FOR COMMENT

To the University Community

The Agenda for Excellence sets the goal of increasing the number of sponsored research awards received by Penn faculty. To build the foundations for achieving this goal, the administration has undertaken to improve the support provided to Principal Investigators through a re-engineering of research administration and research accounting processes. We seek to streamline pre-award procedures and to improve both the services and the quality of information provided to PIs after awards are received. We think the improvements in the model proposed by the re-engineering task force will make Penn and its faculty more competitive for extramural research funding than they are now. The proposed model reflects the views that faculty and administrators expressed in extensive surveys and focused interviews. The model also contains innovative proposals to facilitate faculty research programs while assuring adherence to sponsor requirements and University policy. We invite your comments on the model and ask that you forward your remarks to RESADMIN@pobox.upenn.edu.

-- Stanley Chodorow, Provost, and John Fry, Executive Vice President

Report of the Research Administration Reengineering Team

Executive Summary

As part of its overall administrative restructuring program, the University of Pennsylvania has committed to redesign the processes that support the University's research activities. Reengineering the management of grants and contracts would make it easier for principal investigators to apply for and manage their grants, assuring appropriate and cost-effective management of institutional risk, and helping the University maintain positive relations with its funding agencies.

The Research Administration Reengineering Team was charged with reengineering the University's sponsored projects support process. The goal was to produce a radical redesign of the process, including technology requirements and a redesigned organizational model, to make the most effective use of resources and to improve service to principal investigators. The process was defined to begin with identifying funding sources and end with close-out of the sponsored project.

Following a project plan delivered by Coopers & Lybrand, LLP, the Team studied the work of previous quality and process management teams. The Team gathered data from principal investigators (PIs), business administrators (BAs), central office staff, sponsors, and others to design a new sponsored projects support process. The process will provide improved information and service to PIs, while reducing the number of reviews without increasing risk to the institution.

The proposed sponsored projects support process is dependent on the development of a comprehensive information system which will support enhanced service delivery by the proposed Research Services organization. Virtually all of the recommendations made by the Team will be realized only through the implementation of this comprehensive information system. Improvements and savings will be realized and maintained by instituting thorough and ongoing training for PIs and BAs. Following, are highlights of the proposed model:

Standard proposals (defined as a proposal having standard in-direct cost rates, no renovated or new space requirements, no matching institutional funds, and not seeking corporate sponsorship) will no longer require review by the dean of the principal investigator's school, and will no longer require review by deans and department chairs of co-investigators schools; however, deans and department chairs will have access to the proposal information at all steps in the process via the sponsored projects information system and database. Until such time as the system is in place, some schools may have a single budget review.
The process for reviewing non-standard proposals (defined as a proposal having non-standard indirect cost rates, new or renovated space requirements, matching institutional funds, or sponsored by industry) will be streamlined to allow for early and ongoing negotiation of terms and conditions, accessibility of information/data by all required parties, and a non-linear process of obtaining required approvals.
Training and communication will be a priority for the new Research Services organization. With additional responsibility for proposal and grant management being directed to the field, a heightened level of responsibility must be outlined and maintained. The new Research Services organization will assume responsibility for developing and communicating policies, training the field, and ensuring that the field abides by the policies.
The Reengineering Team has determined that the approval of non-competing continuations can be expedited by relying on the departmental chair's signature. Non-competing continuations are updates or status reports to be filed in the interim years of a multi-year award. No new information is required by the sponsor. They accounted for 40% of all proposals processed by the Office of Research Administration in FY95 (source: Reports of Sponsored Project Activity, Fiscal Year 1995, Fourth Quarter). Non-competing continuations will be transmitted from the department directly to Research Services. It may be determined by the Implementation Team that authority for institutional approval can be delegated to the department level when appropriate.
A comprehensive information system and coordinated database, integrated with the new Financial Management Information System (FinMIS), is the foundation of the proposed process. It allows for electronic transmission of information at all process steps, reduction of paper in the process, speedier approvals, timely award notification and account establishment, access to and desktop management of award funds, limited need for shadow systems and their support, automatic flagging of milestone actions, accessibility to all pertinent data, and reduced redundancy in data entry. Also, as of April 1996, desktop access to the Sponsored Projects Information Network (SPIN) provides PIs more directed search access to identify funding sources.
Research Services is designed as a center of administrative expertise and will perform functions necessary to inform and serve PIs, meet all sponsor and federal fiduciary requirements, manage institutional risk, and utilize the latest technology and organizational theory.
Principal Investigators need improved service in identifying sources of funding, completing accurate budgets, submitting proposals to sponsors on time, gaining University approvals in a timely manner, and accessing financial information about their accounts. The focus of Research Services will be on the needs which were articulated in their responses to the faculty survey and in faculty focus group discussions. A Research Services help desk will draw upon all of the resources needed by PIs in pre- and post-award administration. To do so, all of the providers of sponsored projects support (Research Accounting, Research Administration, Environmental Health & Safety, University Laboratory Animal Resources, Center for Technology Transfer, and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research) must collaborate on communication, information, and service provisions.
The team identified a need to assign responsibility for collection of overdue sponsored projects receivables at Penn. An estimated $3,000,000 exceeds 120 days in age. The proposed organization will assume responsibility for the timely billing and collection of future grant and contract receivables and the transition team will address the current problem associated with the long outstanding accounts.

