Program Level: Intermediate Concurrent

Description: Grantees submit progress reports at least annually and assessment of these reports are reviewed by NIH grants management and program staff before award of the next non-competing budget period. NIH program or grants management staff may request additional information to evaluate the project for continued funding. A complete and timely progress report submission is important to avoid the agency delaying award funding. Learn to identify those areas of the RPPR that are most often the subject of sponsor questions or requests for clarification.

Learning Objectives. After attending the session participants will:

• Locate key information about RPPRs, including resources, guidance, and FAQs
• Identify differences between Interim and Final RPPRs, including reporting timelines and report sections
• Understand the process for submitting RPPRs - roles and responsibilities of the PI, Department, Dean’s office, and RSP
• Locate and utilize campus and sponsor resources for troubleshooting and correcting non-compliant publications

Presented By:

• Brenda Egan, Proposal Team Manager in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
• Sarah Marcotte, Research Administrator in the School of Human Ecology

Program Level: Advanced Discussion

Description: As research administrators, we want to know what is expected of us and why. We need to be familiar with requirements and know where flexibility exists. Policy, guidance, and procedures help direct our work. They communicate what we must do. They also provide parameters within which we must exercise professional judgment. Let's discuss the differences between policy, guidance, and procedures and explore why it is important to know how they differ.

Learning Objectives. After attending the session participants will:

• Learn about and explore the differences between policy, procedure, and guidance

Presented By:

• Kim Moreland, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Sponsored Programs and Director of RSP
• Jennifer Rodis, Policy Analyst in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs

Program Level: Pre-Award Concurrent

Description: Research administrators are facing a barrage of rapidly changing requirements for current and pending/other support documents. This session will provide a basic update on the changes at the federal level and UW-Madison’s response to such changes. In addition, this session will provide guidance on how to use and maintain the RSP's Current and Pending (Other Support) Tool to assist in meeting the changing sponsor requirements.

Learning Objectives. After attending the session participants will:

• Learn the differences in Other Support documents between agencies and recent updates to sponsor requirements.
• Become familiar with UW-Madison’s policy and guidance for Current and Pending support.
• Be able to create various agency’s Current and Pending (Other Support) document using the RSP tool.
• Discover various ways on how to maintain the RSP's Current and Pending (Other Support) Tool and Other Support documents.

Presented By:

• Amy Kuehn, Assistant Director-Administration in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine
• Kurt McMillen, Assistant Director for Grant and Proposal Services in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs

Program Level: Advanced Discussion

Description: Change can be an opportunity but is often difficult. In research administration, unfunded mandates or policy decisions outside our control frequently mean introducing new policies and implementing new processes on a short timeline and with limited resources and support. Join colleagues to hear about the successful implementation of a campus process improvement in response to the 2018 Bayh-Dole Act update. Panelists will represent various roles in the implementation and provide insight into the change process. We will address several aspects of the IVCRGE approach that we believe contributed to the overall success, and open discussion to share insights from other implementations and share tips and experiences that may smooth the path in future process changes.

Learning Objectives. In this session participants will:

• Discuss techniques that have proven successful in change implementation at UW-Madison
• Identify techniques for developing collaborative working groups for successful outcomes.
• Share stories about successes or challenges and learn best practices from research administration colleagues.

Presented By:

• Max Coller, Senior Information Processing Consultant in the Information Technology Office of the VCRGE
• Kristin Harmon, Intellectual Property Disclosure Specialist in the VCRGE
• Sarah Marcotte, Research Administrator in the School of Human Ecology

Program Level: Basic Concurrent

Description: If you have ever thought, "there has to be a way to do that" or "ugh, that spreadsheet took forever" this is the session for you! At some point in your career you have likely used Excel for proposal budgets, financial projections, review of financial transactions, or preparation of financial reports. This session won't teach you how to use Excel, but we will show you how to make Excel work for you. Join us to discover the most useful Excel shortcut keys, "fun" tools like Goal Seek, and formulas you can use every day. Come prepared to ask your Excel questions and share with others your own tricks. This interactive session will not be step-by-step tutorial but instead a productive endeavor that you will find useful long after the session has ended.

Learning Objectives. After attending the session participants will:

• Apply shortcut keys to create any spreadsheet faster
• Utilize tools like GoalSeek to prepare a budget or cost transfer
• Use the handouts and information obtained to create personal templates, formulas and macros.

