Advancement Transformation and Centralized Solutions, United States

Advancement Transformation and Centralized Solutions: Top Trends Among ascend Users

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Insights from the 2023 ascend User Community Meeting

UC Innovation’s ascend, the most comprehensive advancement solution, enables education institutions to use Salesforce more effectively to support fundraising success. Attain Partners is proud to partner with UC Innovation to lead digital transformation with ascend and support the missions of institutions across North America.

Attain Partners is a Salesforce certified implementation partner, the 2022 Salesforce.org Consulting Partner of the Year – Education, and a Salesforce Summit Partner. Our advancement transformations help institutions to be competitive and provide the best donor experience by upgrading to systems that vastly improve efficiency and deliver improved fundraising outcomes and alumni engagement.

2023 is the year for advancement, central solutions, and community

We had the pleasure of discussing advancement and digital transformation with the incredible ascend community last week at the 2023 ascend User Community Meeting (aUCM). The overarching themes were the community’s combined focus on advancement transformation, centralized solutions, and collaboration to achieve success for all institutions.

Now is the time to focus on advancement efforts

This is the year for advancement. Attain Partners and ascenders are zeroing in on digital transformation to support successful advancement and growth of advancement departments.

Like any large undertaking, advancement projects have their ups and downs, but maintaining a clear focus leads to success in reaching long-term goals. A passion for advancement work is essential to maintain morale across teams throughout long-haul projects. Attain Partners’ experts excel in keeping the big picture in focus and reminding clients there is always time to iterate and adjust once we go live. Further, our advancement experts are passionate about working with organizations to truly transform and optimize their operations to better equip them to advance their important missions.

Centralized solutions are the key to lasting success

The resounding message we heard from every ascender throughout the aUCM was, “We’re happy we made the switch!”

Regardless of where an institution begins its journey, centralizing the data and communication in Salesforce has proven to reduce institution workload, improve donor satisfaction, and boost advancement success. Data visibility and consolidated contact records ease communication across departments for a streamlined, polished, and professional experience.

Having a single source of data effectively and easily improves operational processes. Once they’ve experienced this, leaders in both higher education and nonprofit organizations want to have the same kind of singular point of contact throughout their digital transformation and advancement projects as well. In a time where everyone’s job has multiple moving pieces, one identified project leader per initiative makes it easier to submit questions, make suggestions, and track project progress. This approach reduces stress on individuals and results in greater success where everyone can focus on what they do best.

We do better work together

As the solution was formed during the pandemic, this was the first time the entire ascend user community met in person and it certainly won’t be the last. The value of the community was evident as we shared successes, brainstormed solutions, and formed plans to support each other going forward. University leaders were eager to support each other, share best practices, and truly help one another.

The ascend community is growing and open to supporting new members, which serves as a valuable advantage for institutions embarking on digital transformation and advancement initiatives.

Attain Partners is ready to lead your ascend advancement journey

Energized from an inspiring week at aUCM, we are eager to continue fostering relationships with institutions to improve operations and achieve their missions as they work to positively impact their stakeholders. Contact us to begin your journey or for help along the way!

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Value of an External Library, United States

The Value of an External Library Review 

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Hear directly from Attain Partners’ library consultants in our on-demand webinar, How a Library Cost Analysis Study Can Benefit Your Research Library.

A thriving library program continually assesses its strengths and weaknesses. This can be accomplished with a thorough strategic planning process, or it can be done through smaller analyses of specific parts of the library program or department. For example, a library may choose to focus specifically on facilities’ needs or collection development, while a full strategic plan would include a comprehensive review of all program aspects. Regardless of the scope, these assessments are a crucial practice for a successful library program.

Many libraries internalize this process with the idea that they know their program best, therefore internal staff is best suited to assess their own library. However, this can present setbacks, such as tunnel vision, time constraints, and inherent bias. Attain Partners’ library consultants eliminate these concerns to guide the library to a more efficient and objective assessment.

Assess the real needs

Oftentimes, assessments commence with a pre-determined goal in mind. Take, for example, a library that already knows it wants to renovate a specific room to create a young adult space. Library staff made this decision based on anecdotal feedback and a showcase of newly renovated spaces at a recent professional conference. They are certain a new teen space is a necessity. Subsequently, any internal assessment conducted will most likely be geared to support this renovation.

Attain Partners’ library consultants can perform a facilities assessment based on formal user surveys, available space and resources, and staff feedback. We then provide a recommendation based on the data collected, along with the staff feedback, to ensure that the needs of the entire library community are met. This may well result in a new young adult space, but the assessment may also show that a space for a different user group is a more valuable, affordable, and functional use of the room.

Allow someone else to do the heavy lifting

Libraries are already understaffed, with librarians often taking on additional roles and tasks beyond their original duties—and a thorough assessment process is time-consuming. Our library consultants were librarians themselves, and have experienced the limited bandwidth of library staff. Building relationships with our clients and leveraging their talent and knowledge of their library comes first and foremost. By using change management best practices, we strategically meet with different stakeholders to ask specific questions relevant to their roles and knowledge base. We have the dedicated time and flexibility to meet with staff as their schedules allow, which enables more effective stakeholder engagement.

Eliminate bias

Inherent bias is one of the most significant obstacles to self-assessment. Library departments are going to be—and should be—protective of their resources and advocates for their individual programs. We expect and want to hear all perspectives from stakeholders. This feedback, along with quantitative data collected through varied methods, allows us to recommend data-driven solutions without ulterior motives. Our singular goal is to help libraries find the strategies and solutions that work best for their unique library communities. We get to know your library, your staff, and your community through one-on-one conversations and strategic data collection and analysis, and make recommendations based on the specific, individual needs of your unique library.

