida
At the end of the first Top Gun movie, Maverick was asked what he was going to do after graduation, “I want to teach!” At the beginning of TG2, he goes back to Top Gun, per their request, to train the pilots for a very important, risky mission. Maverick had previously taught at Top Gun but was removed from teaching for several reasons. Even with a distinguished resume, he received no promotions, refused to retire, and was told his “kind” was headed for extinction…the Danger Zone. Maverick’s response was, “Well, not today.”
There’s something about making a change, going through a transition that feels like you’re going into a nosedive; however, in many cases, it brings you back to your passion when that change or transition occurs – sometimes coming full circle through the life of a career. Our passion drives us. It’s what makes us want to get out there, get the mission done, and propels us to new levels of opportunity. What fuels our passion? Our WHY! Sometimes our “Why” changes, gets put on a shelf, gets lost, and must be found with a few adjustments for the next stage. Don’t accept your career is done and over! What is the next career-appropriate step for your next mission? Are you feeling the need for change? Is the fire burning, shaking your nerves, and rattling your brain? Have you lost your Goose, or are you working for the Iceman? “Goodness Gracious,” your Rooster says, it’s a brand-new day, time to suit up!
Learning Objectives
- Finding your sweet spot without becoming “inverted” or entering the Danger Zone.
- Understanding career choices, sectors, and industries that research administration intersects with
- Q&A
Current F&A Landscape and Other Regulatory Matters
Discussion Group | Tuesday, March 7, 1:00p – 2:15p
Hosted by Wally Davis, Attain Partners
This session is going to cover current CAS focus areas, hot F&A topics that matter, and other regulatory issues that will be of interest to individuals who work or manage the F&A development function.
Differences Between the F&A Regulations for Institutions of Higher Education, Research Institutes, and Hospitals and Maximizing F&A Reimbursement
Concurrent Session | Tuesday, March 7, 2:45p – 3:45p
Hosted by Robert Cohen, Attain Partners; Liliana Keany, Attain Partners; Rosemary Madnick, Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center; and Karen Renaud, Boston Children’s Hospital
This session will provide the attendee with the differences in the Regulations relating to F&A relating to Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Research Institutes. institutional representatives will present their experiences and provide insight into maximizing costing reimbursement.
Learning Objectives
- Attendees will learn how F&A regulations vary between different entity types and how to construct an F&A proposal to best maximize the F&A rate.
Prerequisites
- Basic understanding of the difference between direct costs and indirect costs
Hey…Here’s a great I.D.E.A. (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Allyship)!!!
Concurrent Session | Tuesday, March 7, 2:45p – 3:45p
Hosted by Benjamin Garvin, Attain Partners; Angela Garvin, University of Connecticut; and Geraldine Pierre, Boston Children’s Hospital
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Allyship, and Belonging is a hot topic right now! Let us help you transform your work environment with IDEAs other institutions and workplaces are doing to diversify and even the playing field with Option and Opportunity for All!
Learn more about Attain Partners’ Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Allyship (IDEA) Transformation Services here.
Wednesday, March 8
Pre-Award Basics and Best Practices – WS09
Workshop | Wednesday, March 8, 1:00p – 4:30p
Hosted by Kathleen Halley-Octa, Attain Partners; Amy Thomas, Auburn University; and Darren May, Auburn University
Are you new to Pre-Award and feeling overwhelmed? Pre-award administrators are required to manage heavy workloads under tight deadlines all while navigating ever-changing rules and regulations. Learning the profession in a trial-by-fire method can be frustrating and lead to quick burnout! To be successful requires a high amount of knowledge and adaptability. This workshop is designed to clear the fog of the pre-award world while also giving you best practice tips to help keep you organized and proactive!
Learning Objectives
- Attendees will participate in activities to help develop a training plan.
- Attendees will be introduced to strategies for engaging non-research administration units’ training programs.
- Attendees will be provided with resources that can be utilized in future programming.
Recruitment, Retention, and Promotion: Challenges in Today’s Diverse and Inclusive Workforce – WS14
Workshop | Wednesday, March 8, 1:00p – 4:30p
Hosted by Benjamin Garvin, Attain Partners; Geraldine Pierre, Boston Children’s Hospital; and Danielle Brown, University of Maryland, Baltimore
There are many strategies and issues affecting the recruitment, retention, and promotion of a diverse and inclusive workforce in institutions of higher education and academia. These issues continue to be a hot Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion topic today. This workshop will cover topics related to current employment recruitment practice to minimize racial, ethnic, and cultural bias, retention, and promotion strategies for the retention of minority staff and what can be done to support and maintain the practice of inclusive excellence in the higher education research workplace.
Learning Objectives
- Understand the issues affecting the recruitment, retention, and promotion of minorities in academia and learn about effective tools and resources to increase diversity in an academic workforce.
- Identify issues concerning subconscious bias and what can be done to minimize its effect and practical takeaways to deploy to reduce the impact of bias in their teams and larger organization.
- Learn best practices in understanding the importance of recruitment, retention, and promotion to university administrators in research administration.
Prerequisites
- Participants should have a general understanding of DEI issues with recruitment, retention, and promotion.
- Participants should have some experience with challenges in managing hiring, promotion, retainment, and engagement and be prepared to discuss the effect on a diverse workforce.
Transformational Leadership and Transitional Management in Tumultuous Times – SF15
Workshop | Wednesday, March 8, 1:00p – 4:30p
Hosted by Susan Wyatt Sedwick, Attain Partners, and Marianne Woods, Johns Hopkins University
When did “change” become a four-letter word? Technically it isn’t, but in an age where everyone is beyond change fatigue and at the point of change exhaustion, the word seems business as usual. Transforming your organization to meet the needs of a workforce that emerged from the pandemic years comes with a very different set of demands and challenges. Much is written about change management, but change leadership requires leaders to set the tone for organizational transformations where multiple systems are being implemented or new senior leadership charts a new course. Transformational leadership requires conveying the vision and goals, listening more than talking, and ensuring adequate resources are available to support the desired outcomes while research continues to happen. Transition management focuses on the details and mechanics of effecting the change. Seventy percent of change initiatives fail. This workshop will explain the differences between transformation leadership and transition management and the criticality of having both.
Learning Objectives
- Delineate the difference between transformational leadership and transitional management.
- Identify the distinct roles leaders and managers play in successful transformational initiatives.
- Sell change as “progress” when those who must change are weary.
Prerequisites
- Participants will want some leadership experience.
