Month: October 2024

NORDP Consultants Program – Year 1 of the NSF GRANTED Program

The NSF GRANTED program funded an expansion of the NORDP Consultants cohort model one year ago to partner with Minority-Serving and Emerging Research Institutions (MSIs and ERIs) to grow research activity and capacity. In the past 12 months, the program has made significant progress on the project’s objectives.

New Consultants Joined

This summer, the program welcomed four new consultants: Amy Carrol, University of Rhode Island, Faye Farmer, Arizona State University, Jorja Kimball, Texas A&M University, and Claudia Scholz, University of Virginia. These individuals join 22 existing consultants bringing the pool of active NORDP Consultants to 26.

Cohort 2 and 3 Launched

Cohort 2 launched in January of 2024 with the City College of New York, NY (AANAPISI, HSI, ERI), Clark Atlanta University, GA (HBCU, ERI), Kean University, NJ (HSI, ERI), and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, TX (HSI, ERI). Each partnering institution successfully completed the first two phases, intake and collaborative planning, of the three-phase engagement framework and has transitioned into the implementation phase. In collaboration with their consultants, partners are making plans for the research infrastructure investment provided as a part of the GRANTED-funded expansion. In September, the program kicked off Cohort 3 with Hawai’i Pacific University, HI (ANNH, AANAPISI, ERI), Kentucky State University, KY (HBCU, ERI), McMurry University, TX (HSI, ERI), and University of West Alabama, AL (PBI, ERI). The next call for MSI partners will be disseminated in early 2025.

1st NORDP Consultants Program Cohort Annual Meeting

Attendees at the 1st NORDP Consultants Program Cohort Annual Meeting

In September 2024, the NORDP Consultants Program hosted its 1st Annual Meeting in Miami Gardens, FL at Florida Memorial University’s campus, drawing nearly 40 participants from eight institutions of higher education that are or have been partners in the NORDP Consultants Program. The theme for the event was building and sustaining research culture. The multi-day event provided a platform for knowledge exchange, networking, and collaboration, focusing on advancing research development initiatives and strengthening aspects of the research ecosystem. Several members of the NORDP Consultants Program presented alongside MSI partners on a wide range of topics, including a socio-ecological approach to the research ecosystem, assessing research culture, balancing institutional commitment with indirect costs, facilities and administration costs, and reinvestment strategies. Additionally, Michele McGuirl from the National Institute for General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) provided an overview of resources available for ERIs through NIGMS.

EMERGE Resource Library

The NORDP Consultants Program also launched the Equipping Minoritized and Emerging Research Institutions to Grow their Enterprises (EMERGE) Resource Library. The EMERGE Resource Library is the first national library of collaboratively written and peer-reviewed plain language research enterprise guides, tools, and other resources that center the voice, perspective, and expertise of MSIs and ERIs. The program is currently calling for authors to join the next sprint to develop additional resources. Prospective authors can register for the October 9, 20204 interest meeting here and submit a short expression of interest here.

Japera Hemming, NORDP Consultants Program
Credit / AJ Shorter Photography

Since its establishment in 2021, the NORDP Consultants Program has worked with 172 institutions, including 73 MSIs, and supported participating institutions in securing more than $90M through its cohort, embedded proposal support, and partner-initiated models. This includes $10.5M from the Advancing Research Capacity at HBCUs – a program referenced by President Biden during his remarks at HBCU Week – and the first successful partner-initiated proposal Identifying Needs and Building Research Capacity at an Historically-Black University led by Delaware State University (NIH – UC2GM157743).

The NORDP Consultants Program is support by Schmidt Futures, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health (ITE-2303003, MCB-2236057, OIA-2331578, ITE-2350104, OIA-2337236, UC2GM157743).

NORDP 2024 Holly Falk-Krzesinski Award

Named for NORDP’s founding President, this award is voted on by the Board of Directors and given annually to a NORDP Member in recognition of outstanding service to the organization, to the research development profession or field, and to peers. 

Who: Faye Farmer

Where: Director of Enterprise Design Initiatives at Arizona State University

Number of years in research development: Faye started working on proposals as an editor at a scientific institute at ASU in 2008. She moved to the University’s central office in 2011. She co-founded the central Research Development office in 2015 and worked there until 2023.

Length of NORDP membership: 15 years

You have served NORDP in numerous roles and capacities over the years. Could you share a bit about what that journey has been like?

The journey has been fantastic. Faye has held both formal and informal leadership roles in NORDP. Faye considers her greatest contributions to be in the area of conference presentations, where she shared about ASU’s experience alongside other universities. When she ran for the Board, it was a culmination of the conference experience, working with the Mentoring Committee and working with the PEERD consulting program.

NORDP has always depended on volunteers. Holding this truth close during her Board service was important to Faye. She served on the Board from 2019 to 2023. While on the Board, she contributed to two Board initiatives. Both leveraged the work of volunteers in the organization. One was the task force for certification. This involved working with several passionate and motivated individuals through a series of steps that culminated in a report that was published this year.

The second effort involved a task force on NORDP policy review and updating. Faye organized individuals interested in creating more inclusive policies within the organization. This work reflected a dynamic, evolving membership in the thousands and tried to future-proof the organization as it grows. The original bylaws were essential to the founding of NORDP, but the policies needed to address size and diversity of the organization’s membership. This work resulted in a set of policy drafts that were provided to the Board in November of 2023.

In your view, what makes an effective leader, and how has your philosophy of leadership informed your work within NORDP?

Faye believes in the power of collaboration. NORDP has taught her this. She also recognizes that she still has a lot to learn about interpersonal relations and communications. Leading in NORDP means that you are good at what you do and also invested in other’s success. Research development is a coopetition, where members balance their own university or college interests while benefiting from each other’s knowledge and experience. This balance is achievable because of the strong sense of community. Leadership means growing the scope and scale of this balance through the many layers of institutional types, career rungs, and time in the profession.