Benefit Summary

Key benefits of the new sponsored projects support process include:

Information about sources of funding will be available to PIs and their staff at the desktop.
Less time will be spent preparing the non-research portions of the proposal: electronic templates of standard forms will be available; a budget template will calculate financial information; access to previous human and animal protocols will be available; submission to Research Services will be electronic.
Proposal review and approval will take less time: comprehensive training will reduce the number of proposals returned for errors; the PI can continue working on the research portion of the proposal while the non-research portions are being reviewed; electronic submission of non-research portions of proposals to Research Services and fewer signatures will result in less time walking proposals around campus and less time waiting for approvals.
Notification of award acceptance will be faster and the establishment of the account will coincide with it, allowing PIs to spend acquired funds upon receipt of the award, and thereby reducing the number of payroll and budget reallocations.
Control of the account activity will reside in the department allowing for real-time tracking of funds, thereby reducing over- and under-spending of awards.
The number of accounts awaiting close-out will be reduced. The information system will alert Research Services staff of the impending award ending date, who will then take appropriate action to close out awards on time.

The benefits listed above will be the results of improvements to the process made in response to the faculty survey conducted by the Team. Of the 1266 identified active investigators, 341, or 27% responded. Because of the strong response and its correlation to information collected in faculty focus groups, the Team is confident that the table below represents faculty concerns and their solutions.

Recommendations

Introduction

The Research Administration Reengineering Team (the Team) was chartered in August, 1995 as a result of a study conducted in 1994 by Coopers & Lybrand, LLP for the University of Pennsylvania. A Steering Committee consisting of deans and senior academic administrators was formed to provide direction and oversight to the Reengineering Team. In addition, a sub-group of the Steering Committee, the Quality Assurance Team, was formed to assure that technological and organizational aspects were integrated with other campus initiatives.

The Coopers & Lybrand study identified the sponsored research support process as one ripe for radical redesign, with the goals being improved service to faculty, and cost and effort reductions for schools and the central administration. It is important to note that Coopers & Lybrand did not identify this process for redesign due to its failures; rather, because recent technological advances would allow for the development of a world-class sponsored projects support process. The model proposed by the Team meets these goals.

Following a project plan designed by Coopers & Lybrand, the Team defined the current process, gathered data on the functionality of the current process, and redesigned the process, including defining technology requirements and modeling the organization supporting the new process. The Team took advantage of information and data gathered by previous Total Quality Management (1990-1991) and Process Improvement (1992) teams during their assessment of the current process. Current process flow diagrams, organization charts, and job descriptions were analyzed for value to the customers (principal investigators, school administrators, and central office administrators). An intensive, three-month data collection phase followed this analysis and included:

the design and distribution of a faculty survey seeking identification of obstacles in the current sponsored projects support process
comprehensive interviews with members of the Steering Committee, deans, central offices, and department and school business offices seeking not only identification of issues with the current process, but also seeking customer requirements for a new process
work distribution analysis for selected school and central administrative offices, including all seven research and regulatory related offices, in order to understand complications with each step of the current process
focus groups for both faculty and school administrators, identifying issues with the current process and seeking requirements for a new process
best practices research, seeking information about the entire sponsored projects support process, particular steps in that process, and the design and application of information systems
review and analysis of existing technology in central offices and in the field

