Month: February 2020

Conference Cameo: Carolyn Bernhardt

Who: Carolyn Bernhardt, editor/writer
Where: University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine
Number of years in research development: I’m just starting out
Length of NORDP membership: New member
Number of NORDP conferences attended: 2020 will be my first one!
How do you unwind? By staying active, especially on, in, or near water

So, I am actually not a research development professional. At least, not on paper. But isn’t everyone who works in higher education there because they believe in the power of research?OV6A0781F_sq

I have been in higher education communications for the last four years, but have more recently begun to focus much of my efforts toward helping our faculty and staff researchers feel confident and competent when interfacing with the media about their research. I also work to help our researchers take the next step into leveraging their media relations to drive more citations of their research, open up new networking and collaboration opportunities, entice new funding agencies, bolster relationships with existing funding partners, and recruit graduate student talent. I am so looking forward to my very first NORDP because I am interested in learning more about how the work I do lends itself to research development, and learning more about the field of research development as a whole.

My background is in editorial work. I received my BA in English literature and film studies from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. Then, I started my professional career in children’s’ books. I have written, edited, and fact checked numerous titles for the library/education market. It was through this work that I not only crammed my brain full of so much random information that I became a pub trivia champion many times over, but also came to believe that, since science impacts everyone, everyone deserves access to understanding even the most complex science. To this day, I remain passionate about effectively communicating complex earth, health, and animal science to the broadest audience possible. So much so that, in addition to my current day job, I am pursuing a Master of Arts in Science Writing at Johns Hopkins University.

Currently, I am the managing editor of our college’s donor and alumni magazine, Profiles. I have worked hard to weave research into the fabric of the stories we tell as much as possible because I think if our donors, alumni, and legislatures should be consistently reminded that our research is what sets us apart. Plus, I get paid to hear people tell me their story and I work with some of the most fascinating people on the planet — it’s a pretty sweet deal, as far as I am concerned. Some of the coolest things I have written about in my career include moose, Gila monsters, racehorses, owls… and the brilliant, passionate people who keep them healthy.

I am attending this year’s NORDP to learn how my efforts can work hand-in-hand with research development professionals to help support leading edge research and its impact on humans, animals, and the world we share. I am especially looking forward to meeting new people, seeing San Antonio, and gathering new ideas for communicating about research. Communications conferences can be full of great pointers and practices, but I want to more specifically explore the relationship between communications and research. I look forward to doing just that in a few short weeks!

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We hope to see you at the Conference, which will be held May 17 – 20, at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa in San Antonio, TX. The conference room block can be accessed HERE. 

For more information about the conference or to register, visit http://www.nordp.org/conferences. Follow @NORDP_official on Twitter for all the latest #NORDP2020 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.

Conference Cameo: Kathy Partlow

Who: Kathy Partlow, Senior Proposal Development Coordinator
Where: University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Number of years in research development: 8
Length of NORDP membership: 8
Number of NORDP conferences attended: 8
How do you unwind? I enjoy escaping into a good book.

Given my love of books, I wanted to share my NORDP conference experience and advice with help from “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!” by Dr. Seuss.KCP2

“Congratulations! Today is your day! You’re off to great places! You’re off and away!”

If you’ve decided to go to the annual NORDP conference or are contemplating it, I can tell you that it is a great place to be! I heard about NORDP when I was exploring RD as a potential career path. I had the advantage of being a member of NORDP and attending the annual conferences from the very beginning. I discovered at my first conference and every conference since that the NORDP community is friendly, and extremely willing to give advice and share resources.

“When you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.”

Are you looking for a better or more efficient way to do an RD task? Have you exhausted your ideas? Are you feeling siloed or isolated? I give you the NORDP annual conference. There is no better way to get your creative juices flowing. I have always left the conference with so many ideas that the harder part is deciding which ones I have time to pursue. I find myself regularly referring to past conference presentations and materials when I discover myself in uncharted territories.

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”

Two challenges I face at NORDP conferences are choosing the sessions to attend (there are so many!) and networking. I benefited last year from trying out each of the session types. Each offers different depths of content and different ways to receive and share information. For fellow introverts, I’ve found easy ways to meet people include introducing myself at a lunch table, conversing at a round table, asking a few people about their Idea Showcase posters, and attending a networking dinner. One of the most lasting benefits I’ve received from attending the NORDP conferences is developing relationships with colleagues from other institutions. You can also continue networking beyond the conference by getting involved with a NORDP committee (the very last meeting on Wednesday) or participating in other ongoing activities, like the Mentoring Program, Circles, and Peer Mentoring Groups.

