Research Administration in the Virtual World: A Guidebook for Research Administrators

Abstract

This project established an on-line, searchable Proposal and Award Handbook for internal use of the author’s research administration team. This Handbook reduces worker stress by simplifying access to necessary systems and information, which is particularly important in the period of mandatory remote work caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This Handbook also increases research administration team cohesion and supports individual professional growth, by communicating information about roles and responsibilities of different job types within the group. The Handbook mitigates the increased difficulty of accessing files and collaborating with research administration peers caused by mandatory remote work. The Proposal and Award Handbook empowers each research administration team member to efficiently respond to researcher and institutional requirements. The Proposal and Award Handbook is searchable, editable, and organized alphabetically by topic. It contains instructions for accessing sponsor and internal systems, as well as hyperlinks to existing guidance and expertise. This Handbook is shared in a research administration team Google Drive, and uses Google Document Headings to maintain a hyperlinked table of contents. Google Document History ensures that important guidance is not mistakenly deleted. Periodic informal review, assessment, and maintenance by the lab research administration team to ensure clarity and accuracy of information. This Handbook is a lab-level research administration resource that enables timely and correct responses to all institutional stakeholders, while minimizing institutional risk that may result from regulatory or procedural non-compliance.