Electronic Research Administration (eRA) Project
The modernization of core research infrastructure is essential to support GW’s vibrant and growing research community. In response to GW's strategic initiative to enhance the research experience and feedback gathered during the faculty-led research ecosystem review, the Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR) is spearheading the implementation of myResearch, an enhanced electronic research administration (eRA) tool.
When fully implemented, myResearch will be GW’s integrated online system for proposal development and sponsored award management.
Current Phase: User Testing
Robust user testing is critical to ensure that myResearch works as expected for the GW research community. Principal investigators and research administrators are invited to preview myResearch and provide feedback pertinent to their respective roles.
The proposals module of myResearch will be previewed on the following dates. Testers will be guided through scenarios that cover proposal and budget creation, proposal review, proposal submission, and Just-in-Time requests.
- Tuesday, October 12, 2021; 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
- Thursday, October 14, 2021; 10:00 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- Friday, October 15, 2021; 10:00 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- Monday, October 18, 2021; 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, October 19, 2021; 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Dates for testing the agreements module of myResearch will be announced soon.
Objectives
myResearch will:
- address a number of recommendations made through the faculty-led ecosystem review, focusing on pre-award and post-award functions;
- reduce administrative burden for more than 3,000 investigators and research staff;
- streamline processes and workflows;
- facilitate and automate communication among ecosystem stakeholders;
- improve transparency throughout the proposal process;
- capture necessary data to ensure robust analytics and reporting capabilities;
- establish necessary internal controls; and
- integrate numerous research administration functions in one centralized location.
Features
myResearch will provide a number of time-saving features for the GW research community, including:
- templates and versioning that will reduce time spent creating proposals;
- ability to copy and revise proposals;
- dashboard style work queues;
- online budget development;
- ”smartForms” with default values from sponsor and GW that will minimize data entry and input errors;
- agreements, terms and conditions that utilize Microsoft Word for improved editing and version control;
- ability to view portfolio of proposals that were submitted through myResearch; and
- built-in support for compliance and regulatory matters that will make requirements and actions clearer
Timeline
The eRA project commenced in spring 2019 with a needs assessment and development of a request for proposals. A committee of stakeholders unanimously selected a vendor in winter 2019 and the onboarding phase began in spring 2020.
Planning & Onboarding
Spring 2019 -
Fall 2020
Assess and select vendor, refine the project plan, and define project capabilities through in-depth onboarding
Design & Iteration
Winter -
Summer 2021
Iteratively create, configure, validate and refine system and process changes
Testing
Fall - Winter 2021
Conduct testing sessions with stakeholders, log and resolve issues
Training & Deployment
Winter 2022
Review and load data configurations, conduct trainings, adapt changes
Support
Ongoing
Provide ongoing user support, training and resources, troubleshoot issues and fine-tune changes
Team
Key Collaborators
- Faculty Senate Research Committee
- School Research Leadership
- School Research Administrators
- Office of the Vice Provost for Research
- GW Information Technology
- Grants and Contracts Accounting Services
Members
Senior leadership within the Office of the Vice Provost for Research and GW Information Technology
Responsibilities
Sanctioned project, approved budget, etc.
Members
Faculty and staff representation, including faculty leaders of each of the research administration pods and leadership within the Office of Sponsored Projects and Enterprise Information Services
Responsibilities
Makes final decisions when changes to scope, budget or time are involved
Members
Includes a faculty representative, directors within the Office of Sponsored Projects, leadership within Grants and Contracts Accounting Services, managers of research administration pods, and project leads from GW Information Technology
Responsibilities
Participates in project meetings and makes decisions on functional and technical areas of project
Members
Includes school research administrators (SRAs) and staff from the Office of Sponsored Projects, GW Information Technology, and Grants and Contracts Accounting Services.
Responsibilities
Provides input for critical decision points and expertise to Business Owners
Members
Representatives from Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR) and GW Information Technology (GWIT)
Responsibilities
Manages day-to-day logistics of the project, including project documentation, planning, scheduling, communications, etc.
Training
As myResearch nears deployment, training will be made available for the GW research community. Those details will be posted here, and distributed widely, when they are available.
Feedback
If you have any questions or feedback about myResearch, please email us at [email protected].