The process redesign was done by the Team and presented to Steering Committee members, deans, and key faculty and administrators for feedback. After incorporating the feedback, the Team formed sub-teams and worked simultaneously on identifying technology requirements, developing an alternative organizational model, and conducting a cost/benefit analysis.

Project Scope

The process to be analyzed begins with identifying funding sources and ends with close-out of the award. In order to facilitate communications, the Team grouped activities into seven steps:

identify funding sources
prepare proposal (includes prepare research, prepare non-research portions, prepare human/animal protocols)
review/approve/submit proposal
negotiate/accept award
set up account
manage project resources (over the life of the award)
close out project and report to sponsor

Areas Identified Outside Project Scope

During the course of the project, several strategic research issues were identified which were beyond the project's scope, yet have significant implications for the University's research enterprise. These matters should be addressed by senior academic officers in the schools and central administration. They include the following:

What incentives, if any, should be offered to faculty to seek sponsored project support, particularly among faculty who do not traditionally rely on such funding?
What investments in research infrastructure should the University make?
How can schools and departments encourage mentoring of younger faculty by more experienced senior faculty in developing sponsored research?
What can be done, both in schools and centrally, to stimulate and encourage increased interdisciplinary research?
How can central resources be developed to provide matching funds for the acquisition of research equipment and facilities?
How can central resources be developed to provide start-up funds for new faculty?

The New Model The Process Model
The steps in the process for preparing sponsored research proposals and managing the awards do not radically change; rather, radical change in the methods by which these steps are performed, and in the roles which principal investigators, business administrators, and central administrators play, are desirable. Proposed changes include:

reliance on an information system and database allowing PIs, BAs, and other administrators to access and use information on demand at the desktop

an emphasis on Research Services serving as a center of expertise, which will train the field in all aspects of managing the sponsored projects life cycle, and which will work in teams as a partner of PIs and BAs and other regulatory offices

enabling principal investigators to focus primarily on research using technology to enable the University to manage its risk and reduce its receivable

An explanation of the benefits of the proposed model follows.
Identifying Funding Sources:

-- SPIN is accessed at the desktop (available April 1996 from the Vice Provost for Research home page).
-- Vice Provost for Research able to focus on more mission-critical issues.

Prepare Proposal:

-- Electronic templates of standard forms are available.
-- Budget template will calculate financial information using current University employee benefit and indirect cost rates.
-- Electronic assistance is available for non-research portions of the proposal.
-- Data is entered once, at the source.
-- PIs have more time to concentrate on the research portion of the proposal.
-- Previous protocol information will be available on-line.
-- Protocol requests will be submitted electronically.

Review/Approve Proposal:

-- Non-competing continuations will be approved at the department and delivered directly to Research Services, eliminating the need for approval by the dean.
-- Standard proposals will be signed by the department and be delivered to Research Services, streamlining school approvals.
-- Early involvement of appropriate key units orchestrated by Research Services will enhance non-standard proposal approvals.
-- PIs and/or staff will spend less time walking from site to site for approvals.
-- PIs and/or staff will spend less time waiting for approvals.
-- PIs will be able to continue working on the research portion of the proposal while the abstract and non-research elements are stepped through the process for review and approval.
-- Extensive training by Research Services will reduce the number of errors for which proposals are returned to investigators or departments.

Submit Proposal:

-- All parties will be notified electronically of University approval.
Research Services maintains only a portion of the proposal (abstract, budget, transmittal form) in its central file, thereby reducing file space required in Research Services and reducing file maintenance costs.
-- A copy of the submitted proposal will be maintained by the department office (as often occurs today), thereby reducing the number of copies needed.