“You’re off the Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!”

My last advice as you prepare to get on your way is to protect the time you have at NORDP to invest in yourself. I look forward to seeing you in San Antonio!

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We hope to see you at the Conference, which will be held May 17 – 20, at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa in San Antonio, TX. The conference room block can be accessed HERE. 

For more information about the conference or to register, visit http://www.nordp.org/conferences. Follow @NORDP_official on Twitter for all the latest #NORDP2020 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 Conference Educational Program Available Online, Easy to Download

To explore the 12th Annual NORDP Research Development Conference lineup, you now have easy access to a downloadable PDF version of the complete NORDP 2020 Educational Program.  Click here to find the link to the PDF file, “Download a PDF of Educational Programming.”

The 30-page document describes more than 100 workshops, concurrent sessions, roundtables, and lightning talks along with room assignments and instructor/facilitator names. Please note that room assignments are subject to change (an app will keep conference attendees informed on a daily basis). To see the full program, including keynote and plenary speakers, the Ideas Showcase, social events, committee and regional meetings, and education programming, click here. A link to the Educational Programming PDF is also available there.

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We hope to see you at the Conference, which will be held May 17 – 20, at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa in San Antonio, TX. The conference room block can be accessed HERE. 

For more information about the conference or to register, visit http://www.nordp.org/conferences. Follow @NORDP_official on Twitter for all the latest #NORDP2020 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.

New NORDP Affinity Groups

Announcing two thematic Affinity Groups: the Academic Medicine/Affiliate Medical Center Group of NORDP (AMC NORDP) and the Predominately Undergraduate Institutions of NORDP (PUI NORDP)

NORDP is proud to provide ways for members to share ideas and support each other as Research Development professionals. One of these ways is through our thematic “Affinity” Groups.

The Academic Medicine/Affiliate Medical Center Group of NORDP – AMC NORDP is our newest such group to engage research development professionals and researchers from diverse institutions with a medical component. This group provides professional development opportunities unique for RD staff working with biomedical researchers, clinician-researchers, and clinician-educators in an academic medicine or affiliated medical center setting and facilitates collaboration among these RD professionals and researchers. Any Active NORDP Member who is interested in or works with/in an academic medicine or AMC is eligible to become an AMC NORDP member. To get involved, contact Heather McIntosh at heather-mcintosh@ouhsc.edu.

The Predominately Undergraduate Institutions of NORDP – PUI NORDP supports the professional development of NORDP members from Predominately Undergraduate Institutions and other small, teaching-intensive institutions by fostering collaboration between and among NORDP PUI members and advancing the field of research development at PUIs and other similar institutional contexts.  Many RD professionals in small institutional settings are likely to fulfill many roles beyond RD and work in offices of one or few staff members. PUI NORDP aims to provide professional development support to members who may not have access to such opportunities at their institutions. Any active NORDP member interested in or working at or with a PUI or other small, teaching-intensive institution is eligible to become a PUI NORDP member. To get involved, contact Jennifer Glass at jglass5@emich.edu.

Cheers,

Karen, aka Fletch
NORDP President

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.

Taking Mentoring To New Levels With NRMN and CIMER Certification

Posted by The Mentoring Committee

In April 2018, Etta Ward and Jan Abramson received travel awards through the NORDP Strategic Alliances Committee to participate in National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) facilitator training in Madison, Wisconsin. Trainings were based on the Entering Mentoring curriculum, a product of a 5-year, NIH-funded U01, which has now entered its second 5-year cycle. After completing training, Jan and Etta presented a White Paper to the NORDP Board of Directors, began to share the concepts and competencies at NORDP conferences and started implementing the strategies outlined in the White Paper. Simultaneously, the Mentoring Committee began to integrate NRMN concepts into resources for mentoring program participants. By early 2019, the Mentoring Committee had collaborated with the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER), a core of the U01, and received permission to adapt the evidence-based mentor training program and curriculum for research development professionals. The work NORDP is doing in this area will have a wide impact: once completed, the curriculum will be publicly available, at no cost, through CIMER and will be the first curriculum developed for research professional staff.

