NOLA Public Schools Celebrate Success as First K-12 School District to Implement Salesforce Education Cloud

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As an early adopter of Salesforce solutions, NOLA Public Schools are proud to serve the New Orleans community with high-quality education. In the spring of 2022, they enlisted Attain Partners’ expert Salesforce consultants to update their outdated constituent relationship management (CRM) system (built on Salesforce over a decade ago) and build a modern, user-friendly enrollment solution leveraging Salesforce’s latest technologies and time-saving workflows.

When the new Salesforce Education Cloud was launched in March 2023, NOLA Public Schools and Attain Partners were quick to pivot, implementing the new technology, and providing the community with an even better solution in time for the next school year. Education Cloud positioned NOLA Public Schools to take advantage of the most current Salesforce innovation and the Attain Partners team worked with them to deliver by the original go-live date. The new enrollment solution is built to empower growth and innovation as NOLA continues to prepare its K-12 students for civic, social, and economic success.

We are so excited to partner with Attain Partners to bring Education Cloud to NOLA Public Schools! NOLA’s mission to be the ‛good change’ in public education, work to overcome adversity, and work to champion resilience to pursue the promise of quality education for all students is truly inspiring. We are honored to support their incredible work with Salesforce technology!
Margo Martinez
Senior Director, Industry Solutions & Strategy, Education
Salesforce

Longtime Salesforce Customer Looks to Rebuild to Meet Community Needs

NOLA Public Schools have relied on Salesforce for back-end operations and public-facing solutions for the past 10 years. Their legacy system required a modern rebuild, incorporating the innovative features built into Salesforce’s newer tools, to reduce NOLA Public School’s technical debt and help them better serve the students and families of New Orleans.

Unlike traditional K-12 public schools, NOLA Public Schools is a charter district whereby students do not automatically attend their neighborhood school. Instead, students must apply and be matched with a school in the district. This requires a complex process of student registration, matching, and enrollment for all 45,000 students across 71 schools. The legacy system was limited in how it managed historical school data and sometimes complex relationships that make up modern families with multiple parents and caregivers. The system also offered a clunky and limited experience for users.

Attain Partners has proven to be an invaluable partner in redesigning our enrollment platform. They’re thoughtful about their processes, and I appreciate how that’s reflected in the attention to detail in the discovery and project management sides of the work. Their technical knowledge is top-notch, and the team is a pleasure to work with.
Dave Hand
Executive Director of Data Systems and Solutions
NOLA Public Schools

A New Enrollment Solution Built on Education Cloud

Attain Partners began building a new enrollment solution using the Salesforce Education Data Architecture (EDA) to provide families with a more intuitive method to enter personal information and select preferences about which schools they’d like to attend.

When Salesforce launched the new Education Cloud a few months into the build, the Attain Partners team dove into the native features and benefits, discussed the impact with NOLA Public Schools, and made a mutual decision to pivot to Education Cloud.

Attain Partners realigned the in-progress enrollment solution, taking advantage of the functionality built into Education Cloud. The process included mapping data and schema and converting automations, workflows, and formulas. Attain Partners experts were also able to decrease the algorithm complexities of multiple languages, varying distances to schools, where siblings attend school, available public transportation options, funding categories, and wait lists.

When I first started working with NOLA, they had one of the oldest active Salesforce orgs I had ever seen, even basic actions took multiple steps and kept them from the important parts of their job. Once we got them up and running on Education Cloud, they were able to double their most optimistic day of enrollment numbers just days after going live. We’re already helping them look into where else Education Cloud might be able to drastically improve their day-to-day operations.
Jason Cook
Jason Cook
Principal Salesforce Consultant
Attain Partners

The First-Ever K-12 Education Cloud Implementation Achieves Record Success

Attain Partners and NOLA Public Schools were able to make quick decisions to launch the new enrollment solution within the original timeframe set for the 2023 – 2024 school year making this first-ever K-12 Education Cloud implementation a huge success.

We are super thankful for the Attain Partners team. Parents have overwhelmingly embraced the self-service enrollment feature this year, and as a result, we’ve made over 8,000 student placements within the last month. We made roughly the same number of placements in July – November of last year!
Dave Hand
Executive Director of Data Systems and Solutions
NOLA Public Schools

NOLA Public Schools Deepens Salesforce Footprint with Education Cloud

Attain Partners sought to position NOLA to maximize the benefits of its Education Cloud investment, take advantage of native features, and set them up for continued innovation with Salesforce. NOLA Public Schools is officially the first-ever K-12 institution to go live with the new Salesforce Education Cloud, a clear testament to their long-rooted history of using Salesforce solutions to serve their community.

The enrollment solution is the first step on the roadmap of Salesforce adjustments and growth for NOLA Public Schools. Moving forward, Attain Partners plans to build and implement a streamlined registration process, a college and career success hub, a new family-facing portal for easier engagement, and support the ongoing maintenance of NOLA’s Education Cloud solution.

We are so excited about the immediate impact NOLA Public Schools has seen by implementing a solution and moving to Education Cloud. It is a testament to the power of marrying an innovative platform and experienced partner with a client who has the readiness, capacity, and deep understanding of their business needs. We look forward to partnering closely with Dave and the team at NOLA to continue to deliver game-changing solutions for the families of New Orleans.
Kristi Phillips
Managing Director and Nonprofit Market Lead
Attain Partners

Attain Partners – Salesforce Experts

No matter if your organization is beginning its Salesforce journey or 10+ years into development, Attain Partners is here to help you achieve your goals. Contact our team today to learn how we can help your organization advance its mission by harnessing the power of Salesforce.

To learn more, check out our Salesforce Innovation services, read case studies about our transformative work, and explore blog posts from our Salesforce experts.

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Why I Chose a Career in Research Administration

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Lindsey Demeritt Shares Her Journey, Insights, and
Rewards Working in Research Administration

At Attain Partners, our research administration experts bring decades of direct experience working in education and a successful track record serving the nation’s top colleges and universities. As a testament to our expertise, Attain Partners proudly serves more than 70 of the nation’s top 100 research institutions—including 100% of the Ivy League schools—through the variety of research enterprise services we provide. We also offer in-depth, sponsor-based research administration training tailored to the needs of any institution.

