I'm setting RESADM-L on NOMAIL this afternoon and taking off until
1997, so I'm posting summaries now of what I received (very little)
on my two queries of last Friday.

(1) How do you show that what you do as a sponsored programs office
(newsletters, web sites, electronic bulletin board, printed
program announcements, etc.) is effective?

Everyone must be a little weary of coming to grips with this one.
The response that resonated most harmonically with the deepest
chords of my soul (I'm sorry.  It must be all the candy.) was one
suggesting that half of the faculty be cut off entirely from access
to the services and information provided by the sponsored programs
office, with the other half given the usual support and information.
Then after five years, "analyze change in application submission and
awards received and compare the two groups.  How else can you test
effectiveness?"

Okay.  I give. How else?

Well, I did receive two lengthy and thoughtful responses to this
issue.  Too lengthy, in fact, to summarize.  Both contained an
underlying message that there are some things we do that just can't
be measured in terms of effectiveness.  And then there was the
question of what happens if we DON'T do the things we do.  Who is
responsible for what DOESN'T happen?

(2) Law Schools:  What kind of funding/grant programs have they been
successful in going after and getting?

I received two responses on this one.  Both suggested that law
schools seem intrinsically incapable of pulling the grant weight of
other schools/departments.  "Like business schools, they must either
do consulting or get paid so much they don't care about getting
grants," one note opined.

Another said:  "I think that other funding is probably available for
projects related to law, but many fundable projects would require
interdisciplinary collaborations (e.g. health policy issues) -- not
always easy to encourage."

Our law school got a a pitiful $20,000 last fiscal year, compared
with $50,000 at one of the schools which responded and $300,000 at
the other.  So clearly, there is SOMETHING we ought to be doing
better here.

Anyway, thanks to all of you who responded to my queries and, hey,
I'm outta here!

Happy holidays and a GREAT 1997 to all!

John Finley
Office of Research Administration
University of Louisville
Louisville, Ky. 40292
Tele: 502 852-8363 FAX: 502 852-8361