5. Improve University Effectiveness Through Transformational Technologies, Cutting-Edge Processes and Actionable Data

Leading Through the Evolving Federal Funding Landscape

The recent change in administration and subsequent Executive Orders have significantly impacted the guidance NC State receives from federal agencies, our primary research sponsors. In response to this rapidly evolving landscape, ORI has proactively led weekly research-focused meetings, collaborating with leadership from the offices of Federal Affairs, General Counsel, and Finance and Administration. This coordinated effort ensures the research community stays informed about changes affecting funding.

To facilitate the swift dissemination of information, we launched a dedicated webpage. Since its Jan. 28 debut, the page has been updated and promoted via email 10 times, garnering an impressive 12,754 pageviews, representing 10.75% of all traffic and 21.63% of total active users to the Research Administration and Compliance website during that period.

We also rapidly developed and implemented robust federal transition response procedures. These procedures enable us to efficiently track and manage incoming federal communications and modifications, such as stop-work orders, terminations, and non-renewals. We’ve established clear case-management processes, tracking, and a defined process for appeal review and submission. This has been critical in navigating significant financial uncertainty, including managing awards that have faced multiple stop-work orders, terminations, and delays in incremental funding, all while assisting research leadership with essential data collection related to Executive Orders and award terminations.

Research Administration Support Services (RASS): Addressing Growth and Streamlining Operations

NC State’s research enterprise has experienced significant growth over the past decade, marked by a substantial increase in sponsored research awards. While this growth highlights the strength of our research, it has also presented challenges for the university’s existing infrastructure and administrative processes, with some support services struggling to keep pace. Three task forces were charged on April 9, 2024, to identify necessary investments in people, processes, and systems to better support our research community. These task forces focused on:

• Sponsored Programs: Analyzing research administration and support structures across university levels.
• Research Implementation: Identifying challenges and opportunities in areas like human resources, purchasing, and travel.
• Culture, Collaboration, and Communication: Examining workplace culture strengths and challenges.

Each task force gathered extensive feedback from stakeholders and submitted reports outlining issues, challenges, and potential solutions. These reports were compiled into a final comprehensive document.

Building on these recommendations, several pilot projects commenced in FY25. Examples include:

• Unified Sponsored Research Proposal Submission Timeline: This project aims to establish new policies and a culture around timely proposal submissions, incorporating college and sponsor needs with a new pre-award system.
• Consistent Research Administration Positions and Career Paths: In collaboration with the UNC System Office, this initiative is reviewing position descriptions to identify and address gaps in career progression for research administration roles.
• Improved Third-Party Lodging Approval Process: The Controller’s Office has enhanced the approval form, reducing average turnaround time to six business days. The next step is to integrate pre-approval for third- party lodging directly into the travel authorization process, with implementation anticipated by June 2025.

These initiatives underscore NC State’s commitment to optimizing its research support infrastructure to match the growth of its research enterprise.