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Guide for Volunteer Departments

Pre-Award Phase IFebruary 2011

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Volunteer Departments: Guide

Contents– How Phase I ‘start-up’ Works– Some Questions & Answers

• Building the Pre-Award Team• Working within a Team• Working with a Department• The Work• Getting it Right• The Costs

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How This Works – The Departments

Announce the call for volunteer Departments• Opportunity for discussions/questions/clarity• Volunteer Form submitted by March 15 (the form is on OE

website)

• Evaluate Department proposal submission/PI data• Objective is to create a logical grouping of

Departments supported by Phase I team• Additional conversations with other Departments

may occur to meet overall objective• Final decisions made (Dean, Chairs, AVC)

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How This Works - Selecting the team

• Phase I RSC positions are finalized, soon approved for posting• New RSC (Research Services Coordinator) positions to be

announced and posted - April• Criteria and hiring process is being defined• Work closely with Phase I Departments to understand

department research portfolio, PI needs and staffing• Work closely with non-Phase I Departments to ensure support

for business continuation• Work closely with Managers to retain the most qualified,

knowledgeable and best people• Hiring decisions will be made• Transition & logistics planning launched

– Assignments, training, tools and teamwork…

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What Phase I Team Looks Like• Staff

– 1 Director – Approximately 6 Research Service Coordinators (RSC)– Approximately 2 Associate RSCs– Housed together in one location

• Scope– PreAward and sponsor correspondence– Supports 400 to 600 proposal submissions annually– Close collaboration with department post award analysts

• Technology – Same tools used today with the addition of The Bridge (web tool

under development in OSR)

• Authority– Signature authority for most proposals and awards not requiring

negotiation delegated to Phase I team

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Month ActivityFebruary/March 2011 • Solicit Phase I Volunteer Departments

• Post Cluster Director Position• Select Training Manager

April 2011 • Post Phase I Research Service Coordinators positions

• Finalize Volunteer Department selectionMay/June 2011 • Select Cluster Director

• Select RSC candidates• Finalize department preparation and transition

planning• Finalize space and relocation planning• Intense training for new RSC positions

August 2011 • Begin Phase IAugust 2011 through February 2012

• Conduct Phase I and Evaluation• Develop full implementation strategy for rollout

The Pre-Award Phase I Pilot Timeline

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Some questions…….

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Building the Pre-Award Team1. How will the positions be posted? How will we be notified?

These positions will be posted just like any other position at UCSF. In addition, we will send out an OE email notification, announce it at all related meetings and a link to the posting will be on the OE website.

2. How much lead time will we get to apply?We hope to give you 4 weeks notice before positions are actually posted. The UCSF required

posting is 2 weeks. A posting will be held open for the necessary time to fill the position with the best possible candidate.

3. Can I apply without my boss knowing? Can it be confidential?Yes. The same principles apply to OE positions as they do to any UCSF position. In the final stage of the

hire process, references will be checked and candidates will be notified in advance of that step.

4. What are the criteria for the positions?Each job posting will have detailed job requirements. The overarching criteria is experience

and knowledge of research administration with an emphasis on pre-award. We are looking for individuals with a ‘can do’ attitude, a team player and a strong sense of customer service. They will be working in a developing fast-paced organization.

5. Are these positions part of a Job Family? If so, what positions are in that family?These positions are in the new Job Family. Any positions that support research

administration may be part of the family, however the work to complete this particular grouping is not finished yet.

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Building the Pre-Award Team

1. Are internal employees given priority? The primary objective is to fill these positions with the most qualified candidate,

giving a preference to internal candidates with experience and institutional knowledge.

2. How are salaries set? Will someone have to take a pay cut?These positions will fall within a set salary range. The salary will be set in

accordance with UCSF policies and practices. If an individual is moving from a more senior position to a less senior position, salary will be evaluated on a case by case basis.