Research administration is a growing field full of opportunity, and our roster of experts is expanding rapidly. In celebration of National Research Administrator Day, we sat down with Lindsey Demeritt, a Manager in the Research Enterprises Services practice of Attain Partners, to learn more about her experiences, the pivotal moments that led her to this field, what keeps her engaged in research administration, and why she cares so much about welcoming newcomers into the field.

Attain Partners (AP): What is your title at Attain Partners?

Lindsey Demeritt (LD): I am a Manager in the Research Enterprises Services practice of Attain Partners.

AP: What did you do before joining Attain Partners?

LD: Before joining Attain Partners, I was the Director of Sponsored Projects for the Dell Medical School at UT Austin. I was there for a little over seven years. Before that, I was the Assistant Manager for Sponsored Projects at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for three years.

AP: What is your educational background, and how has it contributed to your research administration career?

LD: I have a Master’s in Secondary Mathematics Education and a BSBA in Information Systems. I wouldn’t say that either of these two degrees “prepared” me for a career in research administration, but I have applied what I learned from my degree programs to my work time and time again. As a research administrator, we teach, we coach, we analyze, we problem-solve, and we shift gears all day long.

Additionally, I’ve been able to engage in professional development activities that have allowed me to continue with my love of teaching and education, just in terms of training in our field, rather than in math.

AP: How did you get into research administration?

LD: As I transitioned my career from full-time teaching, I worked with the University of Central Florida (UCF) College of Education’s budget office. Shortly after I started, I was given the opportunity to serve as the local implementation manager for the College of Education on a new system implementation. Our office managed all the post-award (non-scientific, of course) elements. Over time, my role morphed into post-award compliance for the college. Later, I was promoted to an assistant director position at the Center for Educational Research and Development, facilitating pre- and post-award grants for the College.

AP: What brought you to Attain Partners?

LD: I had two colleagues come over to Attain Partners—one fairly recently—and when I realized it was time for me to move on from my former institution, I reached out to see what their thoughts were on moving to the consulting realm. They both had great things to say and between them and my conversations with the various Attain Partners team members in the recruiting process, I knew Attain Partners was going to be a good fit for me and a great place for me to continue to grow as a research administrator.

AP: What do you like most about the work you do?

LD: I enjoy getting to work with new people, seeing how different organizations do their work, and providing support to our clients however I can. 

AP: How do you keep current in research administration?

LD: I am engaged in the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) and have been for nearly 15 years. Additionally, I am active on various listservs and am looking to start engaging with the Society of Research Administrators International (SRAI).

AP: What advice would you offer someone considering a career in research administration?

LD: I would advise that it is a great career path! Research Administration is an incredibly welcoming and cooperative field. At no point in my career have I ever had something come up about which no one was willing to share their knowledge with me. There is a saying, “Why reinvent the wheel?” and research administrators seem to live by this—share and share alike!

It also tends to be a career path with a lot of flexibility, and how far you go in the field is often limited mostly to location, but with the advent of remote work, even that is becoming less impactful. I have had several opportunities to advance my career quite a bit because I was able to relocate a few times over the years; but, with remote work, you can often take the next steps without ever packing a single box. I would also advise that you get involved in the research administration community—to attend meetings, join listservs, and find a few people who you can use as mentors/touchstones. This field is incredibly dynamic and so much fun!

AP: What do you like to do for fun outside of work?

LD: I have two small children, so my “outside of work” is spending time with them! I love to travel and have thankfully given both of them the travel bug too, so we are almost always planning our next trip.

AP: What is your favorite energizing food/beverage?

LD: Coffee!

From our team to yours, Happy Research Administrator Day!

Attain Partners – Research Administration Experts 

Compliance is critical to your organization’s ability to make an impact. Our team provides world-class expertise in navigating the complex and dynamic regulatory environment, implementing industry best practices, and optimizing performance.  

Learn more about our services here and explore blog posts from our research administration experts here. 

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Inventing the Future: Attain Partners' Key Takeaways from Dreamforce 2023

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Attain Partners Experts Share Fresh Perspectives and Groundbreaking Insights from Dreamforce 2023

At Attain Partners, we embrace the spirit of innovation and a relentless pursuit of excellence in serving our clients. Dreamforce 2023, the global event bringing together the brightest minds in the Salesforce ecosystem, has once again invigorated our Salesforce Innovation team with fresh perspectives, groundbreaking insights, and invaluable conversations. We return from Dreamforce 2023 inspired, energized, and more determined than ever to apply what we’ve learned to continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible to help our clients advance their missions.

We renewed our commitment to delivering exceptional solutions and services and are excited to dig deeper to embrace responsible AI, explore new ways to help our clients extract value from their data, and continue to invest in the relationships that enable us to live out our core values to Execute with Discipline and Invent the Future.

Education Cloud Innovation Continues

The biggest and brightest takeaway the Attain Partners team saw at Dreamforce 2023 was the keynote announcing further innovation in Salesforce’s Education Cloud, soon to be extended to include core Advancement functionality for higher education users.

Doug Barrow, Higher Education Market Lead of Attain Partners’ Salesforce Practice and the former Salesforce.org’s Advancement Lead, shared, “It’s great to see the expansion into Advancement. This is a game-changer for institutions focused on delivering institution-wide CRM. I can’t wait to see what longtime Salesforce Trailblazers, like Babson, are able to do with the technology in the next year.”

Attain Partners is ready to help clients navigate these changes and take advantage of new functionality and tools. Read more about this huge Education Cloud for Advancement announcement and contact us to schedule a time to chat further.

We Must Embrace AI Responsibly and Ethically

AI emerged as a pivotal theme, resonating with Dreamforce attendees across industries. Salesforce’s commitment to responsible AI innovation was a central focus, emphasizing fairness, transparency, and accountability in AI-driven decisions.