Attain Partners – Library Experts

At Attain Partners, our consultants work with university, public, and school libraries to design and implement effective library user surveys to inform critical financial and strategic decisions. Contact our team today to find out more about how our consultants will work with your library to create a valuable assessment tool!

Learn more about our Library Planning and Strategy services here.

About the Author

Ms. Blake Norby is a 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.

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Innovative Solutions for Education: Attain Partners Reimagines Student Experience, Advancement, and Retention

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At Attain Partners, we fuse decades of experience serving colleges and universities across the nation with proven strategies on how to best architect and use Salesforce to enable institutions to drive engagement in a scalable, comprehensive way.

To be competitive and attract the best students, it is imperative that institutions continuously track and manage satisfaction levels associated with the technology, processes, and interfaces between their students and their administrators and faculty. Our team has worked with higher education institutions to improve both the student experience as well as internal operations by leveraging the power of Salesforce.  

As the 2022 Salesforce Consulting Partner of the Year – Education and a Salesforce Summit Partner, Attain Partners brings unparalleled expertise leveraging Salesforce to reimagine the student experience.

A trusted partner for education institutions in the Salesforce ecosystem, Attain Partners will be sharing expertise during Salesforce Education Summit 2023 in Dallas, Texas, in April. Continue reading below to learn about just a few of the client success stories we’ll be sharing onsite during the Summit.

Ready to discover how our solutions can advance your institution’s mission? Contact us today. We’d love to schedule dedicated time to chat.

Student Success at Fordham: A Holistic Approach

Treat your students like customers—that’s how Fordham reimagined services to create a holistic student-centric solution with Attain Partners and Salesforce that meets diverse student needs and supports connectedness through technology.

Retaining students is just as important as recruiting them, and, at its core, Fordham University is committed to the holistic development of its students’ academic and personal success. When Fordham made a significant investment in technology, Attain Partners used Service Cloud, Experience Cloud, and Student Success Hub to improve the student experience, driving deeper engagement. By shifting to a more customer-focused approach to student needs rather than departmental, Fordham University was able to dramatically improve adoption, resulting in a stronger student experience within this enterprise-wide transformation.

Learn more

Using Design Thinking to Reinvent the Student Experience at Boston University

Design thinking is the intersection of human, budget, and technology where we consider what students really want and need before developing technology solutions. We helped Boston University find common ground amongst visionaries to deliver an exceptional and modern student experience.

Boston University engaged its student community to design a more sustainable, accessible, and enjoyable student experience. The innovative solution, built using Experience and Service Cloud, is designed to pave the way for student success beyond the next decade.

Learn more

From Applicant to Student: Unifying the Student Experience at Boston University

From the moment students apply, Boston University provides a seamless experience for its diverse population. In addition to the above design thinking solution, we also supported their internal IT teams to integrate the solution with their current student information system, providing crucial data points to render a personalized experience.

Leveraging a measured, two-phase approach in rolling out its new student information system, Boston University helps ensure adoption and a positive student experience. Phase one introduces students to the essentials of the system and gradually adds enhanced features to make it easier to find information and navigate student needs. Phase two focuses on engaging students and providing real-time access to schedules, messaging, to-dos, and IAM profile attributes.

Bridging the Future of Advancement at Colorado State

Colorado State University discovered it could draw in more fundraising dollars with a robust, modernized system capable of detailed data capture and comprehensive collaboration. They sought an immersive, intuitive, and attractive platform to amplify fundraising efforts.

Attain Partners and UC Innovation used ascend with Salesforce to build pipeline, achieve comprehensive collaboration, and fundraise. Using the smart, insightful, and predictive tools in ascend (native in Salesforce), they’re able to identify the “right” prospects to guide fundraising efforts. CRM analytics, dashboards, workflows, and automations are helping the team reimagine the user ecosystem and lay miles of runway for future evolution.

Driving Retention and Learner Success Beyond Graduation

On their mission to become a top-ten land grant institution, a major, multi-campus public university engaged Attain Partners to improve equity and student success through persistence and collaboration.

The solution, built using Student Success Hub and the Sales, Experience, and Marketing Clouds, will unify the University’s approach to serving students with intention. Using data in a consistent and measurable way will continually improve retention and enrich their community.

Evolving Executive Education for Tomorrow’s Leaders at UVA Darden

UVA Darden is unleashing new leadership by elevating its Executive Education & Lifelong Learning program using Sales Cloud and Marketing Cloud. Through custom courses, group enrollment, nontraditional education, and specially designed team courses that can be taught onsite, the program is opening doors to attract new, growth-minded leaders while increasing the School’s revenue.

Attain Partners helped UVA Darden create this end-to-end solution, fully integrated with a self-service student experience site, enabling it to attract new students and increase revenue.

Student Success, Executed The Attain Way

At Attain Partners, our values embody the character that we believe a trusted partner and a client advisor should possess. We don’t just work by these values; we live by them. We care deeply about delivering services and solutions to advance the missions of education institutions and improve opportunities for all students.

A team of highly experienced Salesforce-certified experts, we strive to be innovative and values-driven, always working to disrupt the status quo to change the world and improve the lives of those we serve.

