Hi Chris,

Thank you for the feedback.

Our current model has separate pre- and post-award teams. In pre-award, a number of Assistant Directors manage the oversight of a set of departments. These ADs review and approve proposals, negotiate awards, provide guidance on account setup and negotiate subcontracts going out. Each has a small team of Research Administrators and Staff Assistants to help process the activities of the portfolio. The post-award office is one team, each Financial Analyst has a portfolio of departments for whom they monitor spending, income, and submit financial reports. (I am greatly simplifying these responsibilities). Our folks are called upon to be generalists.

What we'd like to know is, does anyone have specialists in their office who focus on one thing, such as negotiating, or one sponsor? What are the pros and cons you've seen in specialization? Also, has anyone put SPA personnel in the departments, instead of a central office, or had service-center-type clusters, or "floaters" that come in to problem solve a sticky situation or lend a hand when volume is high? If so, what does that organizational structure look like? What are the reporting lines?

Thanks so much!
Kristie

>>> Chris Thompson <xxxxxx@MODERAS.ORG> 5/17/2010 10:03 AM >>>
Kristie,

The first question that jumps to mind is  what's a traditional SPA
office?  It's a little tongue in cheek but truly in my experience
working with various instituions and seeing their org structures
there's so much variation even within universities is mind boggling.

I'd say take a look at the functions you are trying to serve, the
staff you have (or can beg, borrow, or steal) and create what works
for you.

I'll add it's not all nuts and bolts, you'll need to take into account
the kind or office you want to be. For example some are very
regimented and focus on training departments and faculty on processes
and others are more full service, give what you can and well make it
work.

The bottom line is that every institution struggles with this question
at some point and all of them are constantly tweaking their
organization to make it better.

I'd recommend sharing what you have now and I'm sure people will be
happy to share their thoughts. The people on this list love to help.

Chris Thompson
MŌDERAS
www.moderas.org

Sent from my iPhone

On May 17, 2010, at 8:51 AM, Kristie Froman <xxxxxx@HSPH.HARVARD.EDU>
wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> Does anyone have a non-traditional SPA office organizational
> structure that they wouldn't mind sharing? Or, perhaps a novel
> process approach? My e-mail is xxxxxx@hsph.harvard.edu if you would
> prefer to respond off-list.
>
> Many thanks!
> Kristie
>
>
>
>
> Kristie Froman
> Manager, Research Information Systems
> Sponsored Programs Administration
> Harvard School of Public Health
>
> Phone: 617-521-3359
>
>
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