George Mason leadership recognized the need to change the delivery model for research administration to manage research growth, make the best use of technology being brought forward from the RAMP project, and provide PIs with the level of support consistent with other R1 universities. Beginning in late 2020, there was a review of the entire research administration operating model to better understand how effective it was and provide suggestions for improvements. The goal of the Research Administration project was threefold:
- Provide professional research administration evenly across George Mason to better support faculty;
- Rethink research administration as a professional career and not an add on to other administrative functions; and
- Localize some research administration functions to allow OSP to perform duties more focused on University compliance.
After a pilot phase, the new operating model went into effect across the University as of 12/31/22. Most colleges and schools are now staffed with pre-award and post-award research administration support teams. For central units and academic units without pre-award resources, a newly established Central Research Administration Pre-Award Team was formed.
Guides to Roles and Responsibilities
As an extension of the project and to improve the process related to recruiting and retaining highly qualified professionals, OSP and HR collaborated to include research administration as an indicator directly in PageUp position descriptions with the ability to identify what percentage of time staff spend on research administration activities. This information is also integrated into the Banner HR System to allow for more robust reporting capabilities through MicroStrategy. This update will allow for clearer responsibilities defined in position descriptions, improved data capture related to research support, and improved reporting capabilities for managers and senior leadership evaluating research support locally and at a university level.
The Research Administration Positions by Unit report in MicroStrategy can be found via the following path: Patriot Reporting>Shared Reports>Research>Labor
- This report displays all positions designated as research administration roles, along with the percentage of time assigned to research administration for each position as recorded in PageUp.
- Please note: If a research administration position in your unit is missing or contains inaccurate information, work with your college HR representative to ensure the appropriate updates are submitted through PageUp.