© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
National Council of University
Research Administrators
Financial Research Administration IX:
Financial Research Administration in a Climate of Change
Ellen Feldman
Senior Specialist
-
Project Cafe: Financial Management Systems
Replacement
Northwestern University
Scott McNeal
Director, Enterprise Research Applications
Partners Healthcare System
February 2008
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Agenda
Introductions
Opportunities for automation of research enterprise
Northwestern and Partners Healthcare Experiences
Implementations/eRA capabilities
Perceived vs. Actual Benefits
Challenges and Lessons Learned
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
What is Northwestern’s
Research System Philosophy?
Create integrated eRA (electronic research
administration) environment that encompasses:
“Best of breed” software solutions
Integration through interfaces
Related Research systems
University Core systems
Portal
–
single point of access by role
Single sign
-
on via internet and vpn
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Northwestern
Research System Initiatives
XX
XXX
XX
Software Solution
Process
Implementation
InfoEd Proposal Tracking
Proposal Tracking
July, 2007
InfoEd Proposal
Development
Proposal Development
Calendar 2009
PeopleSoft Grants
Post Award Management
September, 2008
Cognos
-
( for InfoEd data)
Cognos
-
( for PeopleSoft
data)
Reporting (Proposals and Awards)
July, 2007
September, 2008
Maximus
Effort
September, 2005
eIRB
Human Subject Protocol Submission &
Review
May, 2006
Granite/Topaz
Animal Subject Protocol Submission &
Review
May, 2006
Granite
Animal Facility Management
October, 2006
ISIS
Research Safety (web
-
based)
February, 2007
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Northwestern
–
Benefits
Enables integrated solution for research data
Facilitates Compliance
Provides easy access to real
-
time data on demand
Improves accuracy & efficiency
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
What are Northwestern’s Challenges
Change Management
Process
Project Scope
Surprise !
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Northwestern’s Challenges
Change Management
Manage Expectations
Communicate (positively!) what is changing
Communicate what will remain the same
Change the “status quo”
Incorporate process improvements in system replacements
Examine and refine internal policies
Communicate and translate impact of change
Provide tools to examine impact on staffing
Conduct Transition Workshops prior to training
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Northwestern’s Challenges
Process
Multiple Project Owners for various systems
Office for Research
Project Café
Controller’s Office
Optimal Business Owner Involvement
Internal personnel should be deeply involved in the project
Identify and engage senior staff
Encourage the use of
backfill
to dedicate internal personnel
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Northwestern’s Challenges
Project Scope
Software
Juggle multiple vendors at different points in life cycle
Minimize modifications to purchased software
Historical Data Conversion
Identify and manage the monumental data clean
-
up!
Coordinate efforts of business offices and project team
Interface coordination and development
Time (and money!)
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
“Best of Breed” breeds..
A Northwestern Challenge
-
Interface Map
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Northwestern: Lessons Learned
Change Management: Address the fear of change through
Implementation Readiness =
Communication + Training + Transition Workshops
Transition Workshops for PeopleSoft: Role
-
based
Chart of Accounts
Purchasing & Procurement
Budget and Spending Mechanics
What’s New with General Ledger
Grants Overview
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Northwestern: Lessons Learned
Process: Balance of Resources
Internal vs. external (consultants)
Project vs. process owner
Scope: Management of Project Scope
Time vs. Scope vs. Money
Recognition as university priority
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Pre and Post Award
System Project Highlights
Financial Management Replacement (Project Café)
PeopleSoft Financials
Replacing university’s financial system (CUFS)
Scope: Procurement, Chart of Accounts, Grants
InfoEd
Proposal Tracking
-
Replaced legacy tracking system
Proposal Development
-
create, route, electronic submission
Cognos
-
Budgeting and Reporting
FAMIS
-
Facilities Management Information System
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Northwestern
-
Lessons Learned
Project Organization
Insert my wheel slide
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Northwestern
-
Lessons Learned
Feature: Reporting
Objective: Facilitate data delivery to distributed
end users
Perceived Benefit:
Provide real
-
time data access
Eliminate shadow systems
Meet approved end user requirements
Utilize one reporting tool to deliver data from multiple sources
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Northwestern: Lessons Learned
Feature: Reporting
Result: Cognos reports on InfoEd and PeopleSoft
data
Actual (and anticipated!) Benefits:
Provide data access to proposal and award data not previously
accessible by schools/units/faculty
Eliminate shadow systems
Engage end users in design and mock
-
up of reports
Utilize one reporting tool to deliver data from multiple sources
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Cognos Reporting
Key InfoEd Proposal Tracking
Reports
Award & Proposal Summary: Management Area or
Sponsor Type
Faculty Proposal and Award Activity
Monthly Award and Proposal Detail: School/PI/Dept.
