1. It’s About Time! Finding Efficiencies in Post Award Operations
Cathy Breen, Harvard University
Sharon Brooks, University of Virginia
Cindy Hope, University of Alabama
Mike Laskofski, George Mason University

2. Agenda Overview of Research Funding and Regulatory Landscape
Review Examples
Financial Compliance
Communication and Training
Systems
Staffing and Resources
Finding the Right Balance
Key Takeaways

3. Financial Compliance Cost Transfers and use of reason codes
Record Retention and maintaining adequate documentation
Payroll Certification (an alternate to effort reporting)
Other Examples

4. Payroll Certification vs. Effort Reporting
Description
Effort Reporting
Payroll Certification
System Focus
Individuals
Project (Grant or Contract)
Timeframe for Distribution
Consistent points in time
End of Project Budget Year
Certification Frequency
Three Times per Year
Annually
Types of Funding
All Sponsored Funds
Federal Funds
Annual # of Reports
2700
700
Approvers
Individuals charged to projects
Principal Investigator
System Rationale
Effort reasonable based on overall institutional effort
Salary and wage amounts reasonable based on work performed
Committed Cost Sharing
Shown as percentage of overall institutional effort
Shown as amount reasonable based on work performed

5. Communication and Training
Social Media
Online Training
Other Examples

8. Systems Automated Financial Reporting Post Award Workflow Application
Other Examples

9. Reporting Automation
Harvard built a custom solution in a way that was affordable and fast.
It is fundamentally changing the way we create reports.
Centralizes process, data, and access: all parties (including clients) have access to the same information, whenever they need it (via a secure, web-based portal)
Pre-populates standardized templates and automates routine calculations: greatly improves accuracy and eliminates potential inconsistencies with the General Ledger
Improves accountability through enhanced transparency, automated interactions with clients, and automatic logging of all actions in the system
Core functionality built in less than 6 months. Projected ROI of 300%+ .
Time to Complete 200 Invoices
Percentage of Reports Impacted
250 Hours  40 minutes!
In System
Fully Automated
Hours

10. From To OSP Reporting Transition HU OSP Reporting Transition
Automated GMAS Update
Automated + Self-Serve Dept Interaction
Consolidated
Data Feed
Batch Report Creation To
The eventual transition will be from 15+ separately managed portfolios to a much smaller team running a more mechanized operation.
The eventual transition will be from 15+ separately managed portfolios to a much smaller team running a more mechanized operation.
Portfolio F
GMAS /
CREW
Dept X
Report
Dept Y
GMAS /
CREW
Report
GMAS /
CREW
Dept Y
Report
Dept Y
Portfolio A
Portfolio E
Dept X
Dept X
Report
Report
Report
Report
Report
Report
Report
Report
Portfolio H
GMAS /
CREW
Dept X
Report
Dept Y
Portfolio C
GMAS /
CREW
Dept X
Report
Dept Y
Portfolio G
GMAS /
CREW
Dept X
Report
Dept Y
GMAS /
CREW
Report
Dept Y
Portfolio B
Portfolio I
GMAS /
CREW
Dept X
Report
Dept Y
Dept X
Report
Portfolio D
GMAS /
CREW
Dept X
Report
Dept Y
Report
Report
Report

11. Staffing and Resources
Roles and Responsibilities
Decentralized Staffing Models
Other Examples

12. Should the Goal be Perfection?
You’re implementing a new system or process in order to achieve something. How do you decide what your goal should be? I don’t think we often consider that the goal doesn’t always need to be 100%.

13. Can We Settle for Less than 100%?
Protection of Humans or Animals
Paperless Processes
Effort Certification
Timely Internal Account Closeout
Automation of a Process
Other Examples?
Protection – Of course we can’t design systems to protect 90% of our Human participants
Paperless Processes – It can be more efficient to accept less paper than to only accept no paper
Effort Certification – 95% sounds really good until the auditors want to see the certification for the particular grant being audited and one is missing
Closeout/Delete – It may depend on your circumstances. Do you have to re-use account numbers? Do you have a process for write-offs that is linked to the Closeout process?
Automation – if settle for 80%, build into process an “exit” for the 20% that doesn’t loose anything that’s already been done. In effect, still one starting point and set the decision point (80 or 20) early enough that you aren’t collecting info that won’t be used.
Other – These are just a few examples. The point is, that we should think about what our goal should be rather than assume it has to be 100%.

14. Key Takeaways
Need to develop creative solutions for providing post award support
Utilize technology where possible
Find the right balance for your institution
Share the work by defining clear roles and responsibilities…..and hold people accountable
Others?