Researchers and Administrators Discuss Faculty Concerns at COR Town Hall

Given the complexity of today’s federal research environment, both junior and senior researchers have many questions about the various administrative requirements to be successfully awarded funding. These questions span the sub-award process to upcoming changes in federal policy for institutional research boards (IRBs). In addition, access to critical shared resources, such as UCSF’s Core facilities, remains vitally important, especially as the University begins to re-envision the Parnassus campus. Finally, PIs are naturally interested in being able to nimbly hire the support they need to pursue their research agendas. In order to address these questions and concerns, the Academic Senate’s Committee on Research (COR) recently sponsored a Town Hall on March 28.

Moderated by COR Chair Stuart Gansky, MS, DrPH, the Town Hall brought together UCSF researchers and senior research administrators to address a wide range of issues of interest to UCSF’s research enterprise, and included the following panel:

Office of Sponsored Research Implements Process Improvements

Committee on Research Town Hall Meeting - Moderated by Stuart Gansky
    Chair of COR, Stuart Gansky, MS, DrPH, presents at the COR Town Hall.
    Gansky was the event moderator.

Since the implementation of Operation Excellence, pre-award research administration services have been organized under the Office of Sponsored Research (OSR). After joining UCSF in 2016, OSR Director Winona Ward has emphasized that her office is “mission obsessed” and “research obsessed.”

In 2015, OSR evaluated the subaward process in order to clarify roles and responsibilities and create procedural efficiencies. At the time, there was a backlog of approximately 400 transactions. After processing the backlog, “it was determined that we needed to hire two additional FTEs to continue forward progress,” said Ward.

“With support from leadership, the Research Advisory Board, and the Senate, OSR was given one-time funding to hire temporary staff to cure the backlog.”

Last fall, COR wrote a letter to campus leadership in support of two additional, permanent employees within OSR. Ward recently announced that OSR’s budget-request to support additional full-time subaward staff was approved.

In addition to increasing capacity, OSR plans to continue implementing various process improvements including a procurement project, an award verification project, and a Lean training.

Human Research Protection Program Responds to Changing Environment

After several years of leadership changes, UCSF appointed Laurie Herraiz as the new Director of the Human Research Protection Program (HRPP). Since starting in her new role, Herraiz has focused on filling staff vacancies and preparing for the implementation of the Revised Common Rule and the NIH single IRB mandate.

While the federal government continues to postpone the implementation date of the Revised Common Rule, HRPP will continue to inform and educate researchers about the new requirements.  In addition, HRPP is creating new consent form templates and training reviewers to identify which studies qualify for expedited review and which studies are exempt from review.

HRPP has also responded to the mandated single IRB for all NIH-funded multi-site trials. UCSF launched a new website that answers questions about the NIH sIRB mandate and connects researchers to HRPP professionals. To help manage these changes, HRPP retained a consulting firm to assess current capacity and what resources UCSF would be needed in order to serve as the sIRB in large multi-site trials.

Research Development Office Coordinates Funding Opportunities

Executive Director of the Research Development Office (RDO) Gretchen Kiser supports institutional and strategic research initiatives within the RDO. “What I think about for research development in general and for my office, as being the litmus test for all things we do, I ask myself if a particular activity helps researchers compete for funding or helps research innovation.”

Established in 2012, the RDO houses six intramural funding programs: Resource Allocation Program (RAP), Limited Submission Program (LSP), Team Science Program (TSP), Large Grant Development Program (LGDP), T32 Trainee Tracking Program, and Special Strategic Projects (SSP).

In addition to intramural funding opportunities, researchers must be responsive to extramural funding opportunities. Kiser presented information about the Fiscal Year 2018 Federal Budget and the NIH budget which included a $3 billion increase over the prior year. Kiser noted that researchers should be more aware of potential funding opportunities resulting from the increase in the federal budget.

The Pivot™ Funding Opportunities Database provides information on large foundation and federal sources of external funding.  A list of intramural and extramural funding resources, along with a description of the other resources available through the RDO, is available on the RDO website.

Research Resource Program Facilitates Access to Technology, Equipment, & Services

The Research Resource Program (RRP) facilitates access to cutting-edge technology and services that further collaboration and the University’s research mission. RRP Director Elizabeth Sinclair cited a lack of visibility and availability as barriers to accessing technology and equipment, despite having approximately 80 Core laboratories at UCSF.

To address the problem of visibility RRP created Core Search, which researchers can use to either search for specific instruments or services or browse through Core Families to find the resources that best fit their research needs.

UCSF is currently planning the Parnassus Central Research Labs which will increase availability of Core facilities on the Parnassus campus.  Parnassus Central Research Labs will combine some existing resources and add important, missing capabilities to create a pipeline of technologies that will fuel highly collaborative state-of-the art research. For more information on the development of this project, view the Central Research Labs Plan Proposal.  

HR Provides Critical Support to UCSF’s Research Function

During his opening remarks, Associate Vice Chancellor of Human Resources David Odato shared his respect and appreciation for the research enterprise and reaffirmed his continuous effort to support research faculty.

Over the last couple of years, HR has developed a framework for connecting its mission, vision, and work to the UCSF community. With a focus on its customers, HR has made a commitment to “deliver exceptional HR solutions and support customers in ways that matter most.” A key strategic priority in support of that goal is to transform the client experience.

When clients receive incomplete or misinformation, they need to continually follow up with HR, which has a negative impact on people, and diverts their attention away from their core functions in support of the University’s mission.

HR identified a number of short-term goals intended to transform the client experience, including scheduling on-site office hours for HR professionals, identifying internal barriers to responsiveness, training employees on customer service, and launching the client relationship management tool PeopleConnect.

The time and effort required to process a job classification is an area of interest to faculty researchers. Although HR has worked to shorten the timeline for staff recruitment, there is still need for improvement. The requirement to implement Career Tracks presented a challenge for the campus as it required the reclassification of more than 3,000 jobs.

Faculty researchers and panelists both raised concerns about the funding model for HR. Acknowledging the inefficiencies in the current funding model, AVC Odato questioned whether the current funding model is the best approach. One member of the audience commented that the majority of people they hear from complain about the exorbitant cost of HR.

 

The COR Town Hall was a part of a series of town halls organized by the Academic Senate in a strategic effort to increase faculty engagement and improve communication across various functions of UCSF. The Senate will host a series of town halls during the 2018-2019 Academic Year.

Created by UC Board of Regents Standing Order 105, the UC San Francisco (UCSF) Academic Senate is empowered to exercise direct control over such academic matters as admissions for degrees and curricula, which are of central importance to the University. The UCSF Division of Academic Senate provides an independent forum to discuss faculty-related campus wide academic concerns. In other areas, the Senate exercises an active advisory role. The Academic Senate works within the larger body of UCSF, a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care.

 

Kenneth Laslavic, JD is a Senior Analyst to the Committee on Research in the Academic Senate Office, San Francisco Division. He can be reached at kenneth.laslavic@ucsf.edu.