Following is an overview that I utilized for a recent report.

The research enterprise is a system composed of the people and
organizations responsible for performing, financing, utilizing, and
monitoring research.  The effective administration of that enterprise
depends on an understanding of the complex, interdependent relationships
among sponsors, principal investigators, administrators and the
institutional policies and procedures which comprise the programs
themselves.  The research administrator must be prepared to work in an
ever-changing environment, and be prepared to help faculty from the early
stages of proposal development, through the University's acceptance of
sponsored awards, and finally through project administration and technical
closeout.  Additionally, the research administrator is responsible for
ensuring compliance with university, state, federal, and sponsor policies
and all relevant procedures of sponsored projects.

--On Monday, August 05, 2002 1:34 PM -0500 Mike McCallister
<xxxxxx@UALR.EDU> wrote:

> This thing about research administration being about IP?  That
> completely misses the point (Sorry Charlie).  IP is a small tail
> wagging a big dog right now and is used so much the term has lost
> currency.  IP happens within research, sometimes.  It is almost
> serendipitous.  It certainly is not as big a deal as some want it to
> be, not yet.
>
> So what's RA?  What did you tell your Mom you do at work?  That's
> what it is.  It's what needs to be done for our researchers and
> faculty  to create new knowledge, solve problems, grow themselves,
> even save the world, maybe.  But most of all what we do is help those
> who can to do because what they do is, by and large, important to
> society.
>
>
>
> Spanky
>
>
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--
Patricia D. Buennemeyer, CRA
Sponsored Programs
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
Telephone (540) 568-6872
FAX No. (540) 568-6240
e-mail: xxxxxx@jmu.edu

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