Month: May 2018

NORDP 2018 Conference Notes: Building Research Resilience Through International Cooperation: The Example of Horizon 2020

Building Research Resilience Through International Cooperation: The Example of Horizon 2020

Presenters:

  • Mary Kavanagh, Delegation of the European Union
  • Cole Donovan, U.S. Department of State
  • Victoria Bodnorova, EURAXESS North America
  • Claire Chen, National Council of University Research Administrators

Key points from the session. We learned: 

H2020

  • Goals of international cooperation: identify talent, tackle global challenges, identify business opportunities.
  • H2020 is the biggest multi-national and multi-lateral research program in the world.

DOS

  • Transatlantic enterprise is valued at $800 billion US and comprised of federal and philanthropic funding.
  • US-Ireland cooperative supports simultaneous proposals submitted from US and Ireland to NSF or NIH; funded projects based on US review are then supported by each country (to their resident researchers).

EURAXESS North America

  • Three mechanisms:
    • EURAXESS (jobs & funding; partnering tool & hosting (good for developing consortia); information & assistance; EURAXESS worldwide).
    • Marie Sklodowka-Curie Actions (innovative training methods; individual fellowships; research and innovation staff exchange; co-funding of regional, national and international programs).
    • European Research Council (starting grants; consolidator grants; advanced grants; synergy grants).
  • Established to support researchers moving from overseas to the EU; over 200 centers in every European country; all services are free of charge. Euraxess.org – “assistance and support” section.

NCURA

  • BILAT USA 4.0 has four goals: facilitate pilot dialog; foster transatlantic partnerships; identify emerging research topics; engage the private sector. Has 6 US partners and 10 EU partners.
  • Hosted resources: report on US funding opportunities for EU researchers; database on funding opportunities; terminology guide; research connection symposium at NCURA annual meeting (free and public event).

What did you hear at this presentation that surprised you?     

  • DOS may have international opportunities that are well aligned to research; don’t overlook DOS as a funding source.
  • Almost 1000 applications for US Nationals to the Marie Sklodosdka-Curie with 18% success rate for US Nationals (versus 13% overall for EURAXESS).

What resources did you discover at this presentation?

What was the most interesting question asked by an audience member, and what was the presenter(s)’ response?

  • Q: Is the “implementing arrangement” the name of the funding opportunity?
    • A: Using the terminology “invoke the US-EU implementing arrangement” for the EU partner should be sufficient.
  • Q: How should an ADR advise US faculty to become involved in EU opportunities when there is not an existing US opportunity? Do they find an EU partner?
    • A-Kavanagh: EU funds health research overall and developing countries directly. Existing US funding can be leveraged, rather than pursuing new funds.
    • A-Donovan: NSF is exploring the convergence model as an attempt to increase transdisciplinary work, largely to involve more social scientists.

What else from this session should NORDP members know?

US Department of State wants to assist with connecting with European partners – US-EU implementing partnerships that enable work with EU partners without H2020 eligibility; EU partner must invoke the benefit.

Comprehensive List of Collaborative Funding Mechanisms Updated and Available

Back by popular demand: the Comprehensive List of Collaborative Funding Mechanisms. Originally created by NORDP’s founding president, Holly Falk-Krzesinski, with Penny Cook, Jorja Kimball, and Fruma Yehiely, this resource is a collection of current and recent research grant mechanisms, types, and programs for collaborative, cross-disciplinary (multi/inter/transdisciplinary) and team-based funding opportunities. Mechanisms include regular federal opportunities, such as NIH Program Project Grants, NSF Engineering Research Centers, and NEH Public Humanities Project Grants; and private opportunities, such as the MacArthur Foundation’s Research Networks.

NORDP’s Member Services Committee thanks members Jill Jividen and Kay Tindle for spearheading the effort with Holly to overhaul the original list and implement a plan to keep it current; and to Jill and her dedicated team of NORDP editors (Gina Betcher, Paula Carney, Sharon Franks, Maria Emilia Martinez, Kim Patten, and Burr Zimmerman) for their commitment to update the list monthly for new opportunities and changes that occur with existing programs.

NORDP members can access the list at http://www.nordp.org/resources. (Scroll down to Team Science Collaborative Research Resources, then click on Comprehensive List of Collaborative Funding Mechanisms.) Use the tabs at the bottom to of the spreadsheet to navigate the various funders. If you would like to suggest changes or additions, or join the editing team, please contact Jill Jividen at jjgoff@umich.edu.