3. What if my department isn’t in Phase I and our research administrator retires. We don’t want to hire a new position on a short term basis.We are looking at several solutions. Departments with temporary needs may

buy that service or collaborate with another department until they can join the cluster. We are also looking at the possibility of hiring several additional Pre-Award experts during Phase I. These individuals will be able to provide back-fill for the departments and would then join the next team that is rolled out.

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Working within a Team

1. How will the RSC individuals get assigned to a team?Initially, only one team will be put in place so all new hires will be assigned to that Phase I team. It is likely that

teams will be phased in slowly and individuals will be assigned at that time.

2. Will they have an opportunity to change teams or assignments if they don’t like their group or assignments?One of the benefits is the possibility to make changes in assignments. If changes are made, they will be made cautiously and

carefully to minimize the disruption to the Faculty, the Department and the colleagues on a team.

3. Can they request assignment to specific faculty and not others?An individual or faculty can request a specific assignment. It may not be logistically possible to honor each and every

request but considerable effort will be made to do so.

4. What if an individual is hired into a team and after six months, they don’t like it. Can they go back to their department and their old job?Their old pre-award jobs will not be waiting for them. If the department coincidentally has a position open that fits the skills of

the individual, they can certainly apply.

5. Can someone join the team but still sit with the department they support?No. Individuals hired into the new teams will be sitting with their new colleagues. Since they may still be supporting the

faculty in their ‘old’ department, they will certainly be returning to their department to meet with Faculty.

6. Will these teams be housed in one big open space or in separate cubicles? We know that the members of the Pre-Award team will be housed together. We don’t know where the space will be or what it

will look like. We do know that the space must be configured in such a way that the individuals can work effectively.

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Working with a Department

1. Can a Department request a specific individual or individuals to support their faculty?Yes. Every possible effort will be made to honor that request.

2. What if there is a faculty member who does not like their assigned Pre Award expert?Fortunately, assignments can be changed if necessary and feasible for both faculty and the RSC, PreAward expert.

3. What if the individual from the Department applies for the PreAward team and doesn’t get it and the department has eliminated that position?It is up to each Department to manage their individual staffing needs and the budget implications.

4. If the Department doesn’t want to get their PreAward services from a Cluster, can they still do it themselves?Departments may choose ‘when’ to participate in the new Pre Award Clusters but not ‘if’. They, ultimately, will not have the

choice to abstain. Some may choose to participate in Phase I while others may delay their participation until the last Phase rolls out.

5. How will the Department Manager be involved? How will the Managers and Chairs know what is going on with their faculty’s research?The research activities of faculty continue to be the direct responsibility of the Chair and the Chair continues to sign off on all

research submissions. The Manager will work closely with the Cluster Director and the Team Lead and regular reports on proposal activity will be provided to department management. Specific department needs will be articulated and it is a partnership to ensure this process works well.

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Working with a Department

1. How can a Department influence how this actually works?A Department will provide significant feedback throughout Phase I. Their input regarding all aspects of customer

service, the management of information, meeting the needs of both the faculty and administrators will be key. The actual organization of a Cluster will not change but work load measures, assignment methodologies, training needs will all depend upon input from the Departments

2. What fallback does a Department have if this isn’t working well for them?If a Department isn’t happy with this new way to work, then an intense and concerted collaborative effort has to take

place so that it does work. A careful and rigorous analysis of what isn’t working will be undertaken to identify the specifics and a plan will be set in place to correct what isn’t working.

3. The PreAward expert, an RSC, doesn’t report to the Department, they report to the cluster. How will the department manage or participate in performance?A n RSC will have a dotted line to their key customer. Performance will be closely monitored and each Faculty

member and Department Manager will play a strong role in assessing the effectiveness and overall performance of an RSC. Fortunately for the Department, assignments that aren’t working well can probably be changed. Feedback is also tracked and training is adjusted accordingly.