In addition to our work with clients, the Attain Partners team actively contributes to the growth and evolution of the Salesforce platform, including the design of the Education Data Model (EDA). We were the first partner to implement Salesforce products including Advisor Link (now Student Success Hub), Admissions Connect, and Subledger for nonprofits. We are members of the Salesforce.org Advisory Board as well as various Salesforce product advisory boards, and sponsor the Salesforce Nonprofit Summit and Nonprofit Dreamin’ conferences. Multiple members of the Attain Partners team are recognized Salesforce MVPs and frequently participate in Open Source Commons to help architect and grow the Salesforce platform to align with the needs we see from our work with clients.

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Achieving Digital Transformation with ascend, Salesforce, and Attain Partners

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This post originally appeared on the UC Innovation blog on March 7, 2023.

Digital transformation enables an institution to consolidate data for easier access, achieve advancement goals, and prepare for sustainable, long-term growth. Choosing a solution that works well out of the box, like the one offered by Salesforce and UC Innovation’s ascend solution, limits the need for customization and enables agile scaling. Attain Partners’ experts have decades of experience leading digital transformation projects at colleges and universities nationwide and can help you achieve your goals.

During a recent call, one of our higher education clients told us, “We don’t want to choose the next dying solution.” Their primary concern was moving to technology that would require replacement within the next five to seven years. We don’t want that either!

At Attain Partners, most of our education clients come to us with solutions that have been in place for more than a decade (sometimes more than two!). We understand the resources needed to enhance your advancement mission through the modernization of technology and your desire for solutions to last. 

You need a solution that will expand across your organization and grow as you grow. This is where typical point solutions can let you down. While they are excellent at doing specific tasks, they often struggle with change and other solutions that create data silos. These silos make it difficult to understand your data and impact staff hours as they manage several solutions.

Major Shift to Salesforce + ascend

Another client shared, “We heard that Salesforce was the way forward. If you don’t move to it now, you’ll be moving there within five years.” We explained how our expert Salesforce team uses a combination of Salesforce and ascend to help institutions make the dramatic leap in technology.

Using ascend and Salesforce together allows institutions to select solutions that do exactly what they need, provide a better user experience, and work together efficiently with little to no customization needed. The organization becomes more agile and connected while reducing risk at the same time. Combining the data from all parts of your organization into a single pane of glass provides a better understanding of your constituents.

“The professionalism, resourcefulness, and unwavering confidence in the product/possibilities that were displayed in every interaction most definitely helped steady the trepidation of making such a dramatic technological leap,” stated another client. Technology implementation success ultimately comes down to the people involved. Choosing the right partner with the right expertise and experience is essential.

Attain Partners has more than 17 years of experience implementing complex solutions in the higher education sector. We have completed more than 450+ projects across all aspects of the student lifecycle, including advancement. Our advancement experts have deep expertise in leading organizations from where you are now to a rich and connected technical system. 

According to Prosci research, projects with excellent change management effectiveness were six times more likely to achieve project objectives. Ensuring your staff is properly trained on the new platform and including a communication plan that targets all levels of the organization is vital to the success of an advancement solution. 

We are honored to help define and implement advancement solutions for universities, colleges, and K-12 school districts throughout North America. “The platform (Salesforce) product (ascend) are both tremendous, and UC Innovation made a very wise choice to partner with Attain [Partners] to help institutions visualize and ultimately ‘attain’ the future.”

Attain Partners – Salesforce experts

Regardless of whether your organization is beginning its Salesforce journey or many 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 and ascend.

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

About the Author

Chad Simmons is an Associate Business Development Director at Attain Partners. Since 2013, Chad has helped hundreds of organizations implement innovative technology solutions designed to meet their complex needs. Chad’s focus is demonstrating the value of the Salesforce Platform and Attain Partners’ services to higher education and healthcare clients.

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2023 FRA Speaker Spotlight: Meet Our Experts

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We’re excited to be presenting at a number of sessions, workshops, and discussion groups during the 2023 NCURA FRA Conference in Las Vegas. With a roster of both new and familiar faces, our team will be out in force! Learn more about our experts, get details on their sessions, and schedule time to connect with them during the conference. They’ll be discussing a range of topics and would love to share their expertise with you—visit us at Booth #108 and learn more!

Robert Cohen Headshot

Robert Cohen, MBA, CPA
Managing Director 

Bob Cohen has over 35 years of experience in providing guidance regarding higher education research administration and financial administration issues including performing the duties of a top financial officer of a medical school, heading up both sponsored program pre- and post-award administration units, responsibilities for clinical trial administrative operations, accounting functions, budgeting activities. Bob was previously responsible for both Pre- and Post-award at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and all financial functions of the New York University School of Medicine. Since joining BearingPoint in 2005 and then Attain Partners, Bob has assisted numerous top research medical centers in a variety of engagements. 

Concurrent Session: Differences Between the F&A Regulations for Institutions of Higher Education, Research Institutes and Hospitals and Maximizing F&A Reimbursement
Tuesday, March 7, 2:45p – 3:45p

Contact Bob

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Wally Davis 
Partner

Wally Davis has 25 years of consulting experience in the higher education and nonprofit markets. He is responsible for leading and managing a team to provide F&A and grants management services nationwide. His experience with Attain Partners has included a variety of engagements that provide specific financial management and advisory services to executive leaders and administrators of research colleges and universities, hospitals, and other not-for-profits in the areas of F&A cost recovery, grants management, and implementation of effort reporting and space software solutions. Prior to joining Attain Partners, Mr. Davis was employed by Emory University where he managed and coordinated the preparation and negotiation of Emory’s F&A rate proposal as well as managed the effort reporting and equipment tracking functions. 