Negotiate/Accept Award:

-- Negotiation will include the PI and any other pertinent parties, for instance the Center for Technology Transfer and the Office of General Counsel.
-- Award notification will be made electronically to all parties, eliminating the need for producing digests of terms. PIs receive notice of awards upon the acceptance of the award by Research Services.

Set Up Account:

-- Account set-up will occur centrally and will be coincident with award notification.
-- Department administrators will be able to set up award budgets without delay.
-- PIs will be able to spend their funds upon award notification and the coincident account set-up.
-- The number of budget reallocations will be drastically reduced.

Manage Project Resources:

-- All regulatory offices (Regulatory Affairs, Environmental Health and Safety, University Laboratory Animal Resources, Radiation Safety) will have coordinated home pages, allowing access to information at the PI's desktop.
-- Research Services will be able to answer all basic questions about the research and regulatory offices via the "Help Desk."
-- PIs and BAs will have real-time on-line access to financial information and sponsored project information.
-- PIs and BAs will have the ability to track expenditures and other activity and generate reports, eliminating the need for shadow systems.
-- PIs and BAs will be able to better manage project funds, reducing the number of over- and underspent awards.
-- Research Services will provide departments with reliable, consistent, and prompt assistance enabling departments to responsibly manage the financial aspects of the project.

Close-out and Reporting

-- Electronic notification to PIs of reporting and close-out deadlines.
-- Electronic notification to close-out award and reconcile expenses.
-- More conformance to sponsor reporting requirements.
-- Timely close-out resulting in timely account deletions.

General Benefits

-- Consistent assistance and service by Research Services.
-- A trained field resulting in better award management.
-- Clear accountability at every step of the process.
-- Maximized opportunities for reimbursement through expanded use of the Automated Clearing House system and direct billing.
-- A reduced University receivable.

Technology Infrastructure

The redesigned process and organization are dependent on the development of the new information system. The systems must be fully featured and flexible enough to support current and future requirements. They must conform to the University's Business System Architecture, and must be linked to the new Financial Management Information System (FinMIS).

Key Functional Requirements

The Reengineering Team identified several key functional requirements for sponsored projects information systems:

Provide information to investigators at their desktop, to help identify potential sponsors of research projects;
Provide information to investigators and business administrators at their desktops, geared toward creating successful proposals, including sponsor and University requirements, required sponsor forms and project milestones;
Support electronic access to proposal information, to allow on-line review and approvals;
Where practical, replace paper communication with electronic notification (such as notification of award receipt);
Capture information on specific projects at the desktop, as early in the process as possible. Store this information in a database accessible to the University at large (with appropriate security), and treat the information as an enterprise resource;
Capture information on important project deliverables and dates;
Provide necessary tools for ad hoc queries against sponsored project data;
Provide necessary tools to generate reports.

Core Components

Research Services Web Site

Develop (and maintain) a set of World Wide Web pages devoted to sponsored research. These pages should include:

Desktop access to SPIN database to identify potential funding sources. Along with desktop access, training must be made available.
Web pages devoted to the major research sponsors, with a common format. Each page will be aimed toward successfully creating an acceptable proposal for that sponsor. The page should include a link to the sponsor's home page (where available), information on sponsor requirements, capability of printing of required sponsor representations and certifications at the desktop (where a paper form is required), and University requirements related to that sponsor. It should also include information on normal terms and conditions of sponsor awards.
Links to web pages outside the University related to sponsored projects.
A redesigned web version of the sponsored research handbook.
Search capability for all of Research Services web pages, similar to the search capability on the Penn Home Page.
Links to the web documents of University regulatory departments such as Radiation Safety and ULAR.
A calendar of events related to sponsored projects.
A link to Research Services departmental e-mail address.

Electronic Interaction with Investigators and Business Administrators

Facilitate communication with the University research community by initiating or using news groups and electronic mail.

