michael thompson

NORDP 2018 Conference Cameo: Anne Maglia

#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.
_______________________________________________________

Who: Anne Maglia, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Administration and Institutional Compliance
Where: University of Massachusetts Lowell
Number of years in research development: 1
Length of NORDP membership: 1
Number of NORDP conferences attended: 2018 will be my first!
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Park Ranger

I’m pretty new to research development—I started in my position at UMass Lowell about a year and a half ago after six years as a program director and science advisor at the National Science Foundation. I loved working at NSF, but really missed being at an academic institution and working directly with faculty. As the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Compliance, I supervise our offices of Research Administration and Institutional Compliance and help develop strategies to improve our success in extramurally-funded research. The favorite parts of my job are working with faculty to help make proposals more competitive, using data analytics to develop strategies for investing in shared infrastructure and mid- to large-scale research activities, helping to develop interdisciplinary connections among our researchers, and working with our Vice Provost for Faculty Success to provide training and support resources for faculty. Maglia_Anne

I’m a certified project management professional (PMP), and relied on my PMP training quite a bit at NSF, especially when managing multimillion-dollar infrastructure investments. The project management body of knowledge didn’t always translate directly to the work I was doing at NSF, but it was a fun challenge to try to apply private-sector portfolio management practices to those of a funding agency. I’m now trying to apply those skills to aspects of research development, especially when it comes to reorganizing our Office of Research Administration for scalability and providing strategic planning and oversight for our multidisciplinary research and engagement centers.

Although I am able to apply a lot of what I learned at NSF to my current job, I am still on a very steep learning curve. Fortunately for me, our Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation pointed me to NORDP during my first month on the job. I have relied on the resources found on the NORDP website and on the regional NORDP listserv to help me get up to speed and connect with new colleagues. This will be my first NORDP conference, and I’m particularly looking forward to networking with other research development professionals and learning about strategies for promoting and sustaining a research culture of inclusive excellence and team science.

_______________________________________________________

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.

Breaking Records – Early Bird Registration Extended to 3/23

lincoln-memorial #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.
_______________________________________________________

NORDP and the Research Development profession is breaking new ground. As we approach 850 members strong, we have set a new membership record for our ten-year-old organization. In addition, during this Early Bird Registration period, over 400 people have registered for the 10th Annual Conference. Therefore, NORDP leadership has elected to extend the Early Bird deadline until March 23, 2018. We are aware that many campuses are currently on spring break or working through the travel approval process. Help us set a new record for early-bird registration and register today.

The industry standard for association conference attendance is about 20% of the organization’s membership attending any given conference. Our organization can currently boast a 47% attendance rate for NORDP 2018 – let’s push that number even higher!

_______________________________________________________

NORDP 2018 Conference Cameo: Heather Chancellor McIntosh

Who: Heather Chancellor McIntosh, Research Statistician and Staff Director
Where: University of Oklahoma-Tulsa School of Community Medicine
Number of years in research development: 5
Length of NORDP membership: 1
Number of NORDP conferences attended: 1
How do you unwind? I like to hang out with my husband, new baby, and our two dogs.

I started working in research development when I took a position at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa School of Community Medicine (OUSCM) in 2012. Before that, I worked in a non-profit street outreach program assisting homeless youth. While that position was in direct-care, I always gravitated toward project development, data compiling, reporting and grant writing for the program. I was finishing up a graduate degree in research, evaluation, measurement, and statistics when a position opened at the OUSCM to work with a researcher who studied the health and well-being of the underserved and disenfranchised members of our community.

I started out by managing a community health McIntosh_Heather research project and word quickly spread that I had experience and training in project development, project management, study design, and statistics. After a couple of years in an unofficial, central research development position, a central office, the Office for Research Development and Scholarly Activity (ORDSA), was funded, and I was appointed the Staff Director and Research Statistician.

