Business operations, EVPRP join hands to reduce administrative burden in research

A new Purdue partnership is working to propel the University’s research enterprise to the next level by reducing the time faculty and staff spend on research-related administrative procedures. The effort is being led by the offices of the Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer and Provost.

As part of the effort, a new steering committee is identifying areas that can be improved in the research enterprise and research support functions to enable giant leaps in Purdue’s research portfolio.

Members of the steering committee are:

• Theresa Mayer, executive vice president for research and partnerships.
• Chris Ruhl, treasurer and chief financial officer.
• Jay Akridge, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity.
• Karen Plaut, the Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture.
• Mung Chiang, the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering.

Mark Lundstrom, an original member of the steering committee, helped define and launch the initiative while serving as acting dean of the College of Engineering.

“Faculty time is a precious commodity," Lundstrom says. "We need to minimize the time faculty spend on the administrative aspects of research and maximize the time spent on research and on pursuing bold, new, high impact ideas.”

The steering committee already has identified some of the pain points that limit research productivity. Initial areas of focus include:

* A review of processes and staffing for sponsored program contracts and agreements. A faculty and staff task force led by Wayne Chen, associate dean for research and innovation in the College of Engineering, will use quantitative and qualitative feedback to develop recommendations to improve financial and nonfinancial contracting and agreement processes.

* Simplification of sponsored program pre-award and post-award administration.

• Sponsored Program Services' pre-award team will implement a spreadsheet piloted by the College of Engineering to improve the ability for principal investigators (PI) to rapidly and effectively develop budgets for new proposal submissions.
• Purdue's Budget Office will implement tools piloted by Engineering to simplify purchasing of supplies funded by grant and contract activity.
• Staffing in pre-award will be assessed to meet increased proposal submission activity.
• A PI portal and dashboard will be established to provide real-time research account details and balances.

* COVID-19 Research Disruption Fund. Purdue created a $2.1 million fund to support PIs who experienced the greatest negative impact on long-term research outcomes. Ninety applications met the criteria for funding and will receive support from a combination of institutional funds and the federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund.

The steering committee will continue its assessments and strive for process improvements. Updates on the committee's progress will be provided through Purdue Today.