Discussion Group: Current F&A Landscape and Other Regulatory Matters
Tuesday, March 7, 1p – 2:15p

Contact Wally

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Ben Garvin 
Senior Specialist

Ben Garvin has 20+ years of experience in the higher education research administration field. His years of experience in higher education include “life cycle” of grants and contracts from Pre-award including proposal building and reviewing; to Post-award including award administration to award closeout. He can perform these “cradle to grave” functions in a departmental or a central role. Prior to consulting for Attain Partners, Ben worked at Harvard University School of Engineering and Applied Science, Brown University Sponsored Programs Office, and Northeastern University Central Office. Ben also serves as the Chairperson for NCURA Region I (New England)’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee and the NCURA FRA 2023 Program Committee. In his spare time, Ben is also a musician and plays in a gospel group and a rock in soul band.

Discussion Group: Post-Award Management from the Departmental Perspective
Monday, March 6, 10:15a – 11:30a

Concurrent Session: Hey…Here’s a great I.D.E.A (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Allyship)!!!
Tuesday, March 7, 2:45p – 3:45p

Workshop WS14: Recruitment, Retention and Promotion: Challenges in Today’s Diverse and Inclusive Workforce
Wednesday, March 8, 1p – 4:30p

Connect with Ben
Contact Ben

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Kathleen Halley-Octa, M.A., CRA
Senior Consultant

Prior to joining Attain Partners in November 2022, Kathleen served as the Director of the Office of Research & Sponsored Projects for the College of Education & Human Development at Georgia State University. In this role, she led a team of talented research administrators who oversee both pre- and post-award operations for the college’s portfolio. Kathleen began her Research Administration Career at Kennesaw State University as a proposal administrator and ERA specialist. She then moved to the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she worked as a departmental administrator in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering before joining the central Office of Sponsored Programs. In OSP, Kathleen ran Georgia Tech’s Research Administration training program, served as the product owner for numerous ERA systems, and oversaw the development and implementation of eRouting, Georgia Tech’s homegrown electronic routing system.

Kathleen is a Certified Research Administrator and holds a Master’s Degree in English from The College of Charleston and a Bachelor’s Degree in English from the University of Georgia. She has been involved with NCURA since 2013 and has presented at both Regional and National meetings. In the past, she has served as Secretary of Region III and Website Coordinator, and she currently serves as co-editor for NCURA Magazine. 

Concurrent Session: Departmental Roles and Responsibilities: Defining the Boundaries Between Departments and Central Offices
Monday, March 6, 4p – 5p

Concurrent Session: Communicating Effectively with PIs
Tuesday, March 7, 1p – 2:15p

Workshop WS09: Preaward Basics and Best Practices
Wednesday, March 8, 1p – 4:30p

Connect with Kathleen
Contact Kathleen

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Liliana Keany, MBA 
Senior Consultant

Liliana Keany has 13 years of higher education experience with a core focus in costing and sponsored research administration. Liliana has worked at Princeton University, Rutgers University, and Steven Institute of Technology. Her current collaborators include Yale University, Boston Children’s Hospital, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Memorial-Sloan Kettering. Her favorite thing about working in the industry is the connections she makes to her clients and seeing the behind the scenes of university financials. Liliana enjoys spending time with her husband, her two kids, and her pets. She enjoys engaging in volunteer efforts in her hometown areas. 

Concurrent Session: Differences Between the F&A Regulations for Institutions of Higher Education, Research Institutes and Hospitals and Maximizing F&A Reimbursement
Tuesday, March 7, 2:45p – 3:45p

Connect with Liliana

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Paige Robinson, CRA
Associate 

Paige Robinson serves as a post-award management resource and consultant for the Seattle Children’s Therapeutics finance team where she assists with special projects, budget projections, forecasting and monitoring collections and expenditures against budgets. She’s responsible for transfers and reconciliation, new budget setup, and provides reporting and analysis. Before her role with Attain Partners, she spent more than 18 years at Vanderbilt University as Administrative Officer and at Vanderbilt University Medical Center as a pre-award specialist and Grant Manager. She also served on the VPRAD Research Certification Advisory Board along with the roles of committee chair, speaker, and mentor. Paige obtained her CRA in 2009 and currently serves as 2022-2024 RACC Vice Chair of the Item Review Committee and continues membership and volunteer activities with NCURA. Since 2003, she has served as Chair and member for Region III Philanthropy Committee (2013-2015), Volunteer Coordinator Committee, Region III Chair of Membership and Awards Committee (2010-2011) Speaker/Co-Speaker NCURA Region III meetings (2008, 2010-11) and NCURA Annual meetings (2008, 2010, 2012). She has also held membership with the Society of Research Administration (SRA). 

Concurrent Session: Jumpin into Career Overdrive? Keep Out of the Danger Zone
Tuesday, March 7, 1p – 2:15p

Connect with Paige
Contact Paige

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Susan Wyatt Sedwick, PhD, CRA, CSM
Senior Consulting Specialist 

Dr. Susan Wyatt Sedwick joined Attain Partners when she retired in 2015 as an associate vice president for research and director of the Office of Sponsored Projects at The University of Texas at Austin, where she was responsible for both pre- and post-award financial administration units and export controls compliance. She received her Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from Texas A&M University and is a Certified Research Administrator (CRA). She is an adjunct professor for the masters of research administration program at Johns Hopkins University and has held previous academic appointments as a clinical professor in the Department of Educational Administration for the Higher Education Administration Program at The University of Texas at Austin and as an adjunct professor for Rush University in Chicago and The University of Oklahoma, Norman. Dr. Sedwick is a frequent speaker on the topic of science and security, export controls as they apply to universities, improper influence, human capital development, and strategic planning. She has authored numerous publications, including the chapter on export controls included in the NCURA/AIS publication, Sponsored Research Administration: A Guide to Effective Strategies and Recommended Practices, and served as the lead author of the SRAI LevelUp micro-credentialing module on Award Acceptance and Negotiation. 

