GRANTED at CSUDH: Implementing a Comprehensive Research Administration Unit for Improved Post-Award Service at an Emerging Research Institution

The “GRANTED at California State University-Dominguez Hills (CSUDH)” project expands the definition of “post-award” services to include all administrative activities required for award management, such as human resources, finance, and general administration functions not typically housed within research offices. When post-award processes involve personnel outside of research administration who are unfamiliar with the needs of faculty or funding agency requirements confusion and contradictory policies and procedures can occur. Such challenges make it difficult for researchers to do their work efficiently, creating frustration among faculty and burnout among grants management staff. This project addresses such challenges by designing, developing, and testing a supportive, inclusive, and equity-driven comprehensive Research Administration Unit (RAU) at a highly diverse Hispanic-serving, minority-serving, emerging research institution. The RAU will provide enhanced post-award support for faculty and students, freeing them to focus on conducting research and encouraging more faculty – particularly those underrepresented in the scientific workforce – to pursue grant funding. We expect the RAU to positively impact faculty and staff satisfaction with post-award management activities and to lead to increased research productivity and diversity among faculty pursuing research funding. The comprehensive RAU will serve as a model for all types of institutions to improve efficiency and support for the research community. Drawing from best practices observed at three other universities with dedicated research auxiliaries, GRANTED at CSUDH is designed to develop, document, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive RAU that expands the notion of “post-award” staff to provide the full suite of essential award management functions related to externally funded projects. While we expect all investigators to benefit from implementation of the RAU, effects are anticipated to be strongest for historically underrepresented investigators. By developing and providing this unique RAU resource we hope to shift faculty perceptions of extramural funding from burdensome to rewarding, yielding a transformative, nationally applicable model to create and sustain growth in research activity and narrow the equity gaps in scientific research participation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.