While the road to an official research development (RD) position was unconventional, I’m happy my RD position came about the way it did. It allowed me to foster informal relationships with research faculty and staff, build a reputation for myself, travel abroad to present my work, and gain the trust of many clinical faculty who ended up being my biggest advocates when campaigning for ORDSA.

I heard about NORDP through a colleague. She and I submitted an abstract on how ORDSA was developed and presented it at the 2017 conference. Attending the 2017 conference helped underscore the difference between research development and research administration, a distinction I think many people miss. After attending the 2017 conference, I was determined to spread the word about NORDP and promote ORDSA as a research development, and not research administration, office. This effort has made an enormous difference in our research activity and how we interact with faculty and staff. We have a poster on this very topic this year, so come check it out!

While I’m still quite new to NORDP and increasing my involvement with the group, the NORDP E-list has been invaluable. I have learned so much from my fellow RD colleagues just by reading and interacting with the E-list. This year I have signed up for the NORDP mentoring program, and I am looking forward to being matched with a mentor and, hopefully, meeting her/him at the conference. I am, especially, looking forward to bringing one of my new staff to NORDP with me this year and soaking up as much RD knowledge as I possibly can.

My advice for fellow conference-goers is: Don’t be afraid to strike up conversations with people sitting next to you in the breakout sessions or those next to you in line for food. I met a really awesome gentleman last year during breakfast one day. We chatted about our programs and positions, and it really helped me to feel connected to the NORDP community.

_______________________________________________________

NORDP 2018 Conference Cameo: Farzaneh Masoud

Who: Farzaneh Masoud, PhD, Strategic Research Proposal Development Administrator
Where: National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Number of years in research development: 7
Length of NORDP membership: 6
Number of NORDP conferences attended: 5
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? A scientist

When I was a kid, I thought scientists knew everything that there is to know in the world. With this in mind, I earned my PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC) in Cell and Molecular Biology, focusing on the mechanism of cancer metastasis. However, as I was preparing for my defense, I realized that I didn’t know about anything except my own research. It was a very claustrophobic and terrifying feeling to watch my childhood perception crashing down. I wanted to know more about other disciplines, and learn how to provide opportunities for scientists who have deep passion for basic research. Masoud_Farzaneh

I was introduced to NORDP through Dr. Jennifer Eardley, who worked with NORDP founding member Holly Falk-Krzesinski. Once I connected with NORDP, I was in heaven, and quickly realized that I had joined the right organization.

Through NORDP, I was able to obtain training in RD, and I began to develop the Office of Strategic Research and Proposal Development at UIUC’s National Center for Supercomputing Applications. As the Strategic Research Proposal Development Administrator, my focus is on coordinating interdisciplinary research proposals, and building capacity for strategic proposals which can lead to larger interdisciplinary projects. The hardest part of my job, believe it or not, is to encourage faculty to be proactive in seeking funding.

As I gain more experience each year, and as the funding agencies’ priorities and policies change each year, I seek different information, skills and techniques. Attending NORDP conferences and staying connected with this community has provided me with the resources and support I need to navigate these ever-changing landscapes. I have established several collaborations from attending last year’s NORDP Conference, and together we are in the process of developing proposals for NSF.

I have been a member of NORDP for 6 years and I have attended 5 conferences. In my view the RD profession is slowly, but surely gaining acceptance among academia, government, and industry. I believe this is entirely due to the role that NORDP plays in brining awareness to this profession.