Submitted by Kathy Cataneo, Member Services Committee Chairperson

NORDP fosters a culture of inclusive excellence by actively promoting and supporting diversity, inclusion and equity in all its forms to expand our worldview, enrich our work, and elevate our profession.

2018 NACRO Annual Conference

NACRO

Join the premier organization for corporate-university relations professionals at our annual conference! Now open to anyone interested in corporate relations, university/industry partnerships, and our organization, this year’s conference will be in Atlanta, GA on July 24-26, 2018 at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta Downtown. Whether you’re new to the industry or a veteran, you’ll find opportunities to connect, learn and collaborate with peer institutions and industry representatives throughout the 20+ sessions and breakout groups. For program details and to register visit www.nacrocon.org.

NEW FOR 2018: NORDP members will receive a 25% discount off of conference registration! Contact shymes@asginfo.net for details.

Board of Directors Voting Ends Soon

NORDP’s 2018 election for Board of Directors ends at midnight on Thursday, May 31. Please cast your vote if you have not already done so!

Board of Directors voting information was provided in a May 7 email sent by “NORDP Election Coordinator <mailto:noreply@directvote.net>.” Only individuals whose memberships are current may vote. If you believe you are eligible to vote but did not receive an electronic ballot, please check your spam or junk mail folder and notify me at nlm@unl.edu if you are unable to locate the election email.

As those of you who attended the candidates’ forum during the annual conference in Arlington saw, we have a tremendous slate of Board candidates this year. Please honor them all by taking the time to review their candidate materials and submitting your vote today.

Thank you!

Nathan Meier
Chair, NORDP 2018 Nominating Committee

#NORDP2018 By the Numbers

I hope everyone who attended NORDP’s 2018 10th Annual Research Development Conference in Arlington last week had a safe and uneventful return home, and that you didn’t find your inboxes and desks too cluttered with things to attend to when you went back to work.

Just a few brief statistics about the meeting that I thought might be of interest. This year, we had:

  • 1 leadership forum
  • 1 short course
  • 4 workshops
  • 4 plenary or keynote addresses or panels
  • 16 sponsors (a record!)
  • 33 networking dinners over the first two nights of the conference, with 250 participants
  • 40 individual or panel presentations
  • 54 posters (not including NORDP’s own committee and programmatic posters)
  • 598 registrants (plus 6 on-site registrations, for a total of 604; also a record!)

If you weren’t able to attend the meeting this year, or if you’d like to re-live a little of the experience, check out the conference recap video:

(It’s also available on the NORDP homepage, in case this link doesn’t work.).

We won’t have the full picture until the Evaluation Committee submits its report to the Board of Directors (probably in September), but all of the comments I heard (or overheard in passing) were uniformly positive. (Speaking of evaluations, if you haven’t yet completed all of yours, please do so: that information is of tremendous help to the Board and the planning committee as we start the process for putting together next year’s meeting.)

Kudos to everybody who helped make this meeting as successful as it was. And a very special thanks to our two stalwart conference co-chairs, Karen Eck (Old Dominion University) and Kari Whittenberger-Keith (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee). We couldn’t have done it without you!

If you’re looking for presentations or materials from sessions at the conference that you either attended or wanted to browse because you couldn’t make the session, please be patient. The conference team will be contacting the presenters to get final copies of presentation materials shortly. Once they’re available, they’ll be posted to the conference program page. If you don’t find a hyperlink next to the presentation you’re looking for, that means the materials haven’t been made available yet. Also please note that we do not post materials from the leadership forum or the workshops, as that content is only available to the participants in those sessions.

Lastly, if you missed the announcement at the conference, save the date for #NORDP2019: April 29-May 1, 2019, at the Omni in Providence, Rhode Island!

Michael Spires
NORDP President

NORDP 2018 Conference Cameo: David Widmer

#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: David Widmer, PhD, Manager of Scientific Development
Where: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Number of years in research development: 8
Length of NORDP membership: 8
Number of NORDP conferences attended: 4
What is the most interesting place you’ve visited? Of course, it will be Arlington, VA for NORDP 2018!

In the 17 years since coming to MSK’s Grants & Contracts unit as a slightly-used neuroscientist/historian of medicine, I have had several grant management roles before leading our Funding Development Team today. We provide funding searches, proposal development resources, complex grant project management, outreach and training for our faculty and fellows.David Widmer

From my very first interactions with NORDP members back in 2010, I found a friendly, collaborative, and wise group of colleagues willing to help navigate the new world of a Research Development Professional.