What do you see as the biggest rewards, and challenges, of serving in leadership roles within NORDP?

As far as challenges, the path to organizational change can sometimes feel glacial. But Faye believes it is slow because NORDP values community insight and input. Achieving a well-grounded, high-quality outcome that has meaning for many in the organization often requires contributions from many people over time. As an organizational leader, Faye recognizes that she does not speak for herself but for the people who put her there. This requires frequent checking-ins and creating inclusive and transparent processes.

Faye has found that the biggest reward of working in NORPD is expanding networks upon networks of professionals in research development. Even as her career has shifted in the last year, she still gets emails asking for her thoughts, advice, or connection. At ASU, Faye encouraged her team to engage with NORDP, especially by presenting at conferences. By sharing our experience, NORDP reduces barriers to engagement for its professionals. The result is better, faster, higher-quality, and more effective research development services and support nationwide.

More recently, you have played a crucial role in revitalizing the New Opportunities in Research Development (NORD) Committee. What has that process been like, and what do you see as the greatest opportunities for the field of research development moving forward?

Faye sees incredible opportunities in research development. She believes that there is momentum toward more purposeful strategy development. Faye often touts the importance of strategic (competitive) intelligence, which builds upon institutional analysis and expands it to include national program and policy trends. These early, pre-funding opportunity activities allow research development professionals to answer questions like, who is funded and why. These answers become actionable insight among university leaders, ultimately translating into more efficient funding pursuits.

What advice do you have for NORDP members who aspire to greater service within NORDP or the field at large?

Volunteer! Faye sees a parallel to the advice we give faculty and other researchers. Just step up and get involved. Faye recognizes that people want and should be paid for their work, but volunteering is critical to creating a more inclusive organization. Volunteering provides a unique skill set that may not be accessible through our work. She also recommends that NORDP members call in anyone and everyone to the organization. She says NORDP needs all levels of education, experience, and backgrounds to be successful. It is incumbent upon members to create a more diverse organization with intention and care.  

NORDP 2024 Rising Star Awardee – Elizabeth Lathrop

The NORDP Rising Star Award recognizes individuals for their outstanding, early volunteer contributions to NORDP and strong potential for future contributions to the organization and the profession or the field.

Who: Elizabeth Lathrop, PhD

Where: University of Maryland

Number of years in research development: 9 years (started unofficially ~2016)

Length of NORDP membership: 7 years since 2018

What initiative are you the most proud of in your role as a NORDP volunteer?

Mentoring committee definitely! After being a new NORDP member for a year, I picked the NORDP Mentoring Committee to get involved because I identify with the values of this committee of #Payitforward. I started as a trainee in the Mentoring Training workshop and then volunteered on various MC subcommittees which led to becoming one of the Co-Chairs. I feel very privileged to continue the work others had laid the ground work for in the past years. It takes continuous time investment and thoughtfulness to improve the various mentoring services that are available to all NORDP members. I believe my participation in the committee makes a difference in the contributions of the Mentoring Committee toward the overall success of NORDP.

How did you hear about NORDP and what made you join initially?

As part of my professional development, my boss (the Engineering Associate Dean of Research at University of Maryland) suggested that I join when first hired in my current research development position. That was in 2018. I gave myself one year to get oriented to the NORDP organization and very soon realized the grounding value of NORDP is in the relationships.

Like many other research professionals, I held various other roles wearing many hats before.

In my attempt to identify my responsibilities in an “office of one”, I learned that I must define boundaries and identify ways to collaborate with others to maximize impacts. I have learned these practices from my NORDP colleagues.

What relationships have you built as a result of NORDP?

Photo Credit Mentoring Committee Co-Chair Hilda McMakin

Network, Network, and Network! Networking with a range of research professionals provides me the opportunities to improve my own skillset through collaboration and listening. Through the Mentoring Committee, I have developed trusting relationships with many NORDP colleagues through our committee work (I love the photo taken at the 2024 NORDP Conference at Bellevue, WA this year) as well as through my participation in the mentoring program as a mentor/mentee. They have taught me the essence of the Can-Do mindset by learning through doing, which continues to guide the work I do for NORDP and at the University of Maryland. Most importantly, I consider many of them friends with whom I identify with a sense of belonging, something I treasure immensely.  

Describe how NORDP has changed from when you initially joined

The expansion of the NORDP community is evidenced by a rapid increase in member participation in the Mentoring Program since its inception in 2012 (see the mentoring program evolution figure below). Along the way, the Mentoring Committee has continued to find new ways to provide resources and support for our growing member base. With the strong support of the NORDP Board, the Mentoring Committee implemented the Wisdom Share software in 2021 to try to streamline the matching process; in 2022, we subsequently adopted the new 1:3 Mentor:Mentees Cohort mentoring to address the need for more research development mentors. Even though I only joined NORDP since 2018, I have personally benefited from all of these improvements. I would like to give a big shoutout to everyone for their generosity and enthusiasm for sharing and volunteering.

Figure Credits: Mentoring Committee Past Co-chair Kathy Partlow (l) and Mentoring Committee Market & Communication subcommittee (McMc) team member Jessica Brassard (r)

What recommendations do you have for members to get more involved with NORDP?

Just do it and learn by doing!

Don’t be afraid to take a risk and gets your hands wet. No matter how we think we are prepared or not prepared, the only way to make an impact is by doing. Even though the process could be at times challenging and perhaps with occasional frustration, I think you would also be surprised by how rewarding it feels when accomplishments are completed as well as the camaraderie along the way. I can personally attest to the experience; it is worth it.

It takes a Village to build the NORDP Community and beyond!