NORDP News

Dear NORDP members,

Leo Tolstoy said, “Spring is the time of plans and projects.” And it certainly is as we all find ourselves planning for research development in a Spring and Summer like no other. Thank you for continuing to share your helpful thoughts and assistance on the listserv, and continuing the community that is NORDP.

The Board of Directors held their April Board meeting this week and there is a lot of activity throughout the entire organization. I want to thank all the committees for their hard work in moving NORDP forward. Since I know we are all crunched for time, below are a few highlights of the activities that NORDP is pursuing to serve all of NORDP:

• MEMBERSHIP: We recognize that many of you are at institutions that are freezing discretionary funds which might include renewal of membership dues. If your membership is affected, please contact adminstrator@nordp.org so we can work to keep you connected to your colleagues during this time.

• RESOURCES: There is a NORDP’s Response to COVID-19 weblink on our homepage for access to COVID-19 resources that we will continue to collect and share.

• VIRTUAL ANNUAL MEETING: NORDP’s first ever virtual Annual Meeting/Year in Review (we typically have held this during the in-person conference) is on May 20, from 12:00 – 1:30pm EST. You can register here. This will be recorded if you can’t make it.

• PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: You can now see a current calendar of NORDP events here. Look for information coming soon on a panel discussion: “Why Research Development is Essential Now More Than Ever” on Wednesday, May 13 from 3:00 – 4:00pm EST

I look forward to interacting with a lot of you in the coming month, through committee and meeting programming. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact me at president@nordp.org.

Cheers,

Karen “Fletch” Fletcher
NORDP President
president@nordp.org

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.

Dear NORDP Colleagues,

The Board of Directors invites all NORDP members to attend our annual Year in Review meeting, which we are hosting virtually for the first time ever! In previous years, this event was known as the “annual business meeting” and was held during the annual conference, as an in-person event. Global circumstances have motivated us to take this event online, and we hope you’ll join us to learn about what our organization has accomplished this year, with record-high membership numbers and the official kickoff of a new organization-wide Strategic Plan.

The Year in Review meeting will feature:

• Information on the NORDP Strategic Plan and a look ahead for 2020-2021 by President Karen Fletcher and Vice President/President Elect Kimberly Eck
• A report on the organization’s fiscal health by Treasurer Jerilyn Hansen
• Announcement of incoming officers and updates regarding the 2021 annual Conference
• Year-in-Review and 2020-2021 plans presented by NORDP Committees:
  • • Inclusive Excellence
    • Member Services
    • Mentoring
    • New Opportunities for Research Development (NORD)
    • Professional Development
    • Strategic Alliances
    • Nominating Committee

Webinar Date: Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Webinar Time: 12:00 pm – 1:30 PM ET

Registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vTP4uLvWR_S0M7rY2G5r5w

Presenters:

• Karen Fletcher, NORDP President
• Kimberly Eck, NORDP Vice President/President Elect
• Jerilyn Hansen, NORDP Treasurer
• Gretchen Kiser, Committee on Inclusive Excellence
• Kayla Tindle, Member Services Committee
• Kathy Partlow, Mentoring Committee
• Kimberly Littlefield, NORD
• Joshua Roney, Professional Development Committee
• Peggy Sundermeyer, Strategic Alliances Committee
• Kim Patten, Nominating Committee

P.S. One regular item of business for this meeting is voting as a membership to approve the minutes from the previous year’s business meeting. The 2019 business meeting minutes can be found at nordp.org on the Meeting Minutes page (member login required; once you’ve logged in, scroll to the bottom of the Meeting Minutes page to find the draft minutes). Please read through ahead of the 2020 Year in Review meeting (so that you know what you’re voting on). Thanks!

Jennifer Lyon Gardner, Ph.D., ELS, CRA
Board of Directors | 2017 – 2021
Secretary | 2018 – 2021
National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP)
http://www.nordp.org

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.

Dear NORDP members:

The deadline for eligible NORDP members to apply as a candidate in the 2020 Board of Directors election is now extended to Friday, May 8, 2020. Individuals elected to serve as directors this year will serve on the Board from 2020 to 2024. For more information about the Board application process, click here.

We acknowledge that our current election cycle started at a time when we are living and working in new, unanticipated ways. Professionally, many of us have been asked to provide support to our institutions in a manner that frequently extends far beyond our original job descriptions. During such times, we also recognize that considering taking on the additional duty of NORDP Board leadership may seem a bridge too far.

However, we value democracy in our organization, and we see the contributions, commitment, and courage so many of you give to NORDP. We believe there are many of you who can and will rise to the challenge to help lead our organization – and the research development profession – through these times. It is during times of adversity like these that leadership is needed most.

We hope to deliver a diverse and inclusive slate of candidates for consideration as your future Board of Directors. If you are interested in Board leadership, or if you would like to encourage any of your colleagues to pursue candidacy, please do so. If you have any questions, please contact either of us or any NORDP Board member.

Eligible applicants will be asked to participate in the annual Candidates’ Forum, to be hosted via Zoom, on Thursday, May 21 at 2:30pm EDT/11:30am PDT. Candidate profiles will be posted to the NORDP website by Thursday, May 14.

