Many of us have had the opportunity to hear about the many "new" and
"older" systems for electronic research administration management...

Andrew Grant, a marketing consulant with InfoEd, writes about the system
that he sells... and also lends very good advice:

Call and find out about the company!  He gave the phone number for InfoEd,
since that is the company that he works for, but his advice holds true for
all!

Make sure that the company is reliable, financially secure, and has a strong
development team.  Any system will have its quirks, but how proactive is
the company in continual improvement, service, and technological advancement?

So many institutions ask these questions, send away for a demo disk, then
purchase the product based on comments such as "I wouldn't sell it if I didn't
believe in it...."

The most reliable person to discuss possible purchases with is definately
your research administration team (everyone from data enty to the director
of the department).  Fortunately, most of these companies will literally
"come to you" and demonstrate the system to your entire res. adm. team!

Take advantage of this service!  It also gives you the chance to ask questions
about the company!

Lisa Richman
Institutional Research Administrator
Eastern Virginia Medical School

PS: I am not currently employed by any company who might profit from this post.