This post is part of our NORDP 2016 Conference Reports. These reports capture the take-home points from a variety of sessions presented at the NORDP Annual Meeting in Orlando.
Session Scribe: Karen Fletcher
Developing Research Capacity and Grant Readiness in Investigators
Presenters: Marjorie Piechowski and Sarah Polasky
Key points from the session:
- Get yourself involved in Faculty Orientation.
- Find out how much managerial experience/personnel awareness (HR) your new researcher has – most do not have any; and then provide guidance.
- Provide templates on anything you can.
- Consider providing editorial assistance for publications.
- All recommendations depend on context.
What did you hear at this presentation that surprised you?
The suggestion to host a workshop for graduate students before they leave your institution to train the next generation of faculty (focus on managerial skills).
What resources did you discover at this presentation?
An Assessment Tool: PI Grant Readiness, worksheet/list. This is a self-assessment for PI’s on how much preparation they had already completed in order to be competitive for a grant; this could be used as a talking point with junior faculty. Contact presenters (sarah.polasky@asu.edu and piechow4@uwm.edu) for a copy.
What else from this session should NORDP members know?
- Don’t scare faculty with too much information – consider providing them with no more than 5 funding opportunities that are due within the next 6 months.
- Find out if your new researcher has a research plan with their mentor. Junior faculty usually know little about what grants have been awarded in their area – help them identify those.
- Grant Readiness should include: 1) Strategic Planning for Research Funding; 2) Ability Assessment; 3) Mentoring Support (individual/internal or external), Departmental, Institutional; and 4) Logistics (lab space, how do you fill out a purchase order, etc).
- After creating a Strategic Research Grant Plan for a faculty member, re-meet with them after a year to update the plan. Consider asking for a report from them.
- Provide them project management support.
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