1. Advisory Council for Research Administration
June 27, 2016
2:00pm – 4:00pm
Wilkins Board Room, 72 E. Concord Street - 1st floor, Medical Campus

2. Agenda Announcements and Updates - all
Post Doc policy and Non-Academic Research Job Family Task Force - Overview and Q & A
Guest speaker: Sarah Hokanson, Ph.D., Director of Professional Development, Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
Subawards - Overview, Process and Metrics
Guest speaker: Sharon Ciccarelli, Manager of Subcontracting and Award Set-Up, Office of Sponsored Programs
Cost Sharing – updated information, discussion – Renna Lilly and Gretchen Hartigan
DRAFT Revised PSF – need your feedback
Training
Brainstorming Session (prioritize potential subject areas and types of training)

3. OSP Updates
Melissa Klumpar joined OSP as a Research Administrator (started June 6) – came to us from St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center as a Program Manager
Thomas DiGiuseppe - joining OSP as a Research Administrator (July 18)- from Texas A & M as a Contract Negotiator
Maria Harlow - joining OSP as an Associate Director of a Pre-Award team (July 18) – from Tufts as their Sr. Associate Director of Research Administration. Maria brings over 20 years of experience.
Still seeking Sr. Research Administrators and a Director of Operations, Analytics & Systems.

4. OSP Updates - continued
Focus of the pilot is to see if we can reduce aging on awards by having a dedicated staff member whose primary responsibility is awards
Paul Murphy’s team is the pilot team
Suzanne Rocha added to the team – her focus is on award and contract negotiation/processing for the team’s portfolio
SRA/RA’s on the team will focus on proposal processing and non-financial post award management
Team meets regularly to manage workload and share feedback
Pilot will run for 6 weeks and we will report back out

5. OSP Updates - continued
Please do what you can to encourage early submission of proposals – especially for the July 5 deadline
Research Administrator Forum – July 12
Hiebert Lounge – Med campus
Approximately 60 RSVP’s to date

6. PAFO Updates Staffing Update:
Theo Fitopoulos – leaving Friday, August 5th
Anne DiNoto – replacing Theo, starts Monday, July 11th. Worked 10+ years in the Collections Department
Not replacing Mary Moskofides... Anne will report to Craig Gerome who has been promoted to Compliance Manager
Still need to replace one Research Administrator (P. Godio)

7. PAFO Updates Fiscal Year End Important dates to remember:
Journal Entries / JV Uploads (Department Level) Wednesday, July 6th
Journal Entries / JV Uploads (Central Level - PAFO) Thursday, July 7th (NOON!)
Missed the Webinar?

8. Policy for Postdoctoral Scholars and the ARJF Task Force: an update
Sarah Hokanson
Director, Professional Development & Postdoctoral Affairs

9. New policy for postdocs – July 1, 2016
Health benefits for non-employees
Centrally funded in the first year – exploring options to offer coverage
Minimum salary: currently $43,692…but new DoL rule in place 12/1
Identifying postdocs that fall below threshold
Will work with PIs and departments to bring postdocs up to minimum
Years of service: 5 years
Postdocs >5 years will need to transition to another role within ARJF
Does not include time as a postdoc at other institutions

10. Office of the Provost: ARJF Task Force
Clarify and standardize classifications:
Position descriptions / qualifications
Policies and procedures applied to each classification, including but not limited to:
Appointment process
Compensation
Eligibility for sick and vacation time
Advancement and performance management
Determine relevant academic privileges:
PI Status
Teaching
Graduate student supervision

11. What distinguishes non-faculty vs faculty?
Expectation that they are qualified for research, teaching and service
May have academic privileges as part of their appointment
Opportunity to formally advise/supervise students
Non-faculty:
Expectation that they will contribute to research
Academic privileges by request (not part of their appointment)
Limited (by special appointment) opportunities to formally advise / supervise students
Research Faculty: Research Assistant Professor, Research Associate Professor, Research Professor
Research Staff: Research Fellow, Research Associate, Senior Research Associate, etc..

12. A revised ARJF – distinguishing classifications
Researcher
Postdoctoral Scholar
Academic Research Scholar
Senior Academic Research Scholar
Degree requirement?
Yes – BA/BS or higher
Yes – doctorate or equivalent
Being trained? No
Yes
Experience requirement?
Salary minimum
*PhD salary minimum equivalent to postdocs
Yes – set annually (FY 16/17 $43692)
Grades depending on degree & experience
Grades depending on degree & experience
Term limit
Yes - renewal required annually up to 5 years
Yes – 5 years
Yes - appointments up to 5 years, term limit 10 years

13. A revised ARJF – distinguishing classifications
Researcher
Postdoctoral Scholar
Research Scholar
Senior Research Scholar
PI Status No
Yes – by request, but only for specific types of awards
Yes – by request
Teaching
Yes – as part of training
Yes – by special appointment / arrangement
Formally supervise undergraduate or graduate students
No – but can serve on academic committees by special appointment

14. Subawards under Sponsored Projects: an overview
Sharon Ciccarelli Associate Director, Subcontracts Sponsored Programs

15. Subawards at BU:
The Kuali Coeus (KC) system is the system of record for managing sponsored projects at Boston University
Subawards issued under sponsored projects are managed through the KC Subawards Module
All outgoing subawards are managed by a dedicated team

16. Subawards at BU: Process Overview
Award received at OSP and set up in KC/SAP
KC sub record created/updated by Set-Up Team
Subawards Specialist (Sub RA)
obtains PI concurrence for sub action
completes sub record
performs subrecipient risk analysis (SPQ for new and some current subrecipients)
obtains funds commitment from PAFO
creates sub agreement/modification
sends agreement/modification to subrecipient
Subrecipient
reviews agreement/modification
negotiates terms with BU/Sub RA as needed
signs, returns to Subaward team
Executed Subaward uploaded into KC, distributed to BU PI, DA
FFATA report submitted if required

17. Factors that can cause delays
PI response/concurrence
SPQ
SAM Registration
Sub recipient institution

18. How do we manage & measure the work?
Team receives daily report of open sub actions from system
Sub transactions currently assigned to Sub Specialist by campus:
MED / Drew
CRC / Zack
System provides detailed metrics to track status, aging, turnaround time
Allows for reporting to OSP and senior leadership
Team also monitors sub box for communications related to sub actions

19. Key Performance indicators
How are we doing?
Key Performance indicators
August 2015
June 2016
Change
Total Open Actions
169 66
 61%
aging >70 days 30 1
 97%
aging days 42 2
 95%
aging days 27 11
 59%
aging <30 days 70 52
 26%
% open actions aging <30 days
41%
79%
 90%
Sub Turnaround Time (Days) 75 28
 63%

21. The Subaward Team subaward@bu.edu
Drew Hesketh, Sub Specialist, (617) ,
Zachary Bjorkman, Sub Specialist, (617) ,
Sharon Ciccarelli, Associate Director, Subcontracts, (617) ,

22. DRAFT Revised PSF – your feedback
Planned implementation is September 1 – aligned with new proposal submission policy
Requiring electronic completion and strongly encouraging electronic signatures

23. Cost-Sharing – draft guide for feedback
Share handout

24. Training Brainstorming Session (prioritize potential subject areas and types of training)
Two breakouts
New Administrator onboarding focus (pre and post)
Process/Policy/Best practice focus (pre and post)
Take 15/20 minutes to outline needs
If time permits please prioritize items
Report out

25. Should we meet in July & August or reconvene in September?
Closing
Should we meet in July & August or reconvene in September?
ACRA