AI is not merely a technological advancement but a transformative force.
Skye Tyler
Salesforce MVP and Senior Specialist Leader, Attain Partners

While Salesforce showcased new AI features and enhancements, reinforcing the concept of “AI for Everyone,” Skye reminds us that AI won’t replace staff, but rather that it has the power to significantly enhance efficiency and impact.

While AI is here and its potential continues to grow, a responsible and ethical approach to its use is a critical first step for every organization. Attain Partners is excited to continue to help our clients identify where the strongest opportunities in their respective roadmaps are to implement AI features and embrace ethical ways to do so.

Data and Analytics Add Organization-wide Value

Alanna Steffens, Senior Principal and Practice Lead of Attain Partners’ Salesforce Innovation Services, underscored the power of data and analytics in advancing client missions. Now that Salesforce Data Cloud and Tableau are free to a certain extent, there’s no reason not to try it and get a taste of how an enhanced data and analytics strategy can improve business operations, insights, efficiency, and visibility.

Attendees discussed the power of the new Education and Nonprofit Clouds and Customer 360 features that continue to enable organizations to better serve constituents—from students to donors. Attain Partners is happy to help organizations evaluate these offerings and provide tailored recommendations to support a seamless transition.

Whether you’re a nonprofit organization or an educational institution, harnessing the potential of data and analytics is key to making informed decisions and driving success.

Nonprofit Transformation is Imperative to Mission Success

Chris Pifer, Salesforce MVP and Senior Solution Architect, highlighted the significance of nonprofit organizations at Dreamforce 2023 and their shared interest in digital transformation. The curiosity and excitement surrounding the new Nonprofit Cloud were especially exciting to the Attain Partners team.

Salesforce announced that all nonprofit organizations will be granted free licenses to both Tableau and a base level of Data Cloud, providing greater access to constituent insights and a starting point for any organization not yet on its transformation journey. Chris says he “expects 2024 to be a key turning point in the Salesforce ecosystem, changing what is possible and how organizations work on the platform.“

Attain Partners had the pleasure of sponsoring the exclusive nonprofit reception, where we discussed strategy, mission, goals, and next steps with leaders from the nation’s top nonprofit organizations. Our ongoing partnerships with nonprofits and Salesforce enable us to continue to explore the strategic possibilities offered by new Clouds and new licenses to drive mission-advancing outcomes for those we serve.

The Trailblazer Event of the Year Highlighted Adaptation, Innovation, and Collaboration

“Dreamforce, once again, was the family reunion it has always been. It was great to connect with so many individuals from the higher education and nonprofit communities and learn the most recent innovations for AI, Data Cloud, and Education and Nonprofit Clouds,” Doug Barrow said.

The theme of continuous adaptation and awareness is universal throughout the Salesforce ecosystem. Staying informed about new features, Clouds, and changes in permissions and access management is crucial in maximizing the benefits of Salesforce. Attain Partners’ experts pride themselves on staying at the forefront of innovation to help our clients continually improve, grow, and harness the full power of Salesforce.

We’d love to hear from you!

What were your key takeaways from Dreamforce 2023? What are your thoughts on using Education Cloud for Advancement, extending Data Cloud at your organization, embracing AI ethically, and migrating data for added value?

Let’s continue the conversation.

Contact us

Attain Partners – Salesforce Experts

No matter if your organization is beginning its Salesforce journey or 10+ years into development, Attain Partners is here to help you achieve your goals. Contact our team today to learn how we can help you advance your mission by harnessing the power of Salesforce.

To learn more, check out our Salesforce Innovation services, read case studies about our transformative work, and explore blog posts from our Salesforce experts. Read our latest advancement insights here. 

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Salesforce Announces Expanded Functionality for Education Cloud to Connect Every Step in the Learner's Journey

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Advancement Expert Doug Barrow Shares His Insights on What the Education Cloud Updates Mean for Higher Education Institutions

If you’re a Higher Education Advancement professional, or an Advancement CRM nerd like many of my friends, there was a lot of buzz created today at Salesforce’s annual Dreamforce Conference where it was announced that Salesforce’s Education Cloud will soon be extended to include core Higher Education Advancement functionality. This is an exciting announcement, one long in the works. It does likely leave a few questions for many since Salesforce CRM has already been the primary advancement solution selected with its AppExchange partners (also known as “ISVs,” or Independent Software Vendors) over the last half-decade. 

As a Salesforce Higher Education alum where I spent the last five of my nearly nine years at Salesforce in leadership positions focused on creating a presence for Salesforce in the Advancement CRM Market, I continue to see innovative offerings provided to give clients choices. My firm, Attain Partners, delivers Advancement solutions on the Salesforce platform and is the 2022 Salesforce Education Consulting Partner of the Year. 

Extending Education Cloud

So, with this much success, why is Salesforce extending the new Education Cloud, which released functionality for Recruitment & Admissions this past April, and Student Success in June to include Advancement and Alumni Engagement?

It’s simple: Institution-wide CRM.

This has always been the vision and it simply can’t exist without foundational functionality that serves alumni and donors. This release—available in October—fulfills the vision for institution-wide CRM by Salesforce on a singular data architecture with functionality from birth to bequest. 

Salesforce provides a vast support system to its customers and partners to help them find success and adapt to an evolving landscape. Much of Salesforce and its ecosystem is based on the free-market premise that customer choice is good. Salesforce makes it easy for companies to build native applications on the #1 CRM even if there is the potential for overlap. They support their partners immensely and are largely indifferent to what path is chosen.

It’s important to note that Salesforce is very much an industry-focused company, and Salesforce Education Cloud is now a full-fledged member of the Industry Product strategy and Data Architecture (Person Accounts).

While AppExchange applications deliver success today, such as ascend, a successful and proven solution from UC Innovation, there is room in the market for a foundational solution that targets a full, institution-wide, constituent view. 

Disproportionately, the current AppExchange partners serve the largest fundraising universities/foundations which raise more than $30 million a year. What about the other 4,200 institutions that use old and outdated technology? They also deserve a modern, extensible platform to engage donors and alumni. What about the REALLY large fundraisers who may want to take the foundation of Education Cloud and build a bespoke solution? Is this a viable option for them?

