The team at MŌDERAS has long sought an eRA (Electronic Research
Administration) solution that would be affordable for smaller
institutions who carry the same burdens as their larger counterparts or
those who are otherwise financially constricted.

The open source application Kuali Coeus (KC http://www.kuali.org/kc)
holds great promise, the software is a cradle to grave eRA solution,
it's free, and there's strong community support for it. It's a great
start but the cost of implementation and hosting can still put it out of
the reach of many with limited resources.

This is our plan to address this.

Step 1: MŌDERAS is investigating a possible approach to drive hosting
cost down to make eRA affordable for everyone who doesn't have the
resource to install the system on site. We're considering what's
referred to as a "multi-tenancy" solution which would allow a single
hosted environment to be shared by multiple institutions driving down
the hosting cost.

Step 2: The cost of getting the system populated with institutional data
is one of the largest single costs both initially and going forward. To
clear that hurdle Moderas is going to offer our SynKronize tool as part
of the package.  SynKronize will allow for data to be automatically
imported into KC from your systems of record on your schedule.

Step 3: The next challenge is configuring the system, updating code
tables and setting system parameters so the system replicates your
environment. For this we're planning to provide monthly webinars on
configuring KC to help adopters learn about the system and get up and
running.

There's still a lot of work to do even with these hurdles cleared.  You
will still have to understand how to effectively use the system,
determine any gaps that may exist and how to address them and provide
training.  We can help with this through our Bootcamp training sessions,
consulting, or you can reach out to peer institutions who are already
using KC.  Adopting any new system will take time and KC is no
exception, your processes are not simple as you well know so getting
them into a system efficiently is paramount to your success.  Having
said that once the system IS set up you'll be amazed at the efficiencies
it will drive.

Moderas is doing everything we can to try and bring an affordable eRA
solution to the research community.  We're eager to hear your thoughts,
If you could take a minute and answer our 10 question survey at
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3RKHYGB we'd appreciate your feedback.
We're seeking comments from both supporters and those who may have
reservations so we can get a good picture of how this is perceived.

If the response is positive we will reach out to to those interested to
discuss a pilot program to see if together we can make this work to make
having a system to ease research administrators burden a reality for the
masses. We've already identified a couple who are excited about getting
started.

Best regards,
Chris

--

Chris Thompson
MODERAS | Co-Founder
xxxxxx@moderas.org  |www.moderas.org

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