Negotiation: Status or Notes
Cost Sharing: Proposed and Funded
“Other Support Form/Current and Pending” Data
Proposal Success: Hit Rate, Funded %
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Northwestern
-
Lessons Learned
Feature: Reporting
Challenges
Provide the tools to use the system
Offer training
Deliver supporting documents (on
-
line)
Enable end users to utilize the information
Vision: How to incorporate the data into business management
Provide guidance and resources after initial training
“Match” end users together to share experiences
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
What is Partners?
Boston
-
based integrated healthcare delivery system
academic medical centers, primary care and specialty
physicians, community and specialty hospitals, health centers
and home care.
Founding members include Massachusetts General Hospital and
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Affiliate of Harvard Medical School
Over $4B in annual operating revenue
One of the largest biomedical research centers in the US
–
20%
of revenue
Strong commitment to eRA initiatives to innovate, automate and
modernize the processes around research administration
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Research at Partners Hospitals
Research portfolio at approximately $1B annually
Annual growth outpacing the clinical practice
Over 12,000 research funds under management
3500 investigators
23 research space locations across Boston
5600 grant applications/3000 IRB applications processed in last
12 months
Over 1800 sponsors
–
60% NIH
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Research at Partners Hospitals
Complex organization
Partners
–
executive leadership
Hospital
-
based operations (grants/contract, finance, IACUC,
space management, etc.) and executive leadership
Clinical research programs
Hospital
-
based departmental leadership and research focus
Distributed research operations across Boston
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
History
Fragmented focus on the processes of research
Different solutions implemented to satisfy specific operations only
IACUC, IRB, Grants and Contracts, etc.
Various tools and technologies used
Access, Excel, Email, etc.
Heavy investment in manual process
More IT focus on clinical operations and enterprise solutions
PeopleSoft, electronic medical records, etc.
Lack of Mac support across the system
Little understanding of IT needs and investment
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Research Enterprise Applications Group
Formed four (4) years ago to support all of research administration
functions
Integrated resources housed in various business offices
Moved out of research operations and into a new division Partners
Information Systems focused on supporting all of research
Admin systems, Computational Clusters, Network service levels for
research facilities, Clinical Research Initiatives, and Genetics/Genomics
Organization of a technical systems architecture for connection
and integration of applications
Commitment from research leadership and business offices
Execution of electronic research administration (eRA) strategy
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Research Administration and IT
Strong commitment at Partners Research Admin to invest in technology
Environment of competing resources
Invest in systems or more bodies to do the work
Time dedicated to making the right decisions
Technology as the enabler not the solution
The system will not solve all problems
Bridging the language gap between offices
Wire frames, data schemas, xml, etc.
COIs, RO1s, Expedited, PA, etc.
Team cultures
Buried in paper vs. the great clean desk
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Partners eRA Initiatives
Insight 2.1 Integrated eRA Portal
eIRB w/ electronic submission and routing
eGrant submission via InfoEd
Personnel salary planning and effort management
Enterprise financial and operational reporting
Conflict of Interest Reporting
Electronic Grants Management System
InfoEd Grants Management
Online Grants submission with work flow
Distributed system access across the community
Billing and Accounts Receivable Automation
PS Grants 8.9 Implementation
Tight integration with Grants management system
Enterprise Online Training
Adobe Connect
New Research Content Management System/Portal
Interwoven
Intellectual Property Management
Knowligent
Enterprise Research Space Management System
Core Facilities Management Application
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
2007 Achievements
Go Live of eIRB to automate over 6,000 transactions
submitted to the Office of Human Subjects protection
annually
Implementation of InfoEd’s Proposal Tracking Module to
support the transition of all PHS Grants and Contracts offices
and Clinical Research Office off of legacy system
Deployment of PS 8.9 Grants, Contracts, Projects, Billing and
AR Modules
Complete rewrite of Insight platform
Partners Research Portal
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
2007 Accomplishments
Delivery of new TIMI and Device Tracking databases from Clinical
Research Office and migration off of legacy system
Rollout of Budget Builder module to support clinical research trials
Integration with charge masters from MGH and BWH
Delivery of new Reporting module
Migration of reports out of ReX for broader community distribution
Implementation of new Conflict of Interest Module
First solution to support users outside of the research community
Online learning infrastructure using Adobe’s GetConnect
Construction of over 60 online training modules
New research intranet content management system
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
2007 Accomplishments
Deployment of 7 new modules on top of the Insight 2.0 platform:
Agreements
Purchasing
Personnel
eIRB
Conflict of Interest
Reporting
Administration
Continued to support of ReX and Insight during the transition
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Insight Infrastructure:
Integration point of all research related data across systems
G/C, IRB, IACUC, Clinical Research, Patents, Inventions, Financials,
etc.