Presented By:

• Shelly Earl, Accountant Advanced in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
• Larissa Roberts, Research Administrator in the Biomedical Engineering Department

Program Level: Advanced Discussion

Description: This session will provide ideas on how campus, divisions and departments report research data. The facilitators will share their thoughts on the challenges faced including handling the large volume of data, nuances in definitions to meet stakeholder needs, and data quality. We will look at data from multiple perspectives including that of the PI, the center/department, School/College and the Central Office. Attendees are welcome to bring examples or questions about their needs for the group to discuss.

Learning Objectives. After attending the session partcipants will:

• Learn what resources are available and in use.
• See options for meeting the reporting needs of different stakeholders.
• Understand some factors to consider in designing research tracking systems and reports.

Presented By:

• Ann Bourque, CPA, PMP, Senior Policy and Planning Analyst in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
• Michael Geier, Electronic Research Administration Team Manager in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
• Swati Gupta, Data Analyst in the School of Medicine and Public Health

Program Level: Post-Award Concurrent

Description: When the UW authorizes funding to another entity, strings are usually attached. The Uniform Guidance indicates that subawards must be monitored to make sure they’re following federal statutes. During this session we will review a subaward invoice, a subaward modification request, and discuss ideal roles and responsibilities.

Learning Objectives. After attending the session participants will have a deeper understanding of:

• How to review subaward invoices
• How to identify unallowable/problem charges
• What to consider during the subaward modification process.
• Discuss unusual subaward challenges, for example, subs not billing, not meeting cost share, not doing the work, PI conflicts.

Presented By:

• Sandy Fowler, Assistant Dean at the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Business Services
• Bridgett Molinar, Accountant in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs

Program Level: Intermediate Discussion

Description: Export Control is an area that touches many areas around campus including contracts, research, travel, shipping, and foreign persons’ involvement in projects. While UW-Madison has an export control office, they rely on people across campus to bring potential issues that would not otherwise be spotted to their attention. This session will look at some real-world examples based upon actual events that have occurred on campus and help attendees learn what to look for. A very basic overview of export controls will occur at the beginning of the session and audience participation is encouraged.

Learning Objectives. After attending the session, participants will:

• Identify situations where the export control office should be contacted
• Respond when presented with export control issues
• Better understand the complexities surrounding export control situations

Presented By:

• Tom Demke, Export Control Officer in the Export Control Office, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research
• Bethany Nelson, Export Control Coordinator in the Export Control Office, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research

Program Level: Post-Award Concurrent

Description: : To address a need for increased post-award management, Mechanical Engineering developed a dashboard tool in excel for each faculty member’s award portfolio. Each month dashboards are updated, and PI’s receive a communication highlighting any issues that need to be addressed. Additionally. the dashboards are used as a projection tool to aid faculty in planning student funding and award spend-out. This session will highlight how the team tackled the problem and began to more proactively manage sponsored projects, as well as how they continually assess new needs and improve their process. Participants will be encouraged to share their experience with similar issues and the solutions they have found in the hope that more ideas will be generated for participants to take back to their desks.

Learning Objectives. After attending the session participants will:

• Understand Mechanical Engineering’s efforts to improve post-award management and facilitate PI communication.
• Recognize how the department identified needs and developed solutions.
• Learn how the improvements were received by faculty and how the team continues to refine improve their process.
• Be provided with time to share their experiences, contributing to the body of knowledge that we can all draw upon to more effectively do our jobs.

Presented By:

• Catherine Shults, Pre- and Post-Award Research Administrator in the Department of Mechanical Engineering
• Zach Smith, Pre- and Post-Award Research Administrator in the Department of Mechanical Engineering

Program Level: Basic Discussion

Description: The Administrative Transformation Program (ATP) is a wholistic transformation that will right-size administrative complexity, advance operational excellence, and better enable the mission at UW-Madison through the adaption of a cloud-based infrastructure that will allow individuals to easily access and manage information, anytime and anywhere. As a preeminent research institution, its pivotal that the research administration infrastructure and business process are included in this transformation. This discussion session will feature a panel of representatives from the ATP who will provide a brief overview of the program to date with a specific focus on benefits to the research administration enterprise at UW-Madison.

Learning Objectives. After attending the session partcipants will:

• Gain a basic understanding of what the Administrative Transformation Program is and how research administration fits into the program.

Presented By:

• Kurt McMillen, Assistant Director for Grant and Proposal Services in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
• Mark Sweet, Director Grants and Contracts in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
• Nick Tincher, CIO and Director of IT in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research