Great question, Michelle!
I'm on the pre-award side, so I can't speak too well on the award management part.
We did okay with proposal development and processing. Not necessarily great, but not too bad, either. This was especially good since our office admin of over 20 years retired about 6 weeks into remote working. It was planned, we knew well in advance, but we would have done things a lot differently if we'd known we wouldn't be in the office during her last weeks. That woman was a saint and knew everything!
We didn't miss any deadlines, and most of the proposals were in fairly decent shape. The biggest challenge was files... since we were still pretty paper-based. We had many things available electronically, but not the official files. We still have an occasional "oops, that didn't get filed properly from remote work time" moment. But we now have electronic files as well, so I think it would be somewhat easier if it happened again. We're still determining our official University policy on electronic files, so we are maintaining paper as well, but I think it is actually helping my staff with the transition. That, of course, depends on the individuals and the level of expertise, among other things. I am hoping next year will be only electronic files.
I did get approval to go into the office a couple of days a week for a few hours last year before we officially returned to campus, and that helped some. We worked short-handed for months, but hired a new staff member a few months after we returned to the office last fall. Training was challenging with social distancing and masks, but at least we were actually there together.
We just got approval to start travel again this summer, but with budget cuts, I don't know how that will play out this year. While I am thrilled that we can attend conferences remotely, I did find that I got interrupted and missed sessions and was usually too busy to go back and watch the recorded versions. Of course, we were down a person when I tried that, so maybe that will improve in the future!
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Pamela Vargas
Director, Research & Grant Development
Southeast Missouri State University
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-24-2021 15:55
From: Michelle Davis
Subject: Past and Future Challenges We Face
As we head into our new academic year, we find that the challenges and changes continue to come at an alarming rate. Our faculty, staff, and students must remain agile and flexible to maintain their balance in the face of these challenges as our institution and society seek to keep moving forward in an ever-changing academic and research environment.
I would ask my colleagues in this community what advice you might give related to the challenges you have faced in the previous year and the current strategic changes that you might be going through at this time?
These might be related but not limited to:
- Proposal development and process
- Managing Awards from a remote location
- Past and upcoming concerns for travel and conferences
I look forward to your thoughts.
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Michelle Davis, M.Ed.
Research Administrator, Office of Research
College of Health Sciences, Boise State University
michelledavis3@boisestate.edu
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