_______________________________________________________

NORDP 2018 Conference Cameo: Page Sorensen

Who: Page Sorensen, Research Development Specialist
Where: University of California San Francisco
Number of years in research development: 2
Length of NORDP membership: 2
Number of NORDP conferences attended: 2
How do you unwind? Spending time outside

I officially became a Research Development Specialist in the University of California San Francisco’s (UCSF) RD Office in March of 2016, but as have many others, I practiced research development before that. page Headshot 3_cropped[1].png

In 2015 I was a program manager for a UCSF research center and I approached the Executive Director of the RDO, Dr. Gretchen Kiser, to help me plan a team science event for the center. She gave me lots of helpful advice and, as I left our meeting, she said, “you know, what you do is really research development, you should check out NORDP.” This was the first time I’d heard of the field. As I browsed the NORDP website later, I realized Gretchen was right, and I was excited to finally have a single term to describe my mélange of skills and job duties. Some time after this initial conversation, I was happy to join Gretchen in the RDO. I now work on large grant development and also manage the Team Science Program.

I joined NORDP in 2016 and this year will be my third conference. The conference is an IRL experience of the feeling I had upon first browsing NORDP’s virtual community. It’s comforting and fun to be among a group who understand what I do and who can advise and sympathize. Until two years ago, I often felt confused and anxious about how to bring my diverse skills to bear in a “real” career. Participating in the conference is like a deep breath that carries that fear away because I’m surrounded by successful professionals who have similar skills and experience.

In addition to the community, I very much enjoy the inspiration and learning that I get from the conference. I’ve attended a pre-conference workshop that bolstered my confidence and skill in working with diverse teams, I’ve learned how to lead without authority, how to write great abstracts, and much more. It’s pretty amazing to spend three days just absorbing highly specific technical knowledge and meeting exceptionally talented peers.

This year I’m especially looking forward to leading my first NORDP panel. Selfishly, I organized the panel so that I can learn what other RD people do to bring teams together and help them stay together. Shameless plug: if you do this, please come to the session and tell me about it!

My advice for new conference attendees is to use the mobile app to plan your daily agenda before you get to the conference. There are so many talks to choose from that taking the time to read all the abstracts and make a plan before arriving will ensure that you don’t miss the talks that are most relevant to you.

See you in DC!

_______________________________________________________

NORDP 2018 Short Course: Foundations of Research Development: An Introduction

At this year’s conference, a short course in Research Development (RD) is being offered for the first time in addition to the Pre-Conference Workshops. The short course is intended for new RD professionals (i.e., those with fewer than three years of experience in RD), or for individuals who are considering becoming RD professionals. The instructors are all experienced RD professionals (with more than half a century’s worth of experience in RD between them), and the course material is all information they think is essential to those first getting started in the profession.

This course is an introduction to RD; it isn’t going to cover everything that RD professionals do, or all the ways in which we do those things. It will, however, provide a theoretical and practical grounding in RD for individuals who are newer to the profession or who are considering joining it.

CLICK HERE for the full abstract and to register for the short course.

To read about and register for any of the Pre-Conference Workshops, follow the links below:

_______________________________________________________

NORDP 2018 Early Bird Registration Ends March 16

lincoln-memorial

This is your two week warning! Early Bird Registration for the 10th Annual NORDP Research Development Conference ends March 16, 2018. REGISTER HERE.

Other important conference related items below:

Learn more about and sign up for a Pre-Conference Workshop or the first NORDP Short Course:

Check out our NORDP 2018 Plenaries and Keynotes:

Opening Keynote: From Tweaks to Transformation with Saul Kaplan
Plenary: Effective Communication for Research Development Professionals with Dr. Laura Lindenfeld
Plenary: Inclusive Excellence and the Research Enterprise: the Role of Research Development Professionals
Plenary: Dr. Michael Lauer, Deputy Director for Extramural Research, NIH: More info to come soon!

Book your stay: Rooms at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City are filling up. Take advantage of our special discounted conference rate and book your room now with this NORDP-specific hotel reservation link.

_______________________________________________________

NORDP 2018 Conference Cameo: Kirk Knestis

Who: Kirk Knestis, PhD
Where: Hezel Associates
Number of years in research development: 10
Length of NORDP membership: 1
Number of NORDP conferences attended: 2017 will be my first one!
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Marine biologist

As an evaluator and manager of education studies, I have been working with research development professionals for years on external evaluations of grant-funded research projects. While I sometimes partner with institutions to serve in a subaward research role for PIs who specialize in programming (so need someone to do the “research” part of a project), my team is generally charged with designing a study that examines the timeliness, quality, and results of activities funded by the award.