Desktop Access to a University-wide Sponsored Projects Database

A new sponsored project information system will require an investment in new software and hardware. The software must include a new database containing the information plus software to access and manage that information. Key capabilities of this information system include:

Allow electronic review and approval of proposals at department chair, dean and Research Services desktop, preferably via the web.
Assign a unique identification number to each proposal.
Capture proposal abstract and budget information at the principal investigator or business administrator desktop.
Provide access to this database via the web for occasional users such as faculty.
Provide access to this database via client server application for more frequent users (such as business administrators and Research Services staff).
Have the ability to link individual investigators to FinMIS expenditure data via the sponsored projects database.
Maintain (or access existing) standard information on researchers, departments, schools, and sponsors.
Capture matching funds information.
Identify PI and co-investigators for each project. Capture all fund numbers associated with a specific project.
Provide on-line documentation of exceptions and subcontracts.
Monitor status of protocol utilization.
Capture important milestones and dates, such as due dates for technical and other reports, date for continuation application, patent and intellectual property reports, and expected close-out date. Record compliance with sponsor milestones.
Capture completion of close-out responsibilities by all required parties.
Longer term: Plan for future electronic proposal submission to participating sponsors. Provide templates for proposal data entry which match the sponsor's forms.

Sponsored Project Reporting Requirements

The following general reporting requirements have been identified:

Provide a statement of current expenditures to PIs on sponsored projects for easy and timely viewing of financial status;
Provide financial information on sponsored projects to BAs;
Provide exception reports for financial risk management;
Provide information on pending proposals which include matching funds;
Provide the capability to download sponsored project financial information to the desktop for manipulation by desktop analysis and reporting tools.

During the implementation phase of this project, it will be determined which of these requirements have not already been accommodated by FinMIS.

Provide ad hoc Access to Sponsored Project Information

Support strategic planning by:

Migrating sponsored project information to Data Warehouse;

Allowing information access via University supported query tools (such as Business Objects).

Additional general principles:

The new system must support the proposed model for sponsored research, with tasks distributed between departments, schools, and central administration, but information shared across the University.

Structure applications to take advantage of existing desktop hardware and software. Especially for occasional users, applications should be delivered through familiar means such as the world wide web.

Applications must protect the confidentiality of information in accordance with University security policies.

Applications must be flexible enough to support both novice and experienced users, and maintain a reasonably similar look and feel.

Newly acquired applications must be adaptable to changing business and regulatory requirements.

Systems must adhere to the principles outlined in 'Of Record -Principles for Info Technology', developed as part of project Cornerstone. Adherence to these principles will result in greatest long term cost effectiveness and highest compatibility with other major university data systems.

Sponsored project information must be accessible on-line, and tools and applications must be available to support gathering, analysis and preservation of data.

Information should only be captured once, at the source. Appropriate edits must be applied when the information is first entered to assure data integrity.

MIS Requirements

New sponsored research project support systems must be fully featured and flexible enough to support current and future requirements. They must conform to the University's Business System Architecture, and especially must be linked to the new Financial Management Information System (FinMIS).

Access

Data must be accessible via the standard communications infrastructure; PennNet (either by direct connection or dial up).

Desktop Computing Hardware Requirements

University-wide systems comply with the supported standards for the University desktop. Current recommendations are detailed in the document "Desktop Computing Hardware Standards for Penn: 1995-96 Annual Update," and are updated on a yearly basis.

Software Choices (specifically as applied to applications servers)

There are several components or layers of an information system. The major components are:

The database (the "container" for data). The university standard is Oracle.

The application development tools, in which applications such as on-line screens and reports are developed. The current university standard development tool is Oracle Forms.

Ad hoc query tools. These tools allow rapid creation of queries to answer management questions. The current standard ad hoc query tool is Business Objects.

Where possible, applications should take advantage of supported standard desktop applications such as the Netscape Web browser and Microsoft office components.

Research Services: A New Organization
Vital to the success of the proposed model is the creation of a new organization responsible for the oversight of the sponsored project administration process. The new organization, Research Services, is a center of expertise and unified locus for all sponsored project support activities. Some of the principles upon which the organization is based include:

a reliance on a comprehensive information system and integrated database;

a commitment to training both within Research Services and outside the organization;

a commitment to providing service to principal investigators, business administrators and others involved in the administration of sponsored projects;

Research Services staff working in teams;

creating career paths throughout Research Services and the field in order to develop a sense of mission, a base of expertise, an institutional memory, and reduced employee turnover.