She is a graduate of Leadership Texas, a past trustee for the Texas A&M University-Kingsville Foundation, and founding president of the FDP Foundation. She is co-chair of the National Science Foundation Business and Operations Advisory Committee. She was recognized as the 2012-2013 distinguished alumnae by the Texas A&M University-Kingsville Dick and Mary Lewis Kleberg College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Human Sciences Hall of Honor. 

Workshop SF15: Transformational Leadership and Transitional Management in Tumultuous Times
Wednesday, March 8, 1p – 4:30p

Connect with Susan
Contact Susan

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Courtney Swaney, MPA, CRA
Manager 

Courtney Swaney, MPA, CRA is a Manager for Attain Partners with almost 20 years of experience in research administration. She specializes in leadership and management of sponsored projects teams, pre-award, and electronic Research Administration (eRA). She has been an NCURA member since 2003 and has served as Region V Treasurer and on the Region V Mustang Mentoring Program Committee. 

Concurrent Session: Managing a Departmental Team in a Remote or Hybrid Environment
Tuesday, March 7, 8:15a – 9:45a

Connect with Courtney

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Shacey Temperly 
Senior Manager

Shacey Temperly is an experienced research administrator who specializes in procedural, system, and control analyses to create operational and financial efficiencies. She has provided various organizational redesign and business process improvement services for not-for-profit and higher education clients. 

Concurrent Session: Improving Post-Award Processes After Implementing an ERP
Monday, March 6, 2:45p – 3:45p

Connect with Shacey

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Emerging Issues Related to Facilities and Operations

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Attain Partners takes pride in keeping our clients and the community informed on current issues across the research administration realm. During a recent presentation at the iSRA Financial Management Conference, we discussed some of the emerging issues related to facilities and operations including the current landscape, how space decisions impact future Facilities and Administrative (F&A) recovery, building depreciation and interest, operations and maintenance (O&M), and the treatment of rebates.

As institutions transition to the new economic and regulatory market, there are various ways to create greater efficiency and improve margins in the research administration area.

The Current Landscape

The Great Resignation/retirement has impacted the four regional Cost Allocation Services (CAS) offices, which negotiate fringe benefits and F&A rates for colleges and universities. Short staffing continues to cause delays in the review and negotiation process.  

Covid has changed how and when people work, impacting the F&A review process. Institutions are now conducting all aspects of space surveys remotely including training staff and Q&A review. CAS is also conducting virtual site visits to review space and equipment in place of traditional in-person site visits. 

Space Decisions Impacting Future F&A Recovery

Space functional usage statistics drive the allocation of facilities-related costs, including building depreciation, equipment depreciation, interest expense, and operations and maintenance. Performing an accurate, well-documented space study is the first and most critical step toward ensuring the fullest recovery of costs associated with your institution’s sponsored programs.

When making space decisions, consider:

  • Why is assigning the correct space classification important for F&A recovery?
  • What impact has remote/hybrid work had on space functionalization?
  • Why is identifying occupants for lab areas critically important for the space study and F&A recovery?
  • How can my organization determine efficient use of research space that will maximize F&A recovery?
  • What incentives can our institution employ to increase our effective F&A recovery rate?

Attain Partners employs AttainSpace, a web-enabled tool to compile, update, review, and retrieve the data necessary to generate a precise and comprehensive space study. AttainSpace also reduces the Federal compliance burden by facilitating rapid and accurate information collection and reporting capabilities. Contact us to learn more.

Building Depreciation and Interest

Implementing space productivity analyses for research programs, evaluating facilities and capital planning, and/or recovering as much cost as possible from the F&A function can help create greater efficiency and improve margins.

When looking at building depreciation and interest, consider:

  • What can be done prior to the base year to ensure your depreciation component of the F&A rate is maximized?
  • Does it make sense to debt finance a new research building?

Operations and Maintenance

As more jobs move to computational and remote, operations and maintenance (O&M) costs have shifted dramatically. When building O&M pools it is important to search for O&M type costs that are not naturally assigned to an O&M pool. 

In reviewing your O&M costs, consider:

  • Where can you find O&M costs that may be hidden in your financial accounting system?
  • What are IT infrastructure and IT security costs?  How can they impact my F&A rate?

Treatment of Rebates

Treatment of rebates has become a focus of the federal government in recent years.  Historically institutions treated rebates they received from vendors as an offset to O&M costs in the F&A proposal.  Recent audits by Office of Inspector General (OIG) have resulted in this method of treatment being discontinued, favoring rebates that offset the costs of the award that generated the rebate. 

When looking at your institution’s treatment of rebates, consider:

  • Why has the treatment of rebates changed?
  • How do I determine the amount of rebates due to the federal government?
  • What are my options for ensuring the government gets its fair share?

When to Enlist Expert Support and How Attain Partners Can Help

If you see any of these issues emerging at your institution, it is time to consider F&A reimbursement and compliance management. Attain Partners’ skilled professionals bring over 30 years of experience and expertise in executing the complex process of preparing, submitting, and negotiating F&A cost recovery proposals with the Federal government and other program sponsors.