For some institutions, it may make sense to maximize limited resources to administer a single Salesforce CRM to serve all of the campus from Recruiting to Alumni Engagement. The good news is that this extension of Education Cloud is focused on solving these challenges and others.

How Does This Impact ISVs?

The current solutions on the market are strong and deliver on the Salesforce promise made to Higher Ed Advancement: That fundraising organizations deserve a single, strategic system for advancement success built with leading technologies. Salesforce AppExchange solutions are now very mature, have a robust and influential user base, and a community where those users support each other. Short story, they’re not going anywhere and will continue to flourish, particularly for institutions not looking to go institution-wide on a single Salesforce instance. These partners now have the option of aligning to the Education Cloud model to help further accelerate enterprise-wide CRM adoption. 

Salesforce will flourish as well. They have a brilliant team led by the GM of Education Cloud and are now fully part of the Salesforce Industry Product strategy team, not a smaller organization that had to build their own technology without proper Salesforce resources. 

Answering Questions as they Arise

As you think through how the expanded Education Cloud can help your institution achieve its goals, I encourage you to reach out to Salesforce directly as well as the AppExchange partners. There is new information to digest, and the best decision is a fully informed decision.  

We’re Here to Help

Of course, our experts have deep knowledge and experience to help navigate the current advancement landscape. Attain Partners wants to become your trusted advisor to help your institution successfully transform. Send me a note on LinkedIn, and I would be more than happy to nerd out together.

Be sure to also sign up for our newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn to get more Advancement and Higher Education insights.

Attain Partners – Salesforce Experts

No matter if your organization is beginning its Salesforce journey or 10+ years into development, Attain Partners is here to help you achieve your goals. Contact our team today to learn how we can help you advance your mission by harnessing the power of Salesforce.

To learn more, check out our Salesforce Innovation services, read case studies about our transformative work, and explore blog posts from our Salesforce experts. Read our latest advancement insights here. 

Learn more – Doug Barrow

Doug Barrow has spent his entire 20+ year career in educational technology in strategy, business development, and advisory services helping others achieve their goals. As a first-generation college graduate, the son of a Headstart teacher, and husband of a high school advanced physics teacher, Doug fiercely believes that Education has the power to positively transform lives. The work of Salesforce and its partners empowers those who power education.

With a front-row seat to the amazing growth of Salesforce.org over the last decade and his creation and leadership of the “Higher Education Industry Advisor” team at Salesforce, Doug provides tremendous insight to help ensure implementation fidelity and digital transformation success.  

Interested in chatting with Doug and our Advancement team directly? Fill out this form to be connected. 

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Migrating to Salesforce from Raiser’s Edge—Part 1: Campaigns, Funds, and Appeals

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Rosetta Stone for Migrating to Salesforce from Raiser’s Edge: Understanding Campaigns, Funds, and Appeals

People and departments that raise money for nonprofit organizations go by many names and speak many dialects. Your department might be called advancement, development, community engagement, or just fundraising.

You may call your recurring efforts to raise operational funds an annual campaign or an operations appeal. You may call the person responsible for nurturing a relationship with a donor a solicitor or a portfolio manager. And yet, when fundraisers gather, they are generally able to translate amongst themselves, as if those internal ways of naming were all dialects of the same language.

Databases and CRMs (Customer/Constituent Relationships Management) are similar—each has its own structure, principles around which information is organized, and way of naming things. A Salesforce implementation partner, like Attain Partners, can help your nonprofit organization understand the ins and outs of databases and CRMs to build reliable systems to help you increase efficiency and raise more money.

Attain Partners expertly helps fundraising teams move from Raiser’s Edge (with or without NXT) to Salesforce for greater functionality and scalability. With that move comes not only a host of new information and tracking superpowers but also a new language and way of organizing information. We created this primer series for fundraisers currently using Raiser’s Edge to help you and your team learn the language of Salesforce and some of its organizing principles.

A note on capital letters: When I refer to a database object, I will use a capital letter to clarify that I am referring to an object/data table rather than the real-world activity that might share its name. For example, in Salesforce, there is a Campaign object. The capital letter indicates that I’m referring to the object, not a literal fundraising campaign that you might undertake.  

Campaigns, Funds, and Appeals

Raiser’s Edge terms: Campaigns, Funds, and Appeals
Salesforce translation: Campaigns and General Accounting Units

In Raiser’s Edge, you may use a Campaign as the umbrella for several Appeals, all of which send the contributed dollars to a specified fund. In Salesforce, a Campaign can be used in much the same way you’re used to – as an umbrella for several appeals. But Salesforce allows you to nest Campaigns, where each Campaign can have a parent with up to five levels of hierarchy.

So, let’s say you have an annual campaign and are doing a physical mailing to support it. In Salesforce, you’d set up the annual campaign as a Campaign and then also create a Campaign for the physical mailing. When you create the physical mailing Campaign, you’ll choose the annual campaign as its parent. The mailing Campaign inherits various information from the annual Campaign and when you report on the annual Campaign, the data from your mailing Campaign will be included. You can select that annual Campaign as the parent for as many Campaigns as you like (e.g., a mailing, a gala, an email solicitation).

Campaigns in Salesforce can track the sending of physical mail, email, event invitations, etc. along with your constituents’ responses. Sometimes, your constituents will respond with a gift, which can also be connected to the Campaign. (More on gift tracking in part two.)

In Raiser’s Edge, Funds tracks the money your organization raises. In Salesforce, you’ll use General Accounting Units, which are records of your general ledger or budget line codes (each code or code-set gets its own record). When you create a Salesforce Campaign, you can assign General Accounting Units to it—any gifts that come in through that Campaign will be assigned the same codes. You can assign multiple General Accounting Units to the same Campaign and set percentages for each.

For example, gifts from that annual campaign mailing might go 50% to your operating fund and 50% to your endowment fund. Or gifts to your annual campaign umbrella Campaign (and all the Campaigns that have it as a parent) might go 100% to your general fund. Salesforce is simple and flexible, so it can handle your business rules and can be customized to ensure proper coding, even when your fundraising staff isn’t familiar with what that means. You can also assign General Accounting Units to any Opportunity, which is the central Salesforce way of tracking gifts, whether or not they come in response to a specific Campaign.