Research Services will not simply be a processing organization. Research Services will be a partner of the principal investigator, department and school administrators, and other regulatory offices (Regulatory Affairs, Environmental Health and Safety, University Laboratory Animal Resources, Radiation Safety, and the Center for Technology Transfer), lending expertise, providing information, and continually improving service. Teams of Research Services staff will form relationships with groups of faculty to improve service delivery at every step of the process and to exchange knowledge about the process, sponsors, and other aspects of sponsored projects support. Teams will be cross-trained in order to maintain a high level of service and a commitment to meeting sponsor deadlines during peak periods or proposal submissions.
The functions performed by the Federal Compliance group; e.g., indirect cost negotiations, effort reporting and the coordination of all audit activities, will remain a part of the Comptroller's Office. Complete and timely communication and exchange of information must be maintained among and between the Federal Compliance and Research Services staff.
Research Services will be a new service organization, the foundation of which is the delivery of the sophisticated information systems described above. The principles upon which the organization is based call for new positions and job skills. The Implementation Team will work closely with the Division of Human Resources as appropriate during the transition. The Reengineering Team proposes the following positions based on its research to date:

Director: responsible for all aspects of policy and planning. The Director will monitor regulatory changes, ensure University compliance with federal and other applicable regulations, review, institute, and communicate new policy, and work to promote the University's position with sponsors. The Director will also work with the Vice Provost for Research to facilitate a greater rate of awards received.

Associate Director for Technology and Training *: responsible for overseeing the design and maintenance of the information system and database, integrating the system with FinMIS and regulatory offices' technologies, and designing and implementing training programs.

Training Director*: responsible for developing and providing training in conjunction with Research Services team members. The Training Director will also provide ongoing training on policy and procedures to new PIs, new BAs, and the Research Services staff.

Technical Support Specialist*: responsible for the daily operation of the information system and database, as well as procedures for using the system.

Team Leaders: responsible for reviewing proposals, negotiating and accepting awards, and working with Financial Managers (see below) to manage the non-research aspects of the award. Team Leaders, paired with a particular Financial Manager, will work with a specific group of principal investigators and schools, sponsors, or research area, providing a consistent source of information and assistance for PIs. Team Leaders will review proposals for school requirements, will work to minimize institutional risk by ensuring the proper protocols and approvals by regulatory offices are established, and will provide institutional signatures. Team Leaders will also negotiate award/contract terms and conditions and notify all parties via the information system. Team Leaders will work in concert with Financial Managers to ensure the effective management of the award through close-out.

Financial Managers: facilitate the non-research aspects of the award in support of departmental business officers. Financial Managers will ensure the proper flags are entered into the information system for notification of project milestones, will monitor and ensure the billing of sponsors, record and deposit payments by sponsors, approve payroll reallocations, review/audit exception reports, work with Collections to address past-due balances in a timely way, submit sponsor reports, coordinate close-out and final reporting, and manage sub-contracts. Responsibility for Letters of Credit will rest with one particular Financial Manager. Financial Managers will work closely with Team Leaders on all aspects of the Team Leader's work, to insure that a PI or BA is never without a source of expertise.

Research Help Desk Administrator: responsible for providing answers to frequently asked questions for Research Services and all of the other regulatory offices. The Help Desk Administrator will work closely with the Training Director to identify problems in the field and to update information provided by Research Services.

Administrative Assistant: responsible for general office administration.

During the redesign, the Team noted the history of high employee turnover in Research Accounting. The skills, knowledge and experience of the personnel in both Research Accounting and the Office of Research Administration are valued and necessary for the delivery of excellent service to the University. Staff in these areas often are hired by the schools for their skills at comparatively higher salaries putting the central offices at a competitive disadvantage.
While there is a certain comfort in knowing that qualified staff with accounting skills and knowledge of federal regulations are in place in schools and centers, their short tenure in the central offices causes workflow disruptions and contributes to the backlog of unclosed accounts.
The new Research Services organization addresses the skills necessary university-wide to administer sponsored projects, and emphasizes the role of Research Services in training and education. This provides broader job responsibilities and career opportunities and enhances the central offices ability to retain well-trained and service-oriented staff. The objective is to make team members feel that they are part of the University's research enterprise and that they are inextricably linked with individual faculty members and schools competing for sponsored projects. Individuals in Research Services will be critical to the University successfully meeting its goals for sponsored research activities dollars and numbers of grants, or market share.
The size of the new organization will be determined during the transition phases according to results of process changes and the implementation of technology.

