Now I think that we are beginning to see the meaning of Spanky's
relevance. Here's few more points that allow research administrators to
serve faculty, in addition to the daily research expertise we elicit on
behalf of faculty and staff members.

Our OSP always creates an Action Plan in tandem with what the deans and
department heads are putting into their action plans.  In this regards,
we are heavy into three goals of the strategic plan: engaging students
in research, improving faculty effectiveness and improving university
effectiveness. As a team we brainstorm with faculty leaders and derive
supportable objectives and activities each year. Some of them have to do
with efficiency (our timeline on processing IRB apps.), and some of them
have to do with direct support (targeting grant opportunities to
particular faculty). Others have to do with capacity to improve
institutional effectiveness such as mutually agreed upon proposal and
award goals. But the numbers are not as important as the mutuality
derived from joint planning, which is a relevant activity.

We also show our relevance by working with faculty to define internal
seed grant programs in terms of funding levels, application design,
record keeping, servicing spending of awarded internal grants, and, of
course, when justified, granting no cost extensions. We always review
final reports closely and write a closeout letter citing the research or
creative accomplishments taking care to copy deans, department heads,
and college level RAs.

Moreover, there is nothing more relevant than to shop for faculty
stories for our magazine commemorating faculty and student research and
creative activities. The shopping gives faculty leaders like deans,
department heads, and faculty themselves time to reflect on who is doing
relevant work in terms of the university goals, and then proffer
nominations.

We are all of our institutions have these and many more "relevant"
activities in our processes and bright ideas areas. But I think that
more than anything the idea of relevance, like the idea of progress, is
a tool that we should always keep before us, even if recognized by some
other word or phrase, to weave ourselves more intimately into the
faculty culture in general and the research and creative culture in
particular. Outcomes will not always be easy to measure. Many will be
beyond the power of the research administration office to control. Yet I
think it is the discussion of relevance, called by whatever name you
want to apply to the idea, that keeps us out of a silo mentality and
expands our reach to faculty and senior administrators.

This initiative is important when research administration is in danger
of becoming less academic as a basis for thought and more technical in
nature. Have to reacted to our era of rapid changes in the direction of
technicians or as trying to understand how to interpret the changes in
ways that our academic clients can understand? I think Spanky wants us
to remember that we work for academic purposes and that perspective must
always be before us first and foremost.

Just my two bits.

Phil

Johnson, Landy (Director of Grant Development) wrote:
> First of all, Spanky's link worked fine for me (just for the record).
>
> Second of all, though all the philosophical discussion is interesting, I
> seem to be hearing "there's nothing we can do" rather than suggestions
> for actually doing something.  (Maybe I'm having a cranky day.)
>
> The following post is lengthy, but contains actual suggestions that
> might be useful, so please bear with me.
>
> A year ago, I was the first appointee to run a newly-established,
> one-person research office (there had been a part-time "grant writer" a
> few years ago, who mostly worked for Institutional Advancement, but then
> she left).  I took advantage of my newness to interview all department
> heads, and put out the word to faculty that I need to know what they do
> in order to be able to let them know when a great grant opportunity
> comes along.  I created a web site for my office, with links to a
> faculty publications list (maintained by someone else) and with a list
> of recent awards.  To the extent that I can find the time (maybe once a
> week) I attend department seminars or other events that will give me a
> better idea of what's going on intellectually in my institution.  I even
> showed up in someone's class when he had a guest speaker.  This
> demonstration of interest has a huge impact, and one starts to be seen
> as a colleague rather than a clerk.  It is just as important for
> post-award people as for pre-award; asking the see the finished product
> of a research effort, or attending a seminar or event related to the
> dissemination of the results, reinforces one's role as someone who
> insures the quality of the intellectual output of the institution (a
> good way to describe oneself to the President, rather than just "I help
> faculty"), just like a doctor who insists the patient return for
> follow-up.
>
> My most recent endeavor is a Faculty Grantsmanship Colloquium on August
> 27th at which three of the most grant-prolific professors will speak
> about how they began obtaining grants, how they develop partnerships
> with other institutions, and how they roll from one grant to another.
> Special invitations have been sent to the 27 faculty who were just
> awarded internal $1,000-$3,000 Faculty Development Grants (managed by
> the Provost's office, not by me) since an "outside" grant should be
> their next step.  A more general invitation has been sent to the entire
> faculty.  The event should provide useful information to those who are
> early in their career, and it gives very much needed recognition to
> those who have been pursuing grants for years.  I will speak for about
> five minutes at the beginning of the event.  The College's Faculty
> Development Committee is very much on board. (I got to know the Faculty
> Development Committee Chair because I attend the Faculty Senate
> meetings.)
>
> This model of operation is one that perhaps is only doable at a small
> school, though I would certainly encourage all the staff at larger
> research offices to see the faculty with whom they work as a "stable" of
> talent for whom they are an agent.  Give them the star treatment and you
> will be reflected in their glory.
>
> Landy
>
> __________________________
> Landy C. Johnson, MPA, Ph.D.
> Director of Grant Development
> Research Office
> Assumption College, Alumni Hall 024
> 500 Salisbury St.
> Worcester, MA  01609-1296
> (508)767-7666
> xxxxxx@assumption.edu
>
>
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>
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