Learning the “secret” of grant proposal fundability is grounded in real-life for me: I believe my Fulbright grant was awarded because I focused on the review criteria, the mission of the organization, and the scientific research interests of my host country, Switzerland.

The research experience that I gained during my masters’ and doctoral work at Rutgers, my two years at the Université de Fribourg, and a post-doc at MSK allow me today to stand in an investigator’s shoes when supporting my PIs with research development best practices learned from NORDP.

But it’s interacting and learning from NORDP colleagues online and at the conferences that inspires me in my role. I love the ever-present and growing culture of mentorship. That is why I try to give back to other NORDP-ites as a member (and 2017-2018 co-chair) of the NORDP Mentoring Program Committee and as a mentor myself. I look forward to seeing everyone in Arlington!

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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.

NORDP fosters a culture of inclusive excellence by actively promoting and supporting diversity, inclusion and equity in all its forms to expand our worldview, enrich our work, and elevate our profession.

NORDP 2018: Blog Link Edition

NORDP 2018 starts Monday! Pretty much everything you need to know (and more) is linked below if you need a refresher or want to catch up on the cameos while you’re traveling to the conference.

Must read:

Keynote and Plenaries:

Other important info:

All the NORDP 2018 Cameos!

Many thanks to the Conference Marketing Committee for pulling all of these blog posts together. See you next week!

Michael Thompson, Conference Marketing Chair

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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.

NORDP fosters a culture of inclusive excellence by actively promoting and supporting diversity, inclusion and equity in all its forms to expand our worldview, enrich our work, and elevate our profession.

NORDP Board of Directors Voting Opens May 7th

It’s Almost Time . . .

Voting for NORDP Board of Directors opens May 7, 2018. All NORPD members in good standing are encouraged to cast a vote. You will receive an email from our election provider, Survey & Ballot Systems, in advance of voting opening that will provide you with electronic ballot login information. The ballot will provide a bio, candidate statement, and CV for each of the candidates. You will be able to vote for any number of candidates, up to the four slots available in this year’s election.

The candidates for 2018 are:

  • Leigh Botner, University of Delaware
  • Kimberly Eck, University of Tennessee Knoxville
  • Jill Jividen, University of Michigan
  • Kerry Morris, Valdosta State University
  • Michael Spires (incumbent), Oakland University
  • Paul Tuttle, North Carolina A&T State University
  • Etta Ward (interim), Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

If you will be at the 2018 Annual Meeting, be sure to attend the Candidates Forum on Wednesday, May 9 at 8 am to see the candidates in person and ask questions.

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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.

NORDP fosters a culture of inclusive excellence by actively promoting and supporting diversity, inclusion and equity in all its forms to expand our worldview, enrich our work, and elevate our profession.

NORDP Member Etta Ward Awarded a Fulbright Scholars Grant

 

#NORDPMentoringMatters

Congratulations to Mentoring Committee member Etta Ward, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research and Development at Indiana University-Purdue University of Indianapolis, who has been awarded a Fulbright Scholars grant for the International Education Administrators Seminars in France, for two weeks in the fall of 2018. Her work as a Fulbright Scholar will center on effective mentorship as a strategy for professional and research development, especially for women and minorities in the academy. She listed NORDP one of three organizations to potentially benefit from this tremendous opportunity. Etta’s participation in the program will provide insights on international and cultural aspects of mentoring from multiple perspectives. Specifically, she anticipates that it will offer a more global understanding of competencies that effectively address the needs and challenges facing different populations participating in formal mentoring programs and initiatives.

Jan NORDP mentor picture edit
Peer Mentors Etta Ward (right) and Jan Abramson meeting in person at National Research Mentoring Network Facilitator Training

Etta has been an integral partner in the development of the Mentoring Committee as a platform to equip research development professionals for success by offering meaningful mentoring expertise, support and resources. She leads by example in a working group that develops and provides tools for Mentoring Program participants to facilitate successful NORDP mentoring experiences. Etta’s expertise and commitment to the importance of mentoring has inspired us to provide an ever-expanding curated set of resources for NORDP members. She will work closely with the Mentoring Committee to explore best practices and innovative strategies to integrate elements of international cultural awareness in various aspects of it work.

The Mentoring Committee is always looking for NORDP members who would like to participate in the work we are doing. As a committee, we mentor each other, grow together and celebrate successes: today, we celebrate Etta’s Fulbright.

If you are interested, email us at mentorprogram@nordp.org, or visit with us at the Annual Conference.

More information on the Fulbright International Education Administrators Seminars can be found here.