Current Organization
Research Accounting
The Research Accounting Department is part of the Comptroller's office. Salary expenditures with benefits in FY95 were $605,416.
The Research Accounting Department has traditionally experienced a high employee turnover rate, however, the problem has become acute over the past three years. The reasons for the high employee turnover are: low employee compensation as compared to higher salary structures available in the schools for comparable positions; limited opportunity for advancement within Research Accounting; and the attractiveness of the staff to academic departments with research programs once trained in sponsored project accounting and billing requirements. The results of high turnover are:

Service degradation to departments because they do not have an accountant assigned to service their accounts.

Cash flow being the highest priority, staff time is directed first to the sponsor billing function, thereby reducing the ability to produce financial reports on a timely basis. The result is a significant backlog in financial reports due to sponsors, and a virtual inability to close accounts that have terminated.

Lack of an adequately trained staff, with a diminishing base of knowledge to address accounting and billing issues on a timely basis.

Potential uncollectible receivable amounts due to the late submission of financial reports.

Potential loss of renewed funding due to the failure to meet sponsor reporting requirements.

A further demoralizing effect on the remaining staff who are constantly asked to do more with less.

The proposed Research Services model has been designed to address these problems by providing appropriate compensation, training, and opportunities for advancement within the organization.
Research Administration
The Office of Research Administration reports to the Vice President for Finance and the Vice Provost for Research. Staff headcount has remained essentially static despite a 28% increase in the number of proposals submitted from FY 90 to FY95. Salary expenditures with benefits in FY95 were $825,329.
Regulatory Affairs
The Regulatory Affairs office has seen a significant increase in protocol reviews over the past three years due to regulatory changes. The Reengineering Team designed the new process and organization, and The Implementation Team may wish to consider several structures when making its final recommendations, two of which are outlined below:

Regulatory Affairs is integrated into Research Services. This model would result in the following improvements:

Improved communications between Research Services and Regulatory Affairs.

The ability for staff from Research Services and Regulatory Affairs to view the same proposal simultaneously.

Improved service to PIs regarding the status of protocols.

Regulatory Affairs becomes an independent agency. This model would result in the following improvements:

Regulatory Affairs serves in the role of independent institutional monitor in order to uphold ethical, scientific, and federal standards for all sponsored project activities involving humans and animals.

Regulatory Affairs' mission and goals are similar to the other regulatory offices on campus, all of which report to the Vice Provost for Research.

Communication and data exchange with other regulatory offices will be improved.

With a direct reporting relationship to the Vice Provost, Regulatory Affairs will be better aligned to adjust to regulatory and other changes. The Vice Provost for Research may be in a stronger position to negotiate favorable changes to protocol review requirements with major federal sponsors.

Transition to New Research Services Organization
Co-location of Research Accounting and Research Administration
It is recommended that the Research Accounting Department and the Office of Research Administration be co-located as soon as is practical. Co-locating the two offices will enable the resulting "transition organization" to take the necessary steps toward the proposed Research Services organization.
The initial co-location will provide a number of benefits during transition to the new Research Services model, including:

Facilitate cross-training of research administration and accounting functions.

Enable extensive cross-training on the new Financial Management Information System (FinMIS).

Facilitate implementation of improved processes resulting from Implementation Team recommendations.

Facilitate implementation of new technologies.

Facilitate migration toward the proposed Research Services model, taking advantage of process and technological improvements, and possibly reducing staff as a result of natural attrition.

New Organization
The full impact of the introduction of FinMIS on July 1, 1996, as well as other variables during the transition period, have made it difficult to recommend a detailed new organization and its various transition stages. FinMIS is expected to affect work processes and workflow in both central and school/department offices; however, changes in the amount and type of work performed have been difficult to predict in most administrative areas.
Opportunities for service improvements and/or economies discovered by the Implementation Team, impacts of regulatory changes, impacts from increases/decreases in the number of proposals or awards, and new technological advances during the transition period may all have an effect on the transition process and the final Research Services structure.

