RGS.Collaborative.Programs.Self-Study.2010-11

Research and Graduate Studies and Collaborative Programs Office of Sponsored Programs Self-Study Report Fall 2011/Winter 2012 Section I Context for the Self-Study Mission Statement The mission of the University of the Pacific Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP), located within Research and Graduate Studies, is to provide superior customer assistance, support and instruction, and protection of University interests for the research, scholarly activity, and creative efforts of its faculty and students The Office fosters a team approach among its own staff, as well as between itself and faculty towards furthering the mission of the University Significant Events Since Last Program Review Much has taken place since the last Program Review of Research & Graduate Studies in 2005 We list recommendations related to OSP below, and then describe the related events that have occurred within the unit Recommendation 3: Build Upon Financial Strength Faculty research has been further encouraged with events to award faculty who have applied for grant proposals New faculty and graduate student internal awards are beginning Fall 2010, thanks to campus support for the newly developed Indirect Cost Policy This same policy, which is bringing in additional funds to RGS to encourage faculty, is also bringing additional funds into the academic units to further support their faculty scholarship Additional Highlights Several hiring changes and expansions have occurred since 2007 Dr Gong was hired as the first fulltime Dean and Associate Provost for Research & Collaborative Programs In 2010 a Grants Specialist was brought on board A revision of the Indirect Cost Distribution policy took effect on July 2010 The additional monies that flow into RGS and the academic units are intended to catalyze faculty scholarly activity This policy will be reviewed in three years to evaluate its effectiveness Linkages to Pacific Rising The Office of Research & Graduate Studies has linkages to the following priorities in Pacific Rising: Expand innovation in academic programs through an ongoing innovation process, support to pedagogy and research and new education and service delivery models -OSP directly supports research through its services Advance faculty teaching, scholarship and research by expanding faculty development and increasing resources for scholarship and research -OSP has increased the resources available to faculty for research Leverage collaboration for innovative learning experiences by expanding three-campus programs, establishing highly customized graduate/professional programs and supporting collaborative scholarship, research and creative activity -OSP has expanded its Institutional Review Board services to the San Francisco campus -OSP supports collaborative activities, as evidenced by the OSP-supported Pacific Connections workshops held in 2010 Current Activities During the past years, the Office of Sponsored Programs has managed an average of 135 grant proposals and contracts per year An average of 92 new awards is administered per year, with an average value of over $45 million Appendix A provides year-by-year details of grants and contract activity The post-award office (Business & Finance) manages the financial administration and reporting for grants and contracts The Office is also responsible for administration for the Human Subjects (IRB) and Animal Care and Use (IACUC) Committees Approximately 130 human subject protocols and 10 animal care protocols are received each year Bi-annual meetings of the IACUC, and to ad-hoc IRB meetings are arranged each year Several annual reports are submitted to the federal government to maintain Pacific’s animal care and use registrations, and the federal human subject assurance is maintained by periodic document filings The Office also oversees intellectual property disclosures and patent filings for the University During the 09/10 academic year, five disclosures and one filing were made A number of Internal Awards are managed by Sponsored Programs These include the FRC Awards (SAAG, Eberhardt Summer Fellowships, Holmok Cancer Research, Hoefer Prize and Dreyfus Award), the Pacific Fund’s undergraduate research awards (Research Grant, Conference Travel Grant, and Summer Fellowships), and two new awards established in 2010 (Graduate Research and Graduate Travel Awards) The Office holds workshops during the year for faculty and staff In the Fall of 2010, the following workshops were held: Applying for Grants with Grants.gov and FastLane, Faculty Research Committee Grants, Pacific’s Signature Authority Explained, and a 3-part Proposal Writing course During the spring of 2011, presentations are planned on Human Subjects Research, Services Offered by the Office of Sponsored Programs, and Grant Budgets and Reporting The Dean, Assistant Dean and Grant and Research Specialist alternate attending the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) conferences During her first six months on the job, the Grants and Research Specialist attended the following trainings: Human Subjects Research Compliance, Proposal Writing, NIH Grants Workshop, NCURA Research Administration, Banner Basics, and ProCard Reconciler Training She has joined the Northern California IRB Consortium, and attends their quarterly meetings In 2011 she took take training on Animal Care and Use Committee Regulations and Administration, as well as an NSF Grants Workshop Current Staffing Appendix B, the Organization Chart for Research & Graduate Studies, gives a picture of the current staffing in Research & Graduate Studies The Office is led by a full-time Dean of Graduate Studies/Associate Provost for Research & Collaborative Programs Directly reporting to that individual are: Director, Graduate Operations; Assistant Dean/Director of Research Administration & Compliance; and Administrative Assistant III Reporting to the Assistant Dean is a Grants & Research Specialist Reporting to the Director of Graduate Operations is a Records Specialist and a Records Coordinator, and one temporary employee A manager of post-award grant accounting reports to the Assistant Controller in Business and Finance; however, they have a “dotted line” report to the Dean of Graduate Studies/Associate Provost for Research & Collaborative Programs Current Financial Resources There are two budget lines within the Office The primary index for the Office is BGSO A Scholarly Research account, which is funded by Indirect Costs from grants and contracts, has a balance of approximately $78,663 (as of 12/31/10) This budget supports research initiatives and internal funding programs Section II Evidence Forming the Real Peer Universities Comparison with Peer schools was conducted, with requests going to the following schools: Catholic University of America University of Dayton Chapman University University of Maryland Creighton University University of LaVerne Loyola Marymount University University of San Diego Marquette University University of San Francisco Santa Clara University UC Santa Cruz Of the 10 schools, University of Dayton and Santa Clara University did not respond – thus we have data from eight schools At the University of LaVerne, they have a newly-formed Office of Sponsored Programs that could not provide data on that area Staffing at our peer institutions is as follows: # of OSP Pre-Award Staff # of OSP Post-Award Staff Separate Staff for Research Compliance? 1 Yes Chapman University Yes Creighton University Loyola Marymount University 5 Yes Yes Marquette University Yes University of Hartford 1.5 Yes University of LaVerne 1.5 No University of San Diego 4 Yes Institution Catholic University of America University of San Francisco 1.5 1.5 No UC Santa Cruz Yes University of the Pacific 1.25 No Grants & Contracts Activity Appendix C offers comparison data with our peer institutions in regards to Grant and Contract activity, as well as the numbers of human subject and animal care protocol handled by the schools each year From the peer data gathered, the following can be deduced:  Pacific is comparable to the University of San Francisco, Loyola Marymount and Chapman in its number of grants per full-time faculty  Pacific has received a higher dollar amount in grants and contracts than the other private schools surveyed over the past years  Pacific fits the norm of having a centralized Office of Sponsored Programs  Pacific has had more animal care projects than the other schools These are administered by OSP The number of animal care protocols administered by OSP is average, compared with its peers Results from Surveys In late January 2010 the Office of Institutional Research sent out a survey to Pacific faculty, administrators, and staff See Appendix D for a copy of the survey Sixty eight faculty and sixty staff (128 total) completed this survey Key findings from the survey indicate the following:  Over 66% feel that development and management of Policies is Average Quality or higher However, 32.8% feel that this area is Poor or Below Average Thus, we will review how policies are developed, disseminated and managed  Staff ratings were primarily Above Average Three individuals – Leah Vargas, Valerie Andeola and Carol Brodie – particularly shone in their ratings  Comments indicate a need for additional Sponsored Programs attention to the Humanities, follow up on grant proposals, improved post-award reporting and overall visibility of RGS staff  Financial management of grants was given a high rating  Staffing is felt to be somewhat inadequate Comments included a request for staff to help with writing grant proposals Section III Gap Identification Activities From the national benchmark data, and the surveys disseminated to staff, faculty and students, it is evident that gaps exist in the following areas: Customer service to the Humanities needs to be improved There is a need for assistance with writing grant proposals Section IV Mapping Future Actions To address the gaps that we have identified, Sponsored Programs actions in the future will be as follows  Improve the attention paid to the Humanities  Step-up efforts to find grant funding for these disciplines  Fellowships, in particular, are sought by faculty in those disciplines While they are not truly ‘Sponsored’ activities, as the funds are given to the individuals rather than the university, we can provide a service to our faculty by disseminating information to them on such opportunities  Add two new workshops to our 2011/2012 training schedule: Responsible Conduct of Research Grant opportunities and proposal writing for early career and untenured faculty  More visibility of RGS staff and the dean are needed to make the university community on all three campuses aware of the Office’s activities  Improve our proposal follow-up activities, especially when proposals have been declined Even though proposal comments (for government proposals) are sent directly to the faculty members, offer to consult with them in reviewing the comments Ensure that we attempt to obtain comments from all private proposals  Evaluate our proposal post-award processes to ensure that we are proactive and efficient in assisting the faculty with their reports  Evaluate feasibility of hiring a grant writer Future Challenges for Research & Graduate Studies Sponsored Programs The federal budget could affect grant proposal submissions and awards within the next several years Several programs have already been cut for the 2011/2012 federal budget cycle, e.g., Department of Education’s FIPSE program and the Fulbright-Hays program) Funds allocated for the National Institutes of Health have been cut by $260 million, and the National Science Foundation’s funding was cut by $53 million To counter this, RGS will focus on other sources of funding, while at the same time working to improve the quality of all grant proposals that are submitted by Pacific