In late January, which was also National Mentoring Month, Jan and Etta reached Level 2: Certified Facilitator status from CIMER. The certification process required completing facilitator training, facilitating multiple Entering Mentoring trainings, demonstrating evidence of mastery through evaluations, applying and being accepted. They received notice of becoming certified on the same day – which was Etta’s birthday. That was fully a happy coincidence, as both submitted applications separately and at different times.

At this year’s NORDP Conference, the Mentoring Committee will present a 4-hour workshop designed to introduce NORDP members to the Entering Mentoring curriculum and competencies. During summer 2020 the Mentoring Committee will collaborate with the NORDP Professional Development Committee to present a series of on-line workshops to complete all of the Entering Mentoring training modules. This will give RD professionals a sense of the materials, so they can integrate the competencies into their work with faculty, staff and other professionals.

The Mentoring Committee includes one other certified facilitator (Paula Carney) and two trained facilitators (Kathy Partlow and Erica Severan-Webb). The Mentoring Committee would like to add trained NRMN or CIMER facilitators to a resource list. If you have gone through NRMN or CIMER facilitator training, please let the committee know by emailing mentorprogram@nordp.org.

Calling all volunteers

Farmer
Faye Farmer

If you’re like me, you are busy. All. The. Time. I have to take care of (check all that apply: ___ myself, ___ family, __parents, __ pets, ___ plants, ___ hobbies, ___ work). But sometimes, I have a free hour or two and want to do something different. What if I could find a way to do something I’m good at for my professional organization? Now is the time!

Welcome to NORDP’s 2020 strategic plan Key Results Area (KRA) 4.1.b Create ways to leverage the strengths & experience of the community. My name is Faye and I’ll be your KRA CHAMPION going forward. (Read on while you hum the Queen song under your breath.)  My role as champion is to work across the organization to advance the work of the KRA. First order of business: I’m renaming this KRA “Bright Lights of NORDP Talent”!

My January activity, with approval from the NORDP Board of Directors, is to advance you–the Bright Lights of NORDP Talent–by launching a trial process that formalizes and publicly posts volunteer requests across the organization. You will have the ability to post a variety of opportunities (e.g., paid and unpaid, specialist and generalist, short term and long). In fact, our KRA’s will be using this mechanism to seek support for their work.

I hope this process and a regular format can increase transparency into the work that we need assistance with as an organization. I also hope that the new format is flexible enough to adjust to high demand times, incorporate the varied skills sets, and meet our different individual availability across the community.

Starting this week and continuing until June 1, 2020, the membership (committees and members) can draft a volunteer form and post it to the listserve. This form should also be sent to (or cc’d to) jobs@nordp.org. Forms will be posted on the jobs board and archived regularly. The starting point for this improved process is a request for volunteer help promoting our PEERD program. You can download the form here: 2020 NORDP Call for Volunteers

I invite you and your committees to seek volunteers for NORDP activities (like creating a database, processing data, completing blog posts, completing small tasks) and let our collective talent shine!

I will ask for feedback at the end of the trial and adjust accordingly. In the meantime, if you want to work with me to find innovative ways of engaging our members in the work of the organization (a.k.a., the Bright Lights Team) send me an email.
Faye Farmer
faye.farmer@asu.edu

Okay, carry on with taking care of business!!

NORDP 2020 Conference Travel Award Applications Open

NORDP is now accepting applications for Conference Attendance Awards for the 12th Annual Research Development Conference in San Antonio, TX, for those in need of financial support beyond what their institutions or organizations will provide. Applicants may request a registration waiver and/or up to 3 nights hotel accommodation.

Conference Attendance Awards are not available to current and prior NORDP Board of Directors members, Affiliate Members or consultants. Anyone who has received travel support from NORDP in the last three years (2017-2019) is not eligible in 2020. PLEASE DO NOT REGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE UNTIL YOU ARE NOTIFIED OF THE STATUS OF YOUR ATTENDANCE AWARD. We will contact applications with decisions before the early-bird registration window closes.

These awards support NORDP’s mission to enhance the diversity of our membership and member institutions. Members who are new to NORDP, attending their first NORDP conference, identify as part of a group that they believe to be underrepresented in NORDP, or represent Minority-Serving Institutions are strongly encouraged to apply.NORDP 2020 email signature v2

Conference Attendance Grants do not fully cover the costs of attending the annual conference. Efforts must be made by applicants to secure some funding either through their institutions or personally, to cover a significant portion of conference attendance costs.