Want to learn more about tracking gifts in Salesforce? Read part two of our Migrating to Salesforce from Raiser’s Edge blog post series.

Attain Partners – Salesforce Experts

No matter if your organization is beginning its Salesforce journey or 10+ years into development, we are here to help you achieve your digital transformation goals.

To learn more, check out our Salesforce Innovation services and read case studies about our work. Contact Attain Partners today to learn how we can help you achieve your goals by harnessing the power of Salesforce. Explore blog posts from Attain Partners’ Salesforce team.

About the Author

Jaemi Loeb is a Senior Consultant at Attain Partners and a veteran nonprofit leader. Her expertise sits at the intersection between technology and people, tools, and daily operations. She is passionate about helping organizations to streamline their workflows and use data to meet their missions.

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Attain Partners Opens New Office in India Welcoming Six New Team Members

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Meet the newest members of Team Attain, and the first to live and work outside of the United States

Attain Partners is constantly expanding, growing both our client roster and our team. We are thrilled to announce that we have opened our first office outside of the continental United States in New Delhi, India, expanding our corporate footprint globally. To kickstart our operations in India, we have brought on board six exceptional new Team Attain members in support of our Salesforce Innovation Services (SIS) practice. Looking ahead, we plan to continue hiring more technology resources to support practices across our business, as well as to building out our India office location.

Attain Partners is the Salesforce 2022 Consulting Partner of the Year – Education and a Salesforce Summit Partner. Our team of experts is always striving to Invent the Future and Be the Best in everything we do. Please join us in celebrating our newest team members and learn more about each of them below!

Anant Sharma

“I’ve been working as a Salesforce developer for more than five years and have exposure in different industries such as insurance and medical among others. I have been working with Attain Partners as a contractor for over a year and am excited to join full-time—I have experienced the company culture, what sort of work is assigned to the developers, and how the company values the employees. Attain has given me the opportunity to work on different domains and tasks and I am very excited to be a member of Team Attain.”

Anuja Nikam

“I love my work. The Salesforce platform is constantly evolving, and there’s always something new to explore and integrate into our systems.

I see immense potential for us to leverage Salesforce’s capabilities to drive meaningful change and deliver exceptional value to our customers. Additionally, Attain Partners’ collaborative and inclusive culture is something that resonates with me, and I’m eager to contribute my skills and ideas to help the company continue its upward trajectory.

The prospect of working alongside talented professionals who share the same passion for innovation and problem-solving is very appealing to me—I’m excited to contribute to our ongoing pursuit of excellence.”

Chetan Sorte

“I am excited about the prospect of working in an environment where my ideas are valued, and I can contribute to collective problem-solving. I believe that by joining Attain Partners, I can leverage my experience and skills to drive collaborative initiatives and contribute to a positive work culture.

I’m also looking forward to continuing to improve by refining my skills, learning from experienced professionals, and contributing to delivering exceptional experiences to customers.”

Trupti Khedekar

“I love working as a Salesforce Developer because I have the mind of a coder—I’ve worked with the platform for over five years and really enjoy it.

I believe if everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself. I am excited to be part of a team that consistently strives for excellence while maintaining a collaborative working environment. Working with talented and supportive colleagues not only boosts productivity but also makes each day enjoyable.”

Ravi Shukla

“As a seasoned IT professional with a passion for Salesforce, I bring eight years of hands-on expertise to our team. My dedication to mastering the Salesforce ecosystem has led to the achievement of six coveted certifications, affirming my commitment to excellence in this field. Throughout my career, I’ve played a pivotal role in transforming organizations by leveraging the power of Salesforce. My extensive knowledge spans the entire Salesforce platform, from Sales Cloud and Service Cloud to Marketing Cloud and beyond. I’ve successfully executed numerous projects, optimizing processes, and driving growth for businesses of all sizes.

Attain Partners’ exceptional work culture, characterized by a commitment to collaboration and unwavering support from fellow team members, is truly inspiring. What sets Attain Partners apart is its strategic vision and unwavering dedication to making a meaningful impact in specialized industries such as nonprofit and education. By concentrating its expertise in these niche domains, Attain Partners not only differentiates itself but also plays a pivotal role in driving positive change and innovation within these sectors. This focused approach not only showcases the company’s dedication to excellence but also its profound commitment to address critical challenges and creating lasting value in areas that matter most.”

Yash Raghuvanshi

“As an experienced Salesforce Consultant, I bring three years of hands-on expertise in customizing Salesforce solutions to provide operational efficiency and client success. I have enjoyed completing projects to design and implement tailored applications and robust flows, as well as leveraging Apex and Lightning components to craft innovative solutions that elevate businesses to new heights.
 
When I think of Attain Partners, I think, ‘Invent the Future.’ It’s not just a core value, it’s a personal mission to envision, create, and lead in a world where possibilities are limitless.”

Interested in speaking directly with our experts? Fill out this form to be connected!

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What to Consider Before Implementing a Clinical Trials Management System

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Attain Partners Experts Discuss the Trials of Clinical Trial Tracking and Share Insights on How to Choose the Best CTMS

Clinical trials (CT) post-award management can be challenging without the support of a robust Clinical Trials Management System (CTMS). A CTMS is a specialized software application designed to streamline the management of all aspects of a clinical trial, from its inception to the final stages.

A Clinical Trials Management System serves as a centralized hub for personnel involved to update and track trial visits, milestones, invoicing, payments, and more.

The CTMS is indispensable to organizations, allowing them to maintain real-time financial records of clinical trials to invoice and receive payments in accordance with the executed agreement, consequently limiting the risk of deficits. Additionally, it aids in ensuring compliance with both internal policies and governmental regulations.

Transitioning from Manual Tracking Processes

Many organizations initially manage post-award clinical trials manually, relying on Excel templates for individual trials via a shared location. This approach can work well when dealing with a limited number of trials and well-established processes.