Thank you all for your membership and your dedication to research development.

Karen “Fletch” Fletcher
Appalachian State University
NORDP President
president@nordp.org

Kim Patten
University of Arizona
Nominating Committee Chair
nomcom@nordp.org

Dear NORDP members,

The Board of Directors and I are thinking about you during this time of change. We are excited about the conversations on the listserv as we continue to be the community we are, leaning on each other through conversation and creating new and agile solutions.

The Board of Directors met this week and I want to highlight a few of the activities that NORDP committees are pursuing to serve all of NORDP – there are so many great things moving forward to complement what you do every day.

• The conference co-chairs are working with many of you to continue to offer as much of the planned conference content as possible. You will be hearing more about this in the coming month.

• Volunteers are reviewing the Salary Survey results and updating the salary calculator.

• The Member Services Committee is supporting our regions: NORDP Northeast region held a highly successful regional meeting in February at MIT; the Upstate NY Region held a quarterly RD meeting; the Great Lakes region is forming a  leadership team; and the Midwest/Mountain Region is planning for their first regional meeting. Reach out to the committee if you are interested in getting involved in Regional activity.

• The Mentoring Committee is working on offering the next matched pairs of the Mentoring program. Approximately 90 members have already applied to the program and mentors are needed. We all have something to give back – consider applying to the program as a mentor, or a mentee.

• The New Opportunities for Research Development (NORD) Committee is reviewing the applications they received for the 2020 InfoReady/NORD grant cycle to support research on research development.

• The Professional Development Committee has put together the following webinars: “Science in Service to National Security,” April 2 at 1:30 pm ET.; “Chat About Research Development Support Going Virtual,” April 3 at 2:00pm ET; “Supporting Senior Faculty: How can RD Professionals Help Faculty with Established Careers ‘Jump Start’ their Research Funding,” April 20th, 2 pm ET. You can register here for any of them.

• The Board is looking for dedicated members to help move NORDP forward. The Nominating Committee has opened Board Applications; Nominations are due March 31st. Read more about it here.

• The Annual Business Meeting will be an online event this year on May 20th at 12:00 ET. Look for more information soon.

• We are also working on the seven Key Result Areas (KRAs) of the strategic plan and will have updates for you in future correspondence.

We don’t know what exactly everyone’s future holds, but know that NORDP will be here for you as we experience it together.

Sincerely,

Karen “Fletch” Fletcher
NORDP President
president@nordp.org

Dear Colleagues:

On behalf of NORDP’s Nominating Committee and Board of Directors, I am writing to invite nominations and applications for Board of Directors positions. Nominations for Board positions are due March 31, 2020, and applications for the same are due April 15, 2020. You may self-nominate and do so starting March 17, 2020.

Available positions: Four Board of Director positions are available in 2020. One seat is designated for an eligible NORDP member affiliated with either a Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) and/or a Regional Institution, one seat is designated for an eligible NORDP member affiliated from a Primarily Undergraduate Institution (PUI), and two seats are open to eligible NORDP members from any type of institution or region (at-large). New Board members are elected for four-year terms. (The cover page of the board application form contains definitions of MSI, Regional, and PUI.)

Eligibility: All regular members of NORDP in good standing who meet the qualifications outlined below are eligible to apply for Board of Director positions. Any NORDP member employed by a for-profit company that employs more than 25 people is an affiliate member of NORDP and not eligible for election to the Board. Current Board members whose terms are expiring are eligible for nomination and re-election unless they have already served two consecutive terms (in which case they must wait at least one year before becoming eligible for re-election).

Qualifications: Qualifications for serving on the Board of Directors encompass a number of factors, including:

• Active support and/or service to NORDP (e.g., at least three years of service on committees, working groups, or other efforts on behalf of the organization). Demonstrated leadership in NORDP activities is preferred. While conference presentations are highly valuable to the organization, they do not in and of themselves constitute active support of the organization or demonstrate that an individual has knowledge of how NORDP operates and how its mission is served.
• At least five years of research development experience or very closely related experience.
• Demonstrated progression of duties and responsibilities within the research development profession, including, but not limited to: supervision of other research development professionals, management of a significant research development portfolio, or other major contributions to the research development profession (or a closely related field).
• Experience serving on community-or institutionally based non-profit boards and/or other forms of organizational leadership (e.g., technical working groups, strategic planning or reaccreditation working groups, etc.).

Expectations: The expectations for NORDP Board members are significant in terms of time and effort. Members are expected to actively participate in the board, head special projects or liaise with committee chairs, and pursue activities that advance the NORDP mission and goals. The time requirement for Board members averages 10 to 12 hours per month with additional commitment for officers. For a full description of the duties, roles, and responsibilities of Board members, please see the Board Member Duties and Responsibilities document and the relevant articles in the NORDP Bylaws.

It is expected that applicants participate in the Board candidate forum at the NORDP Annual Conference. The forum will be recorded for posting in the “members” section of the NORDP website. 

Selection Criteria: The Nominating