Security Infrastructure to segment utilization
PHS, Hospital, Department, Lab, PI, Project
Web
-
based
–
platform independent
Scalable for future use and integration
InfoEd PD/PT
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Integrated Grants Activities:
Online Grant Submission for all proposals
Distributed pre
-
post award tracking
Aggregated financial reporting by program
project, investigator, research program
Subcontract status
Salary expenses by week for the life of the
project
Effort commitments to sponsors
InfoEd PD/PT
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Integrated Human Studies Activities:
Automated eIRB using ‘smart forms’
Forms management tools available to
administrators with the human research office
Research document storage
Validation of proposals before submission
Real
-
time tracking of status and reporting
eSignatures
InfoEd PD/PT
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Integrated Animal Studies Activities:
Automated IACUC using ‘smart forms’
Forms management tools available to
administrators with the human research office
Protocol associated document storage
Validation of proposals before submission
Real
-
time tracking of status and reporting
eSignatures
InfoEd PD/PT
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Integrated Clinical Research Activities:
Budget Development tool for trial budgets
based on hospital costs plus other
administrative and salary costs
Tracking of expenses to project charges and
future reconciliation
Integration with electronic data capture upon
enrollment
Connection to IRB renewal with number of
subjects enrolled
InfoEd PD/PT
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Integrated Procurement Activities:
Track expenditures by lab and project
Report on expenditures with different
vendors
Enter transactions for reconciliation
against hospital systems
InfoEd PD/PT
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Integrated Personnel Activities:
Salary and budget plans by person across
research projects crossing fiscal years
Integrated into financial reports
Tracking of effort vs. salary commitments
Viewing salaries on projects ending
Reviewing actual salary pay history with
charges across grants
InfoEd PD/PT
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Integrated Reporting Activities:
Tracking of key data points across the
enterprise
Expenditures
Success rates
Space and density
Timelines for processes
InfoEd PD/PT
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Assessment
Evaluate the current states of your organization
Identify primary areas of focus
Business flows and intersections
Evaluate hospital/university and departmental shadow
systems
Secure capital seed funding to develop further concepts
and justify returns on investment
Build vs. buy
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Assessment
Locate common data sources
Investigators, sponsors, security guidelines, etc
Coordinate activities to obtain necessary data feeds
Plan, plan and plan
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Making it Work
…
.
Form strong partnerships
IT and Research Leadership
Project teams and research operations
Break down the barriers
Need for sharing of information and data across the research processes
Inclusion of all offices, hospital departments and investigators
Strong leadership to ensure commitment
Develop an overall vision and strategy for execution
eRA committee, shared collective responsibilities
External factors already forcing change
–
Grants.gov, increased oversight,
regulations, etc.
Understand the budget process
Money and investment required
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Lessons Learned
Strong central leadership required to keep everyone on the
same page
Significant investment necessary to develop or implement all
services
There will be periods where the skeptics are the loudest voices
People say they need the information until they have it
Obtaining necessary data is not straightforward
Data merging and cleanup can be a painful process
Establish key goals and meet them as best you can
© National Council of University Research
Administrators FRA IX Conference 2008
Lessons Learned
If you are working with vendors, structure contracts so that
payments are contingent upon successful milestones
Hire the right talent
–
analysts, project managers, engineers
and data administrators
Establish clear technical and operational standards and stick
to them
Include everyone in the process at various points
The benefits of a modern and efficient research administration
process is important for us all…
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