If things are working as they should, we external evaluators spend substantial time planning with the PI, co-PIs, partners, procurement staff, and RD managers. We collaborate to explicate program theories-of-change (i.e., logic models), clarify the design of proposed activities, adopt or develop standards of quality for implementation, define data-collection strategies and analyses to assess the goals and objectives of the funded work, and prepare budgets and documentation required for proposal submission. I like to think I have a good understanding of how those pre-proposal processes work, based on more than a decade of experience collaborating on dozens of proposals each year.

Once one of those proposals goes in, our direct work with RD staff and PIs typically goes on a hiatus until we hear one way or another about a decision on the award. If the project isn’t funded, that may be the end of discussion until the next grant opportunity, or the beginning of plans to resubmit. What I am only beginning to understand, however, is what goes on “behind the curtain” for our higher education clients when their grants ARE awarded, during post-award management and, most interesting to me, during the transition from pre- to post-award functions.

I’ve come to believe that there are things that an external evaluation partner can do in the time between proposal submission and starting the evaluation to help RD managers increase the likelihood of good results – with the evaluation certainly, but also for the funded project more generally. Similarly, I think that there are some key pieces of information about the “care and feeding of the external evaluator” that can benefit research development office staff and ultimately help evaluator-client relationships be more effective and efficient.

My involvement in NORDP – and my participation in my first annual conference – is driven by my interest in better understanding this intersection of needs. My operational theory is that the symbiotic relationships among research developers, PIs, and external evaluators can be improved by each better understanding the roles, contributions, and priorities of the others. I am excited about the opportunity not only to present on this topic with an established RD professional, but also to hear from others to test and elaborate that theory.

_______________________________________________________

NORDP Webinars: Developing More Engaging Meetings and Workshops

NORDP Webinars: Developing More Engaging Meetings and Workshops

Part One: March 7 12:30-1:30 ET
Part Two: March 16 1:00-2:00 ET

Meetings and workshops are a necessary part of a research development professional’s life. It’s important to bring people together, learn from each other, and/or have contact and stay oriented toward the same objectives. But too often we can slip into the traditional (we’ll say it, even boring). People lose interest and focus. That’s when meetings become a waste of everyone’s time and workshops lose the opportunity to fully engage and convey our messages.

This doesn’t have to be the case. There’s no reason for a meeting to be boring and there are so many ways to spice up your workshops. You can make all the events you lead more interesting, productive, and effective by using different kinds of interactive exercises: from simple ice-breakers and energizers to team-building and problem-solving exercises.

Whether it’s a formal presentation, an informal meeting with a smaller team or even a meeting with just one individual, using activities and exercises to set the right tone for the meetings you lead can make them more interesting, engaging, and, ultimately, more productive.

Andy Burnett, a recovering academic, and Donnalyn Roxey, a research development professional, both from Knowinnovation (KI), are deeply passionate about team science and working with research development professionals around the world. Knowinnovation is a global team of creatives that specializes in facilitating and accelerating academic, scientific, interdisciplinary innovation. They focus most of their attention on the academic environment, putting their unique method – based on the science of deliberate creativity – in palatable terms for scientists and academics. Combined they have lead hundreds of workshops, for federal sponsors such as NSF, NIH, and NASA as well as academic institutions large and small around the world.

NORDP’s Professional Development Committee invites members to attend this two-part webinar series, Developing More Engaging Meetings and Workshops. These webinars will be full of strategies and tips for planning your event, the physical and psychological environment, engaging your audience, and much more. Registration is required for all webinars.