Our team has unmatched experience in:

  • Implementing industry best practices
  • Reviewing, deploying, and applying costing methodologies
  • Interpreting the dynamic regulatory environment that affects cost recovery rates

Attain Partners can help your institution identify issues and their impact, strategically plan tactical improvements, implement AttainSpace, prepare F&A cost proposals, and negotiate F&A rates to increase your margins and improve efficiency.

If you have questions about any of these issues or other F&A related topics, please reach out. Contact us now for more information.

About the Author

Mr. Bill Lambert is a Specialist Leader in the Research Enterprise Services practice of Attain Partners. Prior to joining Attain Partners in January 2022, he had over 25 years of experience in research administration, management, and leadership at Emory University. He is an experienced university research administrator focused on strategic planning, collaborative problem solving, and all aspects of financial research administration including award management, closeouts, effort reporting, service center rate review and approval, shared service center implementation, fringe benefit rate development and negotiation, equipment inventory management, policy development and implementation, and F&A rate development and negotiation for the National Primate Center and University.  He has leadership role experience in both school/departments settings and central administrative offices.

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Obsessing Externally for Heart Health

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President and COO Phil Agee Shares His Experience as Chair of the American Heart Association’s 2023 Triangle Heart Ball

The seven core values comprising The Attain Way guide every decision we make and every interaction we have with our clients and communities. Our values embody the character that we believe a trusted partner and a client advisor should possess, but we don’t just work by these values, we live by them. One of these values is to Obsess Externally by giving back to the communities in which we live and work.

Attain Partners President and COO, Phil Agee, is a wonderful example of what it means to Obsess Externally. Together with his wife Andrea, Phil is chair of the American Heart Association‘s (AHA) 2023 Triangle Heart Ball in Raleigh, NC, on Friday, March 3. Attain Partners is proud to support the lifesaving work of the American Heart Association as a sponsor of the event.

For nearly 100 years, the AHA has been fighting heart disease and stroke, striving to save and improve lives. As the Nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke, the AHA has been taking major steps toward creating a healthier community.

To learn more about his volunteer work and the AHA, we sat down with Phil to discuss his involvement in this year’s ball and his passion for heart health.

Attain Partners (AP): How did your involvement with the AHA begin?

Phil Agee (PA): It started with a network of friends, specifically one of my close family friends, who was the chair of the 2020 Triangle Heart Ball. Through his endorsement, I joined the executive leadership team in 2019 to prepare for the 2020 Heart Ball just as we were running into the pandemic.

When he asked me to join, I didn’t hesitate to help this important cause. Heart disease is an issue in my family. Unfortunately, I’ve had family members pass away because of the disease, so that’s what initially compelled me to become involved.

Then, I quickly realized that the AHA—especially the Triangle region’s chapter—really places an emphasis on the local community. The organization works hard to raise awareness about the food inequalities that exist within the community and spread information about how your diet contributes directly to heart health. They give large grants back to the research community based in Raleigh, NC, so it comes full circle. They also give money to many of Raleigh’s pharmaceutical companies that do research on medicines, which ultimately provides jobs to the local area.

So, it started as a family-focused endeavor, but I quickly realized it’s much more than that. It’s about promoting heart heath and serving the local community.

AP: So, the gateway to your involvement began with your role on the leadership team, but you’ve stepped up a bit more since then. What is your role now?

PA: My wife, Andrea, and I serve as the Event Chairs for the 2023 Triangle Heart Ball. This year, our role has been to chart the focus of the event and lead its fundraising efforts, in addition to helping raise awareness for the Heart Ball and the AHA in the Triangle region. We are going to raise well over $1,000,000 in funding for the organization as a result of the event, which exceeds our goals and expectations for what we hoped to raise. We are incredibly proud of how Raleigh is giving back.

AP: What is the focus of this year’s event?

PA: The focus of the 2023 Heart Ball will be on the local community and the direct community impact that the AHA has in the Triangle region. We’ll be highlighting the AHA’s work in the Triangle region, including its efforts around creating avenues for greater access to care, expanding healthy food access and education, building a network of first responders through CPR kits in schools, supporting blood pressure screenings and education, and educating on the dangers of tobacco and vaping.

AP: How has it been collaborating with your wife, Andrea, through this process?

PA: It has been a blast. It’s been fun to see how our leadership styles work together. I always say, she could sell her dirty socks! She can really work a room like no one else.

She is great at building relationships, and I come in to help close the deal. She came up with the idea for the ball’s post-event entertainment, Dueling Pianos, which we’re really excited about. It’s going to be another great way to help fundraise for this important cause.

AP: What long-term goals or ideas do you have regarding your involvement with the AHA in the Triangle Region?

PA: In the coming years, I want to work with the AHA, the local sports leagues, and the surrounding government bodies that help fund heart heath education initiatives to connect the dots so that coaches have CPR training and access to AEDs on the field.

For the Heart Ball, I will continue as a member on the executive leadership team for at least another year, if not for the foreseeable future.

Beyond the Heart Ball, another area that Andrea and I are equally passionate about and will probably devote as much energy to over the coming years is the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Our daughter has Type I diabetes, so that will continue to be a major focus in our lives. We are excited to explore how can we help to raise awareness and give back to this community as well.

AP: How can someone who’s reading this get involved with the American Heart Association?

