NCURA PRA 2026

Hear from Attain Partners during NCURA PRA 2026

Attain Partners is a proud sponsor of NCURA’s 20th Annual Pre-Award Research Administration (NCURA PRA) Conference, taking place March 22 – 23 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Are you attending? Add these informative sessions to your conference agenda—or stop by Attain Partners Booths #13 and #14 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.

Saturday, March 21: Shared Workshop Day

WS06: Excel Pivot Tables and More: Practical Tools for Smarter Data Analysis
Saturday, March 21 | 8:15a – 11:45a

Are you ready to master Excel pivot tables? If you’ve been curious about them but didn’t know where to begin, here’s your chance to dive in! Pivot tables may seem complex, but with just a few simple techniques, you’ll unlock a powerful toolset for summarizing data, visualizing trends, and managing large datasets effortlessly. Join us as we explore basic pivot tables that anyone can create using general ledger data, providing you with practical skills you can start using right away. We will explore more advanced applications, showing you how to analyze data like a pro with Excel formulas and formatting techniques as well as troubleshooting common data formatting anomalies. And, to top it all off, we’ll guide you through creating replicable templates to transform and streamline your data analytics. With just a little Excel know-how and a spark of creativity, you’ll discover how pivot tables can transform your data analysis, empowering you to tackle a wide range of tasks with confidence and precision.

Learning Objectives

• Unlock the Power of Pivot Tables: Dive into the essentials of pivot tables, learning how to transform general ledger data into insightful summaries with just a few clicks.
• Master Intermediate Techniques: Explore additional pivot table techniques that allow you to model and analyze the same data in multiple, insightful ways which will uncover trends and patterns.
• Bring Your Data to Life: Elevate your analysis with visualization techniques and tools to manipulate and interpret data relevant for their purposes through replicable models.

Speakers

• Shacey Temperly, Principal, Attain Partners
• Chloe Campbell, Finance Implementation Senior Team Lead, CFO Division, University of Florida

Sunday, March 22

Cost Sharing: Turning an Obligation into an Opportunity
Sunday, March 22 | 10:30a – 11:30a

Cost sharing can be an enigma to many new research administrators, and it can be a headache to many seasoned research administrators. What is it, is it really that daunting, and how can we turn this obligation into an opportunity? And hey, can we even use AI to help us do more with less resources? This presentation will help attendees define cost sharing, identify the types of cost sharing, explain ways we can meet cost sharing requirements, and touch on best practices and experiences from the presenter’s time in research administration – including a discussion of understanding subrecipient cost sharing obligations.

Learning Objectives

This session will help participants define cost sharing, identify the different types of cost sharing, explain ways we can meet cost sharing requirements, and touch on best practices and experiences.

Speaker

• Jeff Derr, ALM, CRA, Manager, Attain Partners

Hot Issues in Grants Including the Latest on Uniform Guidance Revisions
Sunday, March 22 | 10:30a – 11:30a

Speaker

• Gil Tran, CPA, Senior Specialist Leader, Attain Partners

Budgeting for Compliance: Designing Budgets That Survive Post-Award Scrutiny
Sunday, March 22 | 2:30p – 3:30p

Budget development during the proposal phase plays a critical role in shaping financial health and compliance of an award throughout its lifecycle. This session offers pre-award professionals a post-award lens on budgeting, highlighting how early decisions can either support or hinder long-term financial integrity. Through real-world examples and practical strategies, weíll explore common pitfallsósuch as unallowable costs, effort commitments, and cost-sharing challengesóand how to proactively address them during proposal preparation. Attendees will leave with actionable insights to design budgets that meet sponsor expectations, align with institutional policies, and withstand post-award scrutiny.

Learning Objectives

• Identify budget elements that commonly lead to post-award compliance issues.
• Apply strategies to design proposal budgets that align with sponsor and institutional requirements.
• Collaborate more effectively with post-award teams to ensure financial readiness and reduce audit risk.
• Evaluate the impact of budget design on award monitoring and reporting.
• Incorporate audit-resistant practices into budget development.
• Navigate cost-sharing commitments with greater confidence.
• Apply real-world case studies to strengthen budgeting practices.

Speakers

• Leah Acajabon, Senior Consultant, Attain Partners
• Danforth Nicholas, Research Administration Manager, Dana-Farber Cancer Center

Building, Training, and Retaining High-Performance Teams During Turbulent Times
Sunday, March 22 | 2:30p – 3:30p

Research administrators are working in an environment defined by uncertainty and constant change. Federal funding priorities continue to shift, compliance requirements are becoming more complex, and institutions are being asked to do more with limited resources. At the same time, hiring freezes and the ongoing difficulty of retaining experienced staff have left many offices stretched thin. These pressures make it critical for research administration offices to recruit, train, and retain staff who can perform at a high level while adapting to evolving sponsor expectations and institutional needs. This session will explore practical strategies for recruiting, onboarding, and developing research administrators, focusing on approaches that strengthen workforce capacity and support long-term success.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze strategies for recruiting, training, and retaining research administrators within a dynamic federal funding and compliance environment.
• Develop approaches that enhance workforce engagement, resilience, and long-term retention in research administration.
• Evaluate real-world case studies to identify success factors, anticipate challenges, and adopt effective practices for building high-performance teams.

Speakers

• Kathleen Halley-Octa, MA, CRA, Manager, Attain Partners
• Darren May, Director, Office of Sponsored Programs, Auburn University

Monday, March 23

Leveraging Preexisting AI Tools to Streamline Research Administration
Monday, March 23 | 2:30p – 3:30p

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming an essential part of modern workflows, offering opportunities to enhance efficiency and reduce administrative burden. In research administration- a field marked by complex processes and compliance demands- AI has the potential to revolutionize daily operations. This session explores how research administrators can harness preexisting AI tools, such as ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot, to streamline tasks and improve productivity. We will discuss real-world applications of publicly available AI platforms, from automating routine communications to interpreting policies and creating templates. Participants will learn how these tools can free up time to focus on more strategic and compliance-driven responsibilities. We will also address key considerations for ethical AI use, institutional readiness, and the critical need for training to maximize benefits while mitigating risks. Join us to discover practical strategies for integrating AI into your workflow.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the Applications of AI in Research Administration: Gain insights into how preexisting AI tools, such as ChatGPT and Grammarly, can be used to automate routine tasks, enhance productivity, and streamline processes in research administration.
• Evaluate the Benefits and Ethical Considerations of AI Use: Explore the advantages of incorporating AI tools into your workflow while identifying potential ethical challenges and strategies to mitigate risks.
• Develop Strategies for Effective AI Integration: Learn practical approaches to adopting AI tools in research administration, including training needs, institutional preparedness, and balancing innovation with compliance and decision-making skills.

Speakers

• Kathleen Halley-Octa, MA, CRA, Manager, Attain Partners
• Carolyn Sims, Assistant Director, HRPP, ORIA, Georgia Institute of Technology