Key components of a successful manual CT management process include its ability to:

  1. Develop clear and accurate templates to encompass the specifics of each trial (e.g., patient visits, milestones, and pass-through items).
  2. Utilize a shared location, such as SharePoint, to allow real-time tracking and workflow to multiple parties involved in the administration and financial management of the trial (e.g., updating completed items and generating sponsor invoicing).

Upgrading to a Clinical Trials Management System

However, as an organization’s clinical trial portfolio grows, manual processes become unsustainable. At this stage, investing in a CTMS becomes a strategic move to ensure accurate patient activity tracking, billing, and collections.

An effective CTMS should have the flexibility to accommodate a wide range of study types, from traditional clinical trials to summary accrual and registry clinical trials. It should also be adaptable for one-off trials that may require milestone-based invoicing, among other features.

Other crucial factors to consider include the system’s ability to:

  1. Allow multiple departments access to update relative data (e.g., clinical research coordinators, clinical finance team, and central finance office for receivable tracking and collection).
  2. Support multiple budget amendments to accommodate changes in study parameters.
  3. Incorporate visit fee changes, additional visits, or reductions in visit types.
  4. Seamless integration with existing systems (e.g., invoicing/financial systems and patient visit systems that designate clinical trial visits).

Ideally, a CTMS will create the invoice and wait for a post-award manager to submit it, and the invoice will be automatically emailed to the sponsor via the CTMS. The system will also send follow-up emails to sponsors for outstanding invoice payments based on the payment terms. At the very least, the CTMS should email the finance team that the Clinical Research Coordinators add patient visits, pass-through items, or milestone items for invoicing.

Enhancing CTMS Reporting Functionality

In terms of reporting capabilities, an ideal CTMS should offer:

  1. Accurate reporting of patient visits and milestones completed with payments received and outstanding invoices
  2. A report of all studies currently requiring invoicing; the system might even ping the financial contact to submit invoicing or follow up on outstanding invoice payments monthly

Clinical trials post-award management may seem daunting at first because it requires input from various departments within an organization. This offers great opportunities to build valuable relationships between study teams and central offices.

Attain Partners – Clinical Trial Management Expertise

Attain Partners has a team of experts in clinical trial management, each with extensive experience in various types of CTMS applications. Our experts can assist your organization in streamlining its clinical trials portfolio and guide you in selecting the most suitable CTMS to meet your organization’s specific needs. Our consultants excel in system integration and personnel training for a seamless transition to a CTMS solution. Contact us today to learn more.

About the Author

Kedeisha S. Carty is a Senior Associate at Attain Partners with over 15 years of experience in Higher Education focusing on research management. She has extensive experience in clinical trials management, pre- and post-award management, and managing post-award grant research. Kedeisha holds an MBA in Business Administration.

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Seven Additional Attain Partners Experts Earn Prosci Certifications

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Prosci Certified Team Attain Members Serve Our Clients Across Practices

Attain Partners knows change management. Leveraging the industry gold standard Prosci methodology positions us to guide clients through the challenging landscape of change, whether it be developmental, transitional, or transformational. We deliver transformative results that lead to strong returns on investments across our practice areas.

Meet the most recent Prosci Certification graduates at Attain Partners!

Carly Alti
Analyst, Research Enterprise Services

Attain Partners (AP): Why are you excited to be Prosci certified?

Carly Alti (CA): I’m excited to use my Prosci training to help clients and colleagues through change initiatives by leveraging what I have learned about achieving desired and lasting outcomes from change.

AP: What was one new nugget of information you learned from the certification process?

CA: Effective change management always begins with a reason. Expressing a compelling “why” for change initiatives involves presenting the rationale for change using facts, figures, features, and data.

AP: How do you plan to use your Prosci certification to better serve your clients?

CA: I plan to improve change management effectiveness and increase the likelihood of change success by applying the Prosci Methodology when working on clients’ change projects and initiatives. Supporting, equipping, and preparing our people to successfully adopt and use the change is key to long-term success!

Timothy Hutchinson
Senior Analyst, Strategic Transformation Services

Attain Partners (AP): Why are you excited to be Prosci certified?

Timothy Hutchinson (TH): I’m excited to be Prosci certified because I just joined Attain, and I believe it was a perfect introduction to change management!

AP: What was one new nugget of information you learned from the certification process?

TH: Change is a personal choice and individuals need to be active to sustain a group effort.

AP: How do you plan to use your Prosci certification to better serve your clients?

TH: I plan to utilize the knowledge I gained, as well as the ADKAR model to effectively tackle all projects in my future.

Kora Rea-Alexander
Talent Acquisition Professional

Attain Partners (AP): Why are you excited to be Prosci certified?

Kora Rea-Alexander (KRA): I am excited to gain my Prosci certification because this will allow me to bring an even higher level of organizational effectiveness to Attain Partners. Personally, I have grown in my strategic thinking and critical assessment of new projects and initiatives.

AP: What was one new nugget of information you learned from the certification process?

KRA: My biggest takeaway from the Prosci course is the Prosci Change Triangle and the impact it has on overall project success. This tool is critical in addressing risk and leads to increased awareness across an organization.

AP: How do you plan to use your Prosci certification to better serve your clients?

KRA: I plan to use this certification to continue to empower Attain Partner’s seven core values. Prosci has a collaborative approach to its methodology and deeply acknowledges that nothing gets completed alone. Team for Speed also acknowledges our ability to collaborate and learn from each other, ensuring our clients receive the best product and service possible.

Jess Jones
Senior Analyst, Strategic Transformation Services

Attain Partners (AP): Why are you excited to be Prosci certified?

Jess Jones (JJ): I’m excited to be Prosci certified because it shows that Attain Partners believes in me enough to invest in my future and encourages me to grow professionally. Also, I was excited to learn the theory and techniques behind change management, and I look forward to carrying that into my future projects.

AP: What was one new nugget of information you learned from the certification process?

JJ: Something that I didn’t fully realize before the training is how vast change management is. At Attain Partners, it centers around managers and consultants, but many people with different backgrounds can easily benefit from being Prosci Certified and understanding the ideas about change.