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The Work1. What happens to the proposals while the teams are being trained

and staff are relocated? Who does those submissions?We need to accommodate the proposal deadlines during the training period. It will, most likely, be structured so that some

level of ongoing work will continue. We will have a better sense of this when we have staffing and Departments aligned .

2. How will the new Pre-Award person learn about their faculty’s science and funding sources?Appreciating the science of their assigned faculty is fundamental to providing excellent support. The training program will

include suggestions.

3. What if the new Pre-Award person winds up with a group of faculty that all have the same deadlines and he/she is swamped?Fortunately, this is a significant benefit to working with colleagues in a team. You can tap the resources of your teammates.

4. What if the new Pre-Award person has a faculty member that submits to sponsors that he/she is completely unfamiliar with?Again, working within a team not only provides back up for absences or overwork, but also a resource of pooled knowledge.

Another colleague may have the experience of working with a particular sponsor and be able to share it.

5. What kind of variety will there be in the work? What will make it an interesting job?Where to start. An individual will be working with a variety of faculty and be learning about their research, they will be building

expertise and be able to gain improving levels of certification. Being designated ‘Institutional Representative’ is a big responsibility and that alone makes for a very interesting job. Although there may be predictable sponsor deadlines, there is very little else that is routine.

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Getting It Right1. You have estimated the number of proposals the RSC can manage on

average. Their faculty assignments are based on those assumptions. What if those numbers are off?We have Phase I to test those assumptions. We also have a team of individuals doing the work so that we have internal flexibility

to adjust assignments until we get them right.

2. Who decides what is ‘good service’?It is a combination of people – the Faculty, the Department Managers, the individuals who work directly with a Pre Award expert,

the members of the PreAward team. There will be a service level agreement between the individuals receiving the service and those delivering the service.

3. Doing a great job is more than just getting a proposal out the door. What about the time spent with faculty? Time spent with Faculty is critical. The performance metrics include not only numbers of submissions and other transactional

data but also the time spent with a faculty member, understanding their science, supporting their needs, guiding them to more effectively meet deadlines.

4. I may have to spend more time with one faculty member than another, how will that be factored in?It is expected that some faculty require more time than others. We have the ability in Phase I to test our assumptions and make

adjustments accordingly.

5. Performance expectations play both ways – the service delivered to the faculty and the departments’ support of the Cluster. Is that reflected in the review?Absolutely. Most of the discussion has been focused on ensuring that Faculty and Departments receive what they need and

expect. But a Cluster can only be successful if the Departments make a commitment to support the new way to work and uphold their responsibilities.

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The Costs

1. Are the savings shared equitably? If one department has 2 staff selected for the cluster and another department has one selected. How will their savings be counted?It varies among Schools. In the SOM, any savings a Department generates stay within the Department to defray other

costs. Savings are tracked independently.

2. If a department reduces 3 FTE, where do those savings go?It varies among Schools. In the SOM, any savings a Department generates stay within the Department to defray other

costs.

3. At what point will Departments need to make cost cutting decisions for staff that aren’t selected for the cluster?Departments must make decisions regarding staffing based on their own individual operations and budgets. In terms

of Cluster support, it should be timed and coordinated with the start up of the new service.

4. If a Department receives its pre-award support from the Cluster, can it choose to keep their individual who currently provides preaward support and give them other responsibilities?Staffing decisions and allocation of departmental FTE are the responsibility of each individual

Department.

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The Costs

5. Can Departments still share services that aren’t part of a cluster with another department? Yes. If, for example, two Clinical Departments share a need for a service that is not part of the HR

or Research Administration efforts, they can continue to share those services. Departments can also continue to share HR or PreAward services until their department joins a cluster.

6. How much will it cost the department to participate in Phase I?It will not cost a Department more than they are currently paying for their pre-award services for the

duration of Phase I. We still have to determine the funds flow and pricing model.

These materials and other research administration materials are available on the OE Website.

http://operationalexcellence.ucsf.edu