PA: When giving back, I believe we need to give not just treasure, but also time and talent, as I think they are equally as important to getting involved. First and foremost, get trained in CPR, because you never know when you’re going have to do it. Too many people die of cardiac arrest, and CPR training is an easy way we can all be more prepared to help.

Second, there are walks in all the local communities that the AHA puts on, so that’s another big initiative for people to get involved in to help raise awareness.

Third, becoming educated and helping spread awareness about food banks and food insecurity. Helping to get the right food in front of people will ultimately lead to better heart health.

AP: A lot of your career has been spent with working alongside Greg Baroni and at Attain, LLC, and Attain Partners. How have these factors influenced your desire to give back, and why is corporate social responsibility important to you?

PA: Growing up in this culture is all I’ve known. It’s a no-brainer—giving back is what you do. My personal beliefs exactly match the culture and the DNA of Attain Partners. Greg’s steadfast focus on the National Kidney Foundation is the perfect example of how Attain Partners is dedicated to Obsessing Externally and living The Attain Way. I have had such great examples of giving in Greg as well as in Manish Agarwal and Rich Roberts both at Attain. Giving back is just part of the fabric of who I am—Attain Partners is part of who I am.

There are so many people that are struggling in different ways. I’ve been so blessed in my life that I can and want to give my time, skills, and resources. If there’s a way for me to help somebody else live a little bit better for a little bit longer—it’s just a no-brainer for me.

AP: Is there anything else you’d like readers to know about the AHA?

PA: What I’d like people to know about the AHA, and in particular the Triangle Chapter of the association, is that it’s not just necessarily a national brand. This organization does so much for the local community and makes such a profound impact. People sometimes think, “Oh, it’s a big national nonprofit organization, my donation is just going to go into vapor.” But, the AHA really does make a difference in the community where you live and work, which again is what Attain Partners is all about.

More Information

Learn more about Phil here.

Learn more about the American Heart Association Triangle Heart Ball here.

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Leveraging Momentum to Deliver Excellence

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We are consistently strategizing how we can help our clients make the biggest impact. After a year of unprecedented growth, we’re leveraging the momentum that we worked together to create to drive new innovations and create an impact in the education and nonprofit industries. Read about our recent areas of growth and how we’re leveraging each to continue to deliver excellence in 2023 and beyond.

Reflecting on the company’s growth, Founder and CEO Greg Baroni shared, “What I notice, more than anything, is how each and every one of our team members goes above and beyond to Execute with Discipline to serve our clients, with the idea and the focus of creating a better world for their constituents, and thereby improving the communities in which we live and work.”

Team Attain Partners: Growing our talent

As a people-first organization, it’s only right we begin by highlighting how our talent flourished over the past year. In 2022, Attain Partners experienced incredible growth, with approximately 100 new team members hired—an increase of 84% from 2021.

Among our key hires were two strong additions to Attain Partners’ executive leadership team—Philip (Phil) Agee and Shannon Benson. Former Partner and Board Member of Attain, Phil Agee, was appointed as Attain Partners’ President and Chief Operating Officer (COO). A proven leader with demonstrated success, Phil brings nearly 20 years of experience growing and building diverse and inclusive teams. Shannon Benson also joined the team in 2022 as the Director of Human Resources at Attain Partners. Shannon brings two decades of experience providing human resources support, guidance, and engagement to the team. Together, Phil and Shannon bring a wealth of experience—their positive impact has already been felt throughout the organization, and we look forward to their continued leadership as we strive to Invent the Future.

Learn more about our leadership team here.

Juran Acquisition: Extending our offerings

In June 2022, Attain Partners proudly announced its acquisition of Juran, an organization recognized as a global leader in quality management service offerings. Now known as Attain Partners | Juran, the practice, led by Dr. Joseph DeFeo, continues to offer robust advisory services and comprehensive training and certification programs, including Lean Six Sigma (LSS), under the strategic guidance of Phil Agee.

In addition to consulting services, Attain Partners | Juran’s IMPRO e-learning content includes a comprehensive suite of online training modules and learning plans. The learning content included within IMPRO will help drive Attain Partners toward our vision as an asset-based consulting firm.

Learn more about Attain Partners | Juran here.

New Clients: Increasing our impact

In addition to the commendable growth Attain Partners experienced internally, we also expanded our external impact by adding several notable clients to our roster in 2022.

Learn more about who we serve here.

Maryland Connect

In October, Attain Partners was pleased to expand our work with University System of Maryland (USM), reinforcing Attain Partners’ role in the education space as a leader of enterprise transformation for schools and universities nationwide.

Attain Partners is providing the Maryland Connect (MD Connect) consortium of five schools—Bowie State University, Frostburg State University, Salisbury University, University of Baltimore, and Coppin State University—program management, organizational change management, and staff augmentation support as the client implements a single instance of Workday Financial Management and Human Capital Management systems.

Seattle Children’s

In 2022, Attain Partners also proudly strengthened our working relationship with Seattle Children’s providing interim staffing and research operations stabilization and research leadership support to help further advance its important mission.

Salesforce Success: Showcasing our ecosystem expertise

As premier Salesforce implementation experts, we were proud to add two impressive accolades to our Salesforce partnership in 2022. In June, Attain Partners was named the 2022 Salesforce.org Consulting Partner of the Year – Education, in recognition of our unparalleled expertise leveraging Salesforce to reimagine the student experience. In December, Attain Partners achieved the highest tier of Salesforce partnership, earning the coveted Salesforce Summit Partner status.