Concurrent with Transition Activities
Conduct Review(s) of other Regulatory Offices
Given that Research Accounting and the Office of Research Administration collectively make up only 22% of the total budget spent centrally on Sponsored Projects support, it is recommended that the other central offices involved in the process of research administration be reviewed. These offices are the Center for Technology Transfer, Radiation Safety, Environmental Health & Safety, University Laboratory Animal Resources, and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research. A review of these offices, conducted concurrent to implementation activities, should investigate the following:

Opportunities for improved service to faculty

Opportunities to develop a common interface for communicating University and federal policies and procedures

Opportunities to streamline processes

Identification of areas of risk to be monitored/addressed

Information to be communicated by the Research Services helpdesk

Methods to ensure better communication between central offices

Necessary technology interfaces between regulatory offices and Research Services

Opportunity to exploit technological advances

Plan and Allocate Resources to Close Outstanding Sponsored Project Accounts
The issue of outstanding sponsored project accounts needs to be addressed. Although Research Accounting has made some headway with the large number of accounts which are overdue for closure, they have not had adequate staffing or resources to address the backlog.
A separate team needs to be assigned to develop a "close-out plan" which should include the following:

Assessment of the volume of accounts to be closed

Groupings of accounts by age, sponsor, school, over/under spent amounts, effort to close, other relevant issues, etc.

Suggested strategies to deal with the closing of each grouping and the institutional impact or risk involved

A resource plan and proposed timeline which outlines human and other resources necessary to reduce the backlog within a stated period of time.

Transition Plan

The Team expects the transition from the current process and organization to the proposed process, technology and organization, to begin approximately sixty days after approval of the final report and to continue through calendar year 1998. Ongoing involvement of PIs and appropriate members of the University community is anticipated. Opportunities to pilot new organizational strategies and processes will be investigated. Details regarding certain implementation steps and estimated resources required are listed in the chart below. Specific transition steps include, but are not limited to:

Establish an Implementation Team, as well as a team or sub-team to review technological needs

Develop and pilot a streamlined review of non-competing continuations (e.g., have them signed at the department and transmitted directly to Research Services)

Establish specific procedures for collecting outstanding funds

Establish or activate links with research-oriented electronic news group for business administrators

Undertake short-term training

Co-locate Research Administration and Research Accounting

Pilot a streamlined review process for standard proposals

Develop and implement a policy to maintain official proposal copies in the department and eliminate the bulk of central files

Develop presentations and kits for new PIs and new BAs

Reengineer the submission and review process for protocols

Pilot a streamlined review process for non-standard proposals

Develop and implement comprehensive training programs and standards

Research Administration Reengineering Team

Steering Committee
Stanley Chodorow, Provost; Co-Chair
John Fry, Executive Vice President; Co-Chair
Ralph Amado, Acting Vice Provost for Research
David Balamuth, SAS
Robin Beck, UMIS
Al Beers, Comptroller
Susan Croll, School of Medicine
Raymond Fonseca, School of Dental Medicine
Stephen Golding, Finance
Janet Gordon, Office of the Executive Vice President
Dwight Jaggard, SEAS
Alan Kelly, School of Veterinary Medicine
Anthony Merritt, Office of Research Administration
Mark Pauly, Wharton Doctoral Programs
Richard Tannen, School of Medicine

Reengineering Team
Anthony Merritt, Office of Research Administration
Jill Maser, Office of the Executive Vice President
Kristine Briggs, Office of the Executive Vice President
Elizabeth Garlatti, School of Medicine
Audrey Masciocchi, Physics and Astronomy
Robert McCann, Comptroller's Office
George Palladino, Chemistry
Ed Read, UMIS
Berenice Saxon, Office of Research Administration
Denise Scala, School of Nursing
Paul Weidner, School of Medicine

* The Team recognizes the need to consider the development of these positions in light of overall Division of Finance efforts related to training and technology.

Almanac Supplement
Almanac
Volume 42 Number 32
May 14, 1996

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