Education, Networking, and New Connections in Big Sky Country!
Dear Colleagues:
The 2018 Region VI and VII Program Committee is pleased to announce the call for proposals for our Regional Meeting that will take place October 7th – 10th in Billings, Montana. This will be the first time we will host our meeting in the State of Montana, and we look forward to reconnecting and networking with our colleagues in Big Sky Country as we gather to share in training opportunities and professional development, as well as to examine emerging issues in research administration.
Proposals for concurrent sessions, workshops, and discussion session are invited from NCURA members for any of the program tracks. We are also accepting submissions from members who would like to present for a session or workshop.
Deadline for Submission: Tuesday, May 29th, 2018
Click here to submit a session proposal:
Click here to submit your name and information as a session presenter:
About Billings, Montana:
Billings is the most populated city in the State of Montana. It has direct flights from Denver, Salt Lake City, Portland, Seattle, and Las Vegas. Weather is expected to be mild in the beginning of October when we visit.
More information on things to do in Billings and nearby areas can be found at www.VisitBillings.com
About Doubletree Billings:
The Doubletree Billings is located in the center of downtown Billings. At 21 stories tall, it is the tallest brick and mortar building in the state of Montana, with ample space to host our meeting. There are restaurants, coffee shops, shopping and libation all within a few blocks’ walking distance of the hotel. The conference rate for hotel rooms at the Doubletree will be $129/night.
More information to come in the coming months as we roll out registration and the program!
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Program Track Descriptions:
Human Capital/Professional Development. Topics may include: career development; human resources; workplace environment and relations management; personal growth and development; leadership; quality of life development; self-assessment; supervisor/staff relations; industrial/workplace psychology; succession planning; onboarding; training; getting involved in the larger research administration community.
Pre-Award: Sponsored Program Administration, Subawards. Topics may include: pre-award management activities at the central office; proposal development and assessment; research proposal review, endorsement and submission; management of specialized programs, e.g. clinical trials; non clinical, transition/transformation of programs to new stages in research; role of research administration in institutional policy formation. review and understanding of terms and conditions; Uniform Guidance regulations; federal regulatory requirements for pre-award; role of research administration in institutional policy development; announcement review; management of specialized programs, e.g. clinical trials, program/center grants.
Post-Award: Financial Management & Accounting. Topics may include: cost accounting; auditing; OMB and Uniform Guidance requirements for universities, hospitals, private sector; matching funds issues/cost sharing; financial conflict of interest issues; facilities and administration (F&A) costs; procurement and purchasing; salaries, compensation, honoraria; and travel allocability and allowability; working with sponsoring agencies and subrecipient monitoring.
Departmental Administration. Topics may include: proposal development and preparation including announcement review, budget development, institutional routing; direct working relationships with and support to faculty, financial accounting and management of the research funds;. onboarding and guiding new faculty; providing “first-line” support and being point of contact to internal (PI’s, staff, central office, other institutional offices, etc.) and external constituents on behalf of the PI/Study Team.
eRA, Systems Management and Operations. Topics may include: Electronic Research Administration and Information Technology systems, strategic planning and mission development and compliance; facilities management; effective use of technology and solutions; lessons learned in the roll out of new systems; metrics and reporting. This track may have sessions that address topics from departmental, central, and institutional perspectives.
Predominantly Undergraduate Institutions (PUI). Track is geared toward research administrators at two-year, four-year, masters-level, and small doctoral colleges and universities that grant baccalaureate degrees, or provide programs of instruction for students pursuing such degrees with institutional transfers (e.g., two-year schools), where undergraduate enrollment exceeds graduate enrollment, and no more than 10 Ph.D. or D.Sc. degrees are awarded per year. Topics may include: research administration in a teaching focused environment; programs that are unique to or aimed at PUIs; issues that are unique to organizations for whom research/sponsored projects are not mission critical. This track may have sessions that address topics from departmental, central, and institutional perspectives, as at many PUIs, the roles reside in a single unit.
Compliance. Topics may include: human subjects research; animal subjects research; stem cell research; occupational safety and health, environmental and biosafety hazards; peer review; mentor/trainee responsibility and development; publications; collaborative research ethics; scientific misconduct; standards for the responsible conduct of research; and research ethics education programs, curricula, requirements, and approaches; export control compliance; conflict of interest; data security.
Sponsors/Federal Agencies. Topics may include: Federal agency updates; defining roles and responsibilities between sponsors, grantors, awardees; private sector sponsors; technology, foundations; state sponsorship issues; new initiatives in research; international agency relations; working with program officer leadership; and agency-specific programs and rules.
Contracting & Working with Industry. Topics may include: contract negotiation and monitoring, including for sponsored research, material transfer, and unfunded collaborations, confidentiality agreements, intellectual property, institutional policies and procedures pertaining to contracts, updates, and analysis of problems that may arise in these areas.