Part One: People and Place
March 7 12:30 to 1:30 pm Eastern Time

Register here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Whether you are going it alone, or presenting with others, it is important to think about your presentation from the audience’s perspective. Who are they, what are their preferences, what do they hope to get from you? How might you strategically select the participants, or more likely, how might you make the best with whom you must have in the room? In addition to discussion audience, we will spend time discussing the setting of your presentation. What kind of space do you have to work with and how might you best arrange it to maximize interactions? What are small things you can do to make the space more enjoyable? This webinar will focus on the audience and ambiance you set for your presentation.

Part Two: Agendas and Planning
March 16, 2018 1:00 to 2:00 Eastern Time

Register here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

What might be new ways to build an interactive agenda to maximize innovation and idea exchange? How might you entice participants to attend, and come back? What is a tried and true method for soliciting useful feedback in any group? What might be some tips and techniques for executing your agenda? This webinar will focus on building an agenda for your meeting or workshop and facilitation tips and watch-outs for implementing your agenda.

These webinars will be presented by Andy Burnett, a recovering academic, and Donnalyn Roxey, a research development professional, both from Knowinnovation (KI). Both are deeply passionate about team science and working with research development professionals around the world. Knowinnovation is a global team of creatives that specializes in facilitating and accelerating academic, scientific, interdisciplinary innovation. They focus most of their attention on the academic environment, putting their unique method – based on the science of deliberate creativity – in palatable terms for scientists and academics. Combined they have lead hundreds of workshops, for federal sponsors such as NSF, NIH, and NASA as well as academic institutions large and small around the world.

For questions or additional information, contact Kari Whittenberger-Keith (kariwk@uwm.edu). We hope to “see” you at the webinar!

Posted on behalf of the NORDP Professional Development Committee

NORDP 2018 Conference Cameo: Jim Izat

Who: Dr. Jim Izat, Senior Research Development Officer
Where: Texas A&M University
Number of years in research development: 8
Length of NORDP membership: 5
Number of NORDP conferences attended: 5
How do you unwind? I design and build bespoke furniture and home goods.

I began work at Texas A&M University in 2010 following serving on the faculty at West Texas A&M University. My work is currently focused on tenure track faculty proposal development for federal funding agencies. In addition to consulting with NSF research faculty, I co-lead the university’s Junior Faculty Proposal Writing Academy program and direct two internal faculty research support grant programs. I also create and deliver approximately two dozen research development seminars and workshops annually on various aspects of internal and external research proposal development.

I joined NORDP about five years ago after doing an internet search for a professional organization through which I could accelerate my growth as a research development professional. It was, and remains, an essential resource to me as I continually look for new strategies I can apply in assisting faculty at Texas A&M University to be more successful in securing research funding.

By far, the most important benefit I gain through attending NORDP conventions is meeting experienced, talented research development colleagues. There is no doubt that they are among my most important resources for my professional growth. I have learned from them new strategies of research development delivery and ways I can improve what I already do in my day to day work. Of special value to me are opportunities to learn how to assist Humanities and Arts faculty for whom research funding support is often very difficult to find and secure.

I’m really looking forward to this year’s conference to again get the chance to interact with research development professionals who do what I do. Of special interest to me this year is having the chance to meet with and talk to colleagues with whom I am co-presenting on the topic of the challenges faced by universities in supporting Humanities and Arts research faculty efforts.

My most important recommendation for this year’s NORDP conference attendees is to get out there and meet as many colleagues as they can! Every year I am always amazed at the wealth of knowledge my fellow attendees possess and how generous they are in sharing their knowledge and experience with me both at the conference and afterward.

_______________________________________________________

	Expanding NORDP’s Me… on Hats Off to the 2024 NORDP Men…
	Cultivating Signific… on NORDP’s Peer Mentoring Groups:…
	June 23, 2023 \| Tech… on Congratulations to the 2023 NO…
	Collaboration and Te… on Career and Professional Develo…
	Micheal Joseph on NORDP 2016 Conference Notes: R…