Track Descriptions

Compliance (Half‐track).

Topics may include: human subjects research; animal subjects research; stem cell research; occupational safety and health, environmental and biosafety hazards; peer review; mentor/trainee responsibility and development; publications; collaborative research ethics; scientific misconduct; standards for the responsible conduct of research; and research ethics education programs, curricula, requirements, and approaches; export control compliance; conflict of interest; data security.

Contracting.

Topics may include: contract negotiation and monitoring, including for sponsored research, material transfer, and unfunded collaborations for all sponsor types (industry, non-profit, and government); confidentiality, data use and other unfunded agreements; subawards, subcontracts, and subrecipient monitoring; intellectual property; institutional policies and procedures pertaining to contracts; and analysis of problems that may arise in these areas.

Predominantly Undergraduate Institutions (PUI) and Departmental.

Topics may include: proposal development and preparation including announcement review, budget development, institutional routing; direct working relationships with and support to faculty, financial accounting and management of the research funds; onboarding and guiding new faculty; providing “first‐line” support and being point of contact to internal (PI’s, staff, central office, other institutional offices, etc.) and external constituents on behalf of the PI/Study Team.

Topics may also include those specific to research administrators at two‐year, four‐year, masters‐level, and small doctoral colleges and universities that grant baccalaureate degrees, or provide programs of instruction for students pursuing such degrees with institutional transfers (e.g., two‐year schools), where undergraduate enrollment exceeds graduate enrollment, and no more than 10 Ph.D. or D.Sc. degrees are awarded per year. Such as: research administration in a teaching focused environment; programs that are unique to or aimed at PUIs; issues that are unique to organizations for whom research/sponsored projects are not mission critical.

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Human Capital/Organizational Development.

Topics may include: career development; human resources; workplace environment and relations management; personal growth and development; leadership; quality of life development; self‐assessment; supervisor/staff relations; industrial/workplace psychology; succession planning; onboarding; training; getting involved in the larger research administration community, including NCURA.

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Pre‐Award.

Topics may include: pre‐award management activities at the central office; proposal development and assessment; research proposal review, endorsement and submission; management of specialized programs, e.g. clinical trials; non clinical, transition/transformation of programs to new stages in research; role of research administration in institutional policy formation. review and understanding of terms and conditions; Uniform Guidance regulations; federal regulatory requirements for pre‐award; role of research administration in institutional policy development; announcement review; management of specialized programs, e.g. clinical trials, program/center grants.

Post‐Award.

Topics may include: cost accounting; auditing; OMB and Uniform Guidance requirements for universities, hospitals, private sector; matching funds issues/cost sharing; financial conflict of interest issues; facilities and administration (F&A) costs; procurement and purchasing; salaries, compensation, honoraria; and travel allocability and allowability; working with sponsoring agencies.

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Updates (Half-Track).

Topics may include: Federal agency updates; agency‐specific programs and rules; and updates and initiatives from partner organizations such as COGR, FDP, etc.