facilitating large and complex proposal efforts denise wallen, director, research development,...

Facilitating Large and Complex Proposal Efforts

Denise Wallen, Director, Research Development, Office of the Vice President for Research, University of New Mexico

Jane Schultz, Director, Research Development, Office of Research, University of California, Riverside

Carla Whitacre, Director, Research Development, Office of Research, University of California, Santa Barbara

NCURA Region VI & VII, Portland, ORApril 2008

The University of New Mexico

Denise Wallen, Ph.D. Director of Research Development

Office of the Vice President for Research

Why Are Large and Complex Proposals Different?

They usually involve multiple:– Investigators– Disciplines– Departments– Colleges– Campuses– Institutions– International components– Site visits

Why Are They Difficult?

Significant resources need to be dedicated to reach submission

Extremely competitive environment Multi-disciplinary projects mean participants

need to learn each others “language and culture” Trust needs to be built over time -- short time

frames stress the process They can be high risk, high yield, high profile Complexities abound within the scope of work,

budget, management

Is there one model or size to assist the process?

No one model or size fits all environments

Institutions and their cultures approach the challenge differently

Commonalities exist for us to learn best practices and adapt those to our environment

UNM’s Approach to this Challenge

Provide centralized support for large and complex proposal submissions

Office reports directly to VPR and works with pre- and post-award, compliance, foundation

Provide dedicated space – offices, war room If the project is also a limited competition we

manage the selection process OR decide on a strategic set aside

Relationship building with partners and “power infrastructure”

Research Development Services Office

Assess viability for large and complex research projects

Assemble research teams and work directly with PI et al

Provide ongoing support for proposal preparation and planning

Provide guidance and establishes timelines Provide editorial and graphics support Coordinate red team reviews, site visits Assist with management planning Assist with evaluation and assessment plans Assist with budget forecasting and development

Factors to Consider

Identify a strong faculty lead with knowledge, stature/credibility, commitment and time

Have champions - Chair, Dean, VP, Provost Establish realistic timeframes to develop a

competitive proposal and for “red team” and editorial reviews

Establish a complete understanding and agreement on the RFP requests

Have firm commitments for cost share, infrastructure support, space

Remember the human nature factor…

People will ask what is in it for me???

Who gets credit and recognition?

Who gets the F&A?

Who controls the budget?

Who controls the resources?

Addressing administrative issues

Establish submission timelines Garner commitment from participants to adhere

to timelines Establish robust communication among

colleagues (meetings, listserv, website) Define responsibilities for writing, research, and

budgeting and the final draft Identify and respond to all proposal

requirements

Are there special considerations for large and complex projects?

Subcontracting – Partners (industry/business, intl’, IHE)

Multiple research activities – how do they interrelate Education Plans – recruitment, retention, pipeline,

curriculum development, new degrees, etc. Outreach Component – community relationships Data Dissemination Plan Evaluation and Assessment Plan – outcomes, impact Diversity Plan Management Plan

Some Pitfalls to Avoid

Failure to articulate an integrated scope of work Failure to integrate proposal into a single voice Weak partnerships Weak management plan Unrealistic budget Lack of/or weak letters of commitment and

support

Helping with site visits

Remember what they are all about… It is an inspection and examination Project, individual and team, and

institution is under the microscope

Can you walk the talk???

Answer unaddressed questionsClearly illustrate strengths and capabilitiesShow that the PI is the expert in chargeShowcase the team as a “well-oiled

machine”Show the University administration is fully

on board

How RDS helps with the site visit

Prepare in advance for the site visit Discussion meetings and conference

callsConvene a complete rehearsalAssure all key individuals and partners

are available and prepared to participateProvide background data on site team

members

Thank You

Denise Wallenwallen@unm.edu505-277-2256

University of California, Riverside

Jane Schultz, PhD

Director of Research Development

Office of Research

GETTING THE BALL ROLLING

Difficult to encourage working across traditional subject matter boundaries

e.g., engineers in clinical areas, psychologists in the military, social scientists in the life sciences

Silo thinking - lack of ability to envision the application of research interests and tools to different questions

YOU MAY HAVE TO HELP

Getting the Ball Rolling

Overcoming fear of embarrassment and failure

Getting folks talking to each other–does beer help?

We’ve always done it this way. Why change?

Getting the Ball Rolling

Letting faculty know about the wide range of available solicitations – they tend to keep knocking on the same doors

Convincing faculty to start early Letting faculty know what resources are

available on campus

Getting the Ball Rolling

Interceding early with help in application preparation logistics

Release of faculty time to work in groups Negotiating small seed funds within the

institution Be available to help or find help for those

who want to try

SITE VISITS

Large multidisciplinary grants nearly always have a site visit

Agencies using reverse site visits more and more– Proposal team goes to the locale of the funding

agency (usually DC vicinity)– More likely if resources are not critical for

program– Make sure you bring along any props you need

SITE VISITS

Rehearse—several times!! Make sure that there is a dress rehearsal Gather a sophisticated audience–invite folks

from other institutions If you can afford it, hire a company that trains

for site visits Select your presenters carefully–don’t do a

cast of thousands but have all available to answer questions

SITE VISITS at Your Place

Make sure time is carefully planned but remain flexible

Visitors may throw a monkey wrench into your plans and you must go along

Visitors may not want to see all you wish to show them. Don’t be surprised

SITE VISITS at Your Place

Visitors may surprise you by asking to see something or someone unexpectedly–try to accommodate them

Plan some time for site visitors to meet with students who might be involved in the project. Enthusiastic students are always a plus

SITE VISITS

Try to have someone with a sense of humor and a pleasant personality leading the site visit on the campus side

Involve senior administrators who can attest to their support for and the importance of the project for your campus

The first few minutes can set the tone for the rest of the session and can result in a winner or a loss.