These esteemed milestones are a direct result of our team’s commendable work to advance certifications, update project entries, achieve business development growth, and maintain efforts fostering a positive, active relationship with Salesforce.

Learn more about our Salesforce Innovation services here.

Asset-driven Business: Expanding our capabilities

As an asset-powered consultancy, we are especially proud of the 21 new assets we created and added to our portfolio in 2022, including Deep Data Exploration (an addition to Attain Research Performance), assessments (used to deliver the Attain Partners IDEA Performance Maturity Framework), Amp Impact templates, an F&A benchmarking tool, and the Salesforce Student Success Hub accelerator, among others.

Looking Ahead: Growing our impact The Attain Way

As we move ahead into the new year, the great work from our team members in 2022 is paving the way to attain even greater success ahead. We look forward to further expanding our impact as we continue to help education, nonprofit, healthcare, and state and local government organizations move their missions forward.

We invite you to join us on this journey in a variety of ways:

  • Visit us at an upcoming industry event.
  • Learn more about our offerings through our monthly webinars, or watch an on-demand session that can help your organization grow.
  • Check out our other blog entries—we’re constantly updating case studies and client stories, thought leadership, and sharing work with our partners.
  • Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, The Pulse—one of the best ways to stay current on all Attain Partners news and innovations.

Interested in doing even more? Discover how you can grow your career at Attain Partners here.

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Rainer Weissenberger is an Expert in Advancement for Higher Education

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Meet Attain Partners’ Experts!

Higher Education institutions have the power to change the world, especially those with successful advancement programs. We founded Attain Partners to be the spark that helps leaders achieve their mission faster, more efficiently, and with greater impact. We proudly fuel our fire with passionate experts who help our clients attain more. In our new Team for Speed series, meet some of our experts and learn how they are creating impactful solutions for higher education institutions.

Meet Rainer Weissenberger! Rainer joined Attain Partners in 2022 and has already made significant contributions in helping us serve our clients The Attain Way. As the Salesforce.org 2022 Consulting Partner of the Year – Education and a Salesforce Summit Partner, we have big plans for 2023 and are grateful to have Rainer on board to help live out our core value to Invent the Future.

We sat down with Rainer to dive deeper into his background before joining Attain Partners. Read our conversation with him below.

Attain Partners (AP): How did you get into advancement for higher education?

Rainer Weissenberger (RW): When I began my career in advancement for higher education almost 13 years ago, it was the perfect fit for me. I had just completed a degree in arts administration and felt passionate about fundraising and advancing higher education. So, when the opportunity arose at my alma mater to combine the two, I jumped at it and didn’t regret it once.

AP: What did you do before joining Attain Partners?

RW: In my advancement career, I’ve grown from Development Research and Prospect Management at Florida State University to the Director of Advancement Operations at Connecticut College. I’ve supported development with intelligence and strategic efforts and led a conversion from Banner Advancement to Salesforce (EDA) as the product owner.

I fell in love with Salesforce for higher education because it allows us to build the exact environment we want for our clients. As a Salesforce System Administrator, I added the technical aspects of the advancement effort to my portfolio of responsibilities—including biographical data management, gift processing, reporting, analytics, and system development—for all of advancement. 

AP: Can you share an example of a project of which you are especially proud?

RW: Two of my biggest achievements before joining Attain Partners were helping lead Connecticut College to be the first to adopt the Salesforce Gift Entry Manager (GEM) and achieving the best fundraising year in the history of the college by raising over $55 million in philanthropic donations in 2022.

AP: What brought you to Attain Partners?

RW: I began wondering what it would be like to help others realize the transformation we accomplished at Connecticut College. Enter, Attain Partners!

When I learned that the exact opportunity I always dreamt of actually existed—and existed within a company that reflects my values—it was a no-brainer for me to apply. Integrity, creativity, and being bold have always been guiding principles in my life, and at Attain Partners, it’s baked into the DNA. Getting to do what I love at the highest level possible and in an environment that nurtures collaboration is empowering.

I love working with skilled, creative, collaborative professionals who are not afraid to tackle difficult problems. And I love working for a company that invests in its workforce because it understands the fundamental difference this makes.

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

RW: Seeing the results of an advancement organization being liberated from the confines of a legacy CRM is the most gratifying aspect of my job. Remembering at the end of a project what the “before” looked like and how Salesforce or a managed product built on Salesforce transformed business processes, deepened collaboration, simplified data entry, and created data transparency makes it all worth the effort of inventing the future together with our client, for our client.

AP: How do you keep current in advancement?

RW: While having technical expertise is paramount to what I do, having deep knowledge of and keeping up on the latest developments in the advancement space is equally important to me as it helps contextualize my technical skills within the environment in which I serve. Therefore, I continue to be engaged with organizations supporting the development sector such as Apra International and aasp (Association of Advancement Services Professionals).

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

RW: When I’m not working, I spend time with my family, bake bread, brew beer, build/research my next DIY project, and relax on the water while fishing with one of my kids.

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 – Rainer Weissenberger

Rainer Weissenberger is a Senior Consultant at Attain Partners with 12+ years of experience as a higher education advancement professional. His advancement services include gift accounting, data management, system administration, reporting, database conversion, development research, prospect management, contracts and budget management, and a commitment to a customer-centric service philosophy. 

Rainer holds an M.A. in Arts Administration from Florida State University, an M.A. in Historical Musicology from the University of Iowa, and multiple Salesforce certifications including Administrator, Education Cloud Consultant, ascend Certified Functional Lead, Bio/Demo, Gift Processing, and Prospect Management.

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

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