AP: How do you plan to use your Prosci certification to better serve your clients?

JJ: Moving forward, I plan to make use of the tools provided through the Prosci certification. More importantly, I will use the theory behind change management to better understand my clients’ reservations with change to meet their individual needs.  

Courtney Swaney
Senior Manager, Research Enterprise Services

Attain Partners (AP): Why are you excited to be Prosci certified?

Courtney Swaney (CS): I’m excited to be Prosci certified because it’s one more resource for me to utilize when I’m working to serve my clients.

AP: What was one new nugget of information you learned from the certification process?

CS: The Prosci course was excellent, and I highly recommend it.  One piece of information that I learned was identifying a person’s or group’s barrier point. By conducting an ADKAR (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement) assessment, you can better understand where the person or the group is lacking and then employ tactics to help that group past that barrier point until there’s a new barrier point or until the group is fully ready for a go-live with the change. 

AP: How do you plan to use your Prosci certification to better serve your clients?

CS: My clients are constantly facing changes, both big and small. Understanding more about the people side of change will better equip me to assist them through these changes. 

Lindsey Demeritt
Manager, Research Enterprise Services

Attain Partners (AP): Why are you excited to be Prosci certified?

Lindsey Demeritt (LD): I think I am most excited to be Prosci certified because it will be just one more service/area of expertise that I can offer to clients. So many of our clients are undergoing any number of various changes that to have some insight into how to help facilitate and promote effective change management I think can only benefit our engagements.

AP: What was one new nugget of information you learned from the certification process?

LD: I learned the definitive influence of the executive sponsor. I think that this is “known” in theory, but to see the numbers and understand the science behind it was illuminating. The executive sponsor is critical to success and yet is often minimally engaged.

AP: How do you plan to use your Prosci certification to better serve your clients?

LD: I plan to use my knowledge to facilitate change, to be able to potentially advise of best practices, and to be of service in the processes of change, understanding how important it is to have a strong change agent network within the organization.

Kathleen Halley-Octa
Senior Consultant, Research Enterprise Services

Attain Partners (AP): Why are you excited to be Prosci certified?

Kathleen Halley-Octa (KHO): Becoming Prosci certified in change management has been a goal for a long time and I am excited that Attain helped me through the process! The information I learned through the course will help me better serve our clients.

AP: What was one new nugget of information you learned from the certification process?

KHO: My biggest takeaway was the tie between individual and organizational change– you can’t move an organization through change without getting the people onboard with the change first! 

AP: How do you plan to use your Prosci certification to better serve your clients?

KHO: I think change management is something higher education struggles with– there are so many change initiatives happening at once that people can become easily overwhelmed, especially when change management isn’t handled well. I’m excited to use the strategies I learned in our Cayuse implementation and business process redesign projects.

Interested in speaking directly with our experts? Fill out this form to be connected!

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Career Growth, Innovation, and Staffing Support: The NCURA 65th Annual Meeting

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Insights from the NCURA 65th Annual Meeting

The Attain Partners team had a wonderful time sponsoring the NCURA 65th Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. this year. It featured a lively reconnection of longtime research administration colleagues, an exciting opportunity to usher in a new generation of professionals, and a plethora of engaging conversations around interim staffing, professional development, AI, and so much more.

Our experts had the pleasure of presenting thirteen sessions and workshops in addition to cohosting a Beach Bash reception with our longstanding strategic partner, Cayuse.

At Attain Partners, we have a proven track record of serving over 70 of the top 100 U.S. research institutions and 100% of Ivy League schools and offer a variety of tailored research enterprise services to help address issues any institution may be facing. Please contact us—We’re happy to help!

Themes from the NCURA 65th Annual Meeting

1. Networking and professional development are at an all-time high.

The NCURA Annual Meeting is the event of the year for research administration professionals—and this year was bigger and better than ever before. Our entire team, including Laney McLean, Senior Consultant at Attain Partners, reconnected with old friends and colleagues and forged new connections in the field. The conversations around best practices and trends in research administration left her feeling invigorated and excited to help more organizations make improvements to support their teams and advance their missions. For remote team members, the Meeting was especially exciting, as this was the first time many of them had the opportunity to connect in person.

Professional development opportunities like the NCURA 65th Annual Meeting are great for employee engagement paired with ongoing training, balancing workload, and offering flexibility.
Laney McLean
Senior Consultant, Attain Partners

We also had the honor of extending networking hours by co-hosting over 100 attendees at the NCURA Annual Meeting Beach Bash with our colleagues at Cayuse. We’re not sure where we felt more energy— inside where floral-clad guests enjoyed delicious appetizers and vibrant conversation, or outside where the local weather in D.C. threatened its worst.

2. Research administration is a growing field full of opportunity.

With so many new research administrators entering the field, there were a lot of discussions around how to onboard and get new staff members up to speed as quickly and efficiently as possible. Attain Partners’ research administration experts have decades of experience in the field, direct experience working in education, and a successful track record of serving the nation’s top colleges and universities. We also offer in-depth, sponsor-based research administration training tailored to the needs of any institution.

During the NCURA Annual Meeting, we had the opportunity to connect with education institutions hiring new research administrators and share how we work with teams to develop programs that meet their unique needs and allow their research administration operations to get up to speed quickly. Learn more in our case study.  

Lindsey Demeritt, Senior Specialist Leader at Attain Partners, did notice “there was a pretty obvious lack of Gen Z’ers” at this year’s meeting, which she feels is unfortunately in line with how the research administration field is aging.

Research administrators are as active as ever, opening doors for young professionals and forging pathways for new graduates to join the field.
Lindsey Demeritt
Senior Specialist Leader, Attain Partners

Are you interested in advancing your career with Attain Partners? Explore current career opportunities and apply today.

3. Interim staffing helps retain great employees and meet understaffed teams where they are.

Throughout the meeting, our team noticed a recurring theme of overloaded staff desperate for solutions.