University of California, Santa Barbara

Carla Whitacre

Director of Research Development

Office of Research

Multidisciplinary collaborations benefit from:

Mutual interests, consensus on common (delimited) topic Developing a common vocabulary Opportunities to interact – colloquia, research reviews,

collaboratories Shared resources, infrastructure New organizational units – non-departmental centers, institutes,

research parks Trust & flexibility; charismatic leadership; mutual management New models for collaborations Access to scholarly publications & data Access to funding & resources - money goes to best ideas and

these tend more and more to require multidisciplinary partnering Visionary administrators; strong institutional support

Individual & institutional challenges

Promotion and tenure – recognizing contributionsof all parties

Specialization vs. synthesis Space assignments F & A recovery distribution Sponsored project credit Administrators

understanding of benefits Infrastructure for

collaboration

University of California, Santa Barbara:

UC campus since 1944; current location since1954 AAU Member since 1995 Ladder Faculty: ~850

– 5 Nobel Prizes since 1998 – NAS, NAE, IoM members; Guggenheims; AAAS

3 colleges; 2 professional schools 18,000 undergrads; ~3,000 graduate students $176 M sponsored projects funding Top 25 in NSF funding; top 8 among public U’s in DoD basic

research Home to 12 national centers: Kavli Institute for Theoretical

Physics; National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis

How UCSB Encourages a Multidisciplinary Framework

Young campus with institutional history of collaboration >30% joint appointments in 2 or more depts. Over 100 centers & institutes Charismatic, dedicated leaders Science & engineering faculty from industry Assigning credit – sr. administrators supportive of

junior/senior collaborations 5 Nobel Prizes – 4 in the field outside of PIs

departmental affiliation Diverse funding sources Allowance for risk – and failure

Multidisciplinary Proposal Development Team:

Goal: To enable greater collaboration among researchers from

different disciplines and colleges, To assist them to develop competitive proposals, and To facilitate continued program-building activities and

follow-on funding

Staffing:

RD director; RD analyst; senior writer/editor; outside contract workers, if needed

• Facilitates preliminary meetings with potential researchers • Helps identify additional collaborators (esp. early career faculty)• Explores ways to make project fit sponsors program• Facilitates proposal planning, preparation, university boilerplate• Assists with communication links,

e.g., listservers, conference calls, meetings• Runs interference with chairs, deans (commitments)• Assists with management plan; budget development• Reviews and edits proposal drafts; organizes red team reviews• Assists in inter-institutional partnerships and major university

research centers – UC Research Development Group• Helps locate seed, supplemental or follow-on funding

What do we do?

UCSB Case Study: Bio-inspired Materials, Biosensors and Information Processing

UC Biotechnology Research & Training Grant Program ($200K over 4 years)

DoD DURIP for shared instrumentation

UCSB Case Study: Bio-inspired Materials, Biosensors and Information Processing

DoD MURI: Bio-inspired design and fabrication of new materials and devices

W.M. Keck Fdn Science & Technology: Ecotechnology of Coral Reef Restoration

All of which eventually contributed to

Army UARC: Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies

UCSB-led collaboration with MIT, CalTech Interdisciplinary teams of molecular biologists,

chemists, physicists and engineers ~$50M+ over 5 years Four areas of emphasis (and growing):

– Biomolecular Sensors – Bio-inspired Materials and Energy– BioDiscovery Tools– Bio-inspired Network Science

14 industry partners, including Aerospace Corp, CytomX, Dell, Mitre Corp, Raytheon Vision Systems, Veeco Instruments

Some considerations:

Know your faculty– Faculty orientations– Expertise databases– Google search in your .edu domain– Brown bag lunches on selected topics– Attend symposia/research reviews in areas ripe for

interdisciplinary collaborations Build around faculty interests

– Stay connected to research-intensive faculty – Mediated fund searches– seed funding (e.g., internal, SGER, R21,

foundations)

Build on your institutions strengths– e.g., physics, materials, marine/environmental sciences– Consider social science & humanities perspective

in natural science & engineering ppls

Organize around specific funding opportunities… – NSF Partnerships for International Research & Education– DoD Multidisciplinary Research Initiative (MURI)– NEH Collaborative Projects– NIH Exploratory Centers for Interdisciplinary Research

…but make sure PIs are passionate about the topic and willing to commit to work at the proposal stage

More considerations:

Organize workshops/symposia around specific topics

e.g., climate change, nanotechnology, energy efficiency, whatever…working with industry, intellectual property/technology transfer; keys to foundation fundingbroader impactseffective management structures for large initiativesprogram evaluation & assessment

Invite agency program officers to participate

Be visible!

More considerations:

University of California, Santa Barbara

Thank you

Carla Whitacrewhitacre@research.ucsb.

edu805-893-3925