Grant recipients are expected to volunteer at the conference in May and serve on a NORDP committee or subcommittee following the 2020 Conference.

Apply HERE by February 24, 2020. If you are a first-time user of NORDP’s InfoReady Review site, please create your account by clicking “register” in the upper right corner (the site is not linked to NORDP member logins).

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We hope to see you at the conference, which will be held May 17-20, 2020, at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort & Spa in San Antonio, TX. Follow @NORDP_official on Twitter for all the latest #NORDP2020 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 2020: Preparing Conference Presentations, Slides, and Posters

For many of us, conference presentations cause worry and stress. Yet, presenting in public does not have to be scary and can be very rewarding…and even fun! The purpose of this webinar is to present best practices for preparing presentations, slides and posters, to facilitate useful and effective presentations and interactions, whatever the medium.

The webinar will be presented by Kari Whittenberger-Keith, PhD, and Jenna McGuire, MBA. Kari and Jenna have extensive experience in public speaking, speechwriting and effective communication.

We hope you will take advantage of this webinar to help make your presentations more effective, whether at the 2020 NORDP conference or in other venues.

Webinar Date: Friday, February 21st, 2020

Webinar Time: 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET

Registration link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_FeYEyRZ0TmugxOq98xMuug

Presenters:

  • Kari Whittenberger-Keith, PhD; University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
  • Jenna McGuire, MBA; The Ohio State University

conference-2020

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We hope to see you at the Conference, which will be held May 17 – 20, at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa in San Antonio, TX. The conference room block can be accessed HERE. 

For more information about the conference or to register, visit http://www.nordp.org/conferences. Follow @NORDP_official on Twitter for all the latest #NORDP2020 updates.

RD 101 at NORDP 2020

The 12th Annual NORDP Research Development Conference in San Antonio, TX will feature a six-hour, RD 101 short course from 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. on Monday, May 18th.

If you are interested in participating in RD 101 it is suggested that you register for the conference as early as possible. Registration for RD 101 is capped at 35 participants. RD 101 will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Waitlist opportunities will be available once it is filled. Please note that there are also a number of two-hour workshops running concurrently on Monday that do not require pre-registration. Full descriptions of all Monday workshops can be found HERE.

RD 101 (A SPECIAL 6-HOUR PILOT OFFERING IN 2020)

Hondo
Presenters: Katie Howard, Appalachian State University; Aaron Kline, The University of Iowa; Kari Whittenberger-Keith, The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

What is research development (RD) and how is it done? Even professionals who have worked extensively with funded research and researchers throughout their careers may feel like they only know the landscape of their specific jobs and responsibilities. Because RD roles in organizations and institutions can vary (and units are often siloed), it can be hard to get a full picture of RD as a field and how it fits into the research enterprise. RD101 will help you understand the field, expand your existing skill set, and explore new ways to support research at your institution.

NORDP is offering a pilot short course, RD 101, which provides an introduction to the field of RD. This six-hour course provides a framework for understanding who RD professionals are, the skills that make them effective in their roles, the hows? and whys? of what they do, and the resources they use in their work.

There are no prerequisites for RD 101; it is intended for new RD professionals (those with fewer than two years of experience in RD) or those considering becoming RD professionals. The developers and instructors are all experienced RD professionals from a range of institutions (e.g., centralized and decentralized, R1s, PUIs) and have designed the course around the skills and information they wish they’d had when they first entered the profession.

Course topics include:

  • What is RD? —defining RD within the research enterprise;
  • Context and Stages of the RD Process—institutional and professional cultures and how they affect the work of RD;
  • The Funding Universe—identifying and understanding funders and funding processes; and
  • Proposal Development—working with researchers to develop compelling, competitive proposals.

Conference registration opens on Tuesday, February 4th.  Visit the Conference program page for further information: https://www.nordp.org/2020-nordp-conference-schedule-at-a-glance

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We hope to see you at the Conference, which will be held May 17 – 20, at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa in San Antonio, TX. The conference room block can be accessed HERE. 

For more information about the conference or to register (after February 4th), visit http://www.nordp.org/conferences. Follow @NORDP_official on Twitter for all the latest #NORDP2020 updates.