It was exciting to share my experiences serving on the Attain Partners staffing augmentation team with those who weren’t familiar with how it works. Seeing the moment individuals realized that there was help for teams that are overloaded was rejuvenating. I was surprised by how many people indicated they didn’t know there were companies that could help them.
Georgetta Dennis
Senior Associate, Attain Partners

Always excited to help our community, our experts explained how we share our on-the-job experience with understaffed organizations to fill gaps, build processes, optimize procedures, and help them meet deadlines through our Interim Staffing services. Doing so retains great employees and keeps them engaged and excited about their jobs. As organization reporting requirements and compliance challenges grow, interim staffing is in demand, and our experts are ready to hit the ground running.

4. The future of research administration includes AI.

Attendees at the NCURA 65th Annual Meeting were energized to discuss AI’s future and use cases in research administration.

There were a few great sessions about how we can harness the power of AI to improve research administration operations. It was fun to brainstorm and see how institutions are using ChatGPT for everything from customer service chatbots to poems about research administration.
Kathleen Halley-Octa
Senior Consultant, Attain Partners

5. The vibrant research administration community is strong and eager to welcome new faces.

Gathering with fellow research administration professionals at the NCURA Annual Meeting is always a treat. The Attain Partners team was thrilled to reconnect with familiar faces and meet so many new ones—thank you all for joining us!

We look forward to continuing the conversations and exploring new ways to support each other in staffing, professional development, and innovation.

Attain Partners – Research Administration Experts

Compliance is critical to your organization’s ability to make an impact. Our team provides world-class expertise in navigating the complex and dynamic regulatory environment, implementing industry best practices, and optimizing performance. Learn more about our services, read an interview with industry expert Mark Davis, and contact us here.

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Strategic Directives in Libraries – One Step at a Time

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Strategic planning offers organizations the opportunity to align with a vision for the future, identifying unique and prioritized objectives to guide success. This is true across all industries but is especially so for libraries.

Ideally, a library has an active strategic plan unifying the organization. With short and long-term goals, actionable tasks, and measures for success, a library can create opportunities for continuous reflection and improvement. A strategic plan rooted in community engagement is critical to ensure libraries are equipped to respond to rapidly changing environments and community needs.

Strategic Planning for Libraries

With limited resources, libraries may be challenged to lead a comprehensive and inclusive strategic planning process. Attain Partners has a unique solution to strategic planning for libraries, combining the expertise of both library and strategy consultants to facilitate the development of an actionable plan that connects the current state with a realistic vision for the future.

One of the key benefits of library strategic planning with Attain Partners is our ability to leverage industry expertise, including rigorous benchmarking and facilitation best practices.

Strategic planning doesn’t need to be difficult, and we can tailor our proven approach to meet the needs and cadence of any given library. When collaborating with library staff and leadership, it is critical to incorporate the following questions into the planning efforts:

  • What is the vision of the university?
  • What community does this library serve? Who is in this defined community?
  • What does the community need from a library?
  • Do the current services and collection materials reflect community needs?
  • What are the library’s organizational strengths and challenges?
  • What resources are available and allocated to organizational strategy?
  • When was the last strategic plan developed?
  • How readily available is data on library services and collections?
  • Does the library’s current mission and vision align with recent performance?
  • Does the planning timeline allow the necessary community engagement to ensure that strategy more closely aligns to the needs of those the library serves?

Library Industry Experts at Attain Partners

Our team of career librarians brings over 40 years of combined experience working in libraries. Attain Partners brings a unique service to clients that is grounded in collaboration, fostering a shared sense of ownership throughout the process. Our distinctive strategic planning partnership aligns long-term strategic objectives with shorter-term priorities so library leadership can efficiently marshal resources and iteratively build organizational success rather than focus on disparate initiatives. 

Through collaboration, our team provides complementary support services for our strategic directives, including organizational reviews, continuous improvement models, and process mapping.

While strategic plans encompass a library’s entire organization, our consultants work with libraries to optimize their resources and focus on priority goals to benefit their programs and services. Through collaboration with stakeholders, our consultants learn about the unique needs and culture of each library we work with to help pinpoint specific focus areas and maximize limited time and resources. Every deliverable we provide is relevant and actionable.

Attain Partners – Library and Strategy Experts

At Attain Partners, our consultants leverage over 40 years of experience to provide tailored library planning and strategy services to academic and research libraries. We draw on our extensive professional experience working in libraries to provide strategic planning, assessment, process optimization, change management, staff augmentation, and improve the research and student experience in libraries. Discover how Attain Partners can support your library’s strategic planning process.

Learn more about our Library Planning and Strategy services here.

Our strategic planning services are based on rigorous benchmarking and the latest market research. We focus on bringing your team together to build a shared sense of ownership of vision, mission, and strategic priorities. Discover how we can help you drive your strategic agenda and advance your mission with a clear path forward.

Learn more about our Strategic Planning services here.

About the Authors

Melany Barrett

Melany Barrett is a Strategy Director at Attain Partners. With over a decade of experience in Higher Education, she has demonstrated knowledge in business process improvement, project management, organizational assessment, and faculty affairs administration. Prior to Attain Partners, Ms. Barrett supported Higher Education administration and strategic initiatives as a member of an internal consulting team. She is a key contributor to the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Allyship (IDEA) Performance Maturity Framework™, leading DEI assessments for institutions. She is a Prosci® Certified Change Management Practitioner who has extensive knowledge and training in the field and holds an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.

Norby Blake

Ms. Blake Norby is a Senior Library Consultant for the Research Enterprise Services practice of Attain Partners. During her time with Attain Partners, Ms. Norby has been involved in multiple library consulting projects with higher education institutions. She has participated in various stages of Facilities & Administrative Expense (F&A) strategic planning, proposal preparation and submission, and space functional usage studies with a focus on library spaces. Ms. Norby brings over 13 years’ experience working in libraries with extensive knowledge of using patron data to create inclusive, accessible library spaces and programs. She is currently a member of the American Evaluation Association (AEA), the American Library Association (ALA) including the Public Library Association, and several additional roundtables and special interest groups.

Ready to talk to one of our expert librarians? Fill out this form to be connected today!

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