On 5/6/96 W. Reeves said:

>With apologies for the "re-asking" about a line of discussion from several
>months (I believe) ago, I would ask your help in obtaining copies of any
>survey instruments you may have used to assess the satisfaction levels
> with the service provided by your research administration office - primarily
>the "pre-award" component.
>
>As many of us are now engaged in the re-examination of what we do and how we
>do whatever "it" is, I am confident some of this list's learned members have
>developed and used such a document.  If practical, I would ask that you share
>a copy of your survey with me, along with any comments as to its effectiveness,
>problematic questions, or any anecdotal information you may have.
>
>I would appreciate copies directly to me by e-mail or fax at the address
>below.
>
>Much thanks for your assistance.
>
>Bill
>
>William W. Reeves, Director             Phone   304/293-7398
>Office of Sponsored Programs            Fax     304/293-7435
>West Virginia University                E-mail xxxxxx@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU

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We are a pre-award office and have a 1-page, very simple, "PI
Questionnaire" that we distribute to PIs.  In our office we make all copies
of proposals prior to submission and distribute in-house copies of all
PIs/Co-PIs.  This questionnaire is attached to the top of their
distribution copy.

The front side has the following questions, with the responders name
optional.  The back side is a self mailer.  Responders can return the
questionnaire via campus mail or fax.

 First 5 questions are to be assigned a rating of 1-to-5 with 1 =
poor and 5 = excellent.

 1.  Budget preparation/review.
 2.  Assistance in following sponsor guidelines and completing
required forms.
 3.  Assistance in meeting institutional requirements.
 4.  Efficiency of proposal preparation/routing/mailing.
 5.  Rank your overall satisfaction with our service on this proposal.

 6.  Did TEES Research Services assist you in locating this funing
source?  Yes/No
 Comments about this service:

 7.  How can we improve our service to you in the future?

 Name (optional):

We distribute about 1000 of these a year.  Response is quite low, but
overwhelmingly positive (average consistenly = or > 4.5).  If a concern is
addressed by a PI, AND they provide their name, we contact them immediately
to resolve the issue.  Our administration is not overly concerned about the
low response rate, feeling instead that "no news is good news." This is
because faculty (usually) don't overlook the opportunity to voice a
complaint, especially when they believe someone will listen and respond.
In addition, our TQM Team, made up of half faculty and half staff, endorses
this questionnaire process.  A semi-annual report/analysis is prepared for
our administration.  The report contains the average ranking per questions
1-5; number of yes/no responses for #6, and the verbatim comments provided
for #6 and 7.

I'll be happy to fax a copy of the questionnaire to anyone who wants it.

 Jean H.

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Jean N. Humphries
Director, Research Services
Texas Engineering Experiment Station
Texas A&M University System

006 Wisenbaker Engineering Research Center - MS 3406
College Station TX 77843-3406

Phone:    (409) 845-1264
Fax:      (409) 845-9643
Email:    xxxxxx@tamu.edu
WWW URL:  http://engineer.tamu.edu/tees/trs/

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