NORDP 2018 Conference Cameo: Gwynne Grasberger

#NORDP2018 starts Monday, May 7 in Arlington, VA. Keep checking back here at the blog and on our Twitter feed (@NORDP_official) for live conference updates. Register here: http://www.nordp.org/conferences.
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Who: Gwynne Grasberger, Director, Research Strategic Planning
Where: Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Number of years in research development: 2
Length of NORDP membership: 1
Number of NORDP conferences attended: 2018 will be my first one!

My tenure with Drexel started in 2015. I was new to the administrative side of higher education and research development, however I am no stranger to Business Development, Capture and Proposal Management, and the goal of winning awards. Formerly as a Public Sector Management Consultant for more than 15 years, our role was to gather intelligence and build relationships to identify potential leads and qualifications for funding opportunities; develop knowledge and skills in marketing, strategy, proposal development, finance, pricing, contracts, project management, and human resources; and respond to solicitations. I find the proposal development process particularly rewarding because of its compactness and focus – seeing one thing through from germination to fruition.

As a new member of NORDP, this will be my first NORDP conference. In a workshop I attended in 2015 at another professional organization’s conference, staff from Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Research Administration Services introduced me to NORDP. Still new in my role at the time, I did not join because I was building my background knowledge in all aspects of research administration. Since then, much has changed. Last year, I moved into my current role as Director, Research Strategic Planning with a focus on nurturing younger researchers and giving all researchers the support they need to present their ideas and work to maximum effect. Seeking professional development opportunities beyond research administration, NORDP rose back to the top when my Senior Vice Provost for Research shared the link to the conference.

I am most excited to participate in the pre-conference short course, Foundations of Research Development: An Introduction.

Definitely looking forward to learning from and connecting with peers to help build my network of support in research development.

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We hope to see you at the Conference, which will be held May 7-9, 2018 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, VA.  For more information about the conference program or to register, visit http://www.nordp.org/conferences. Follow @NORDP_official on Twitter for all the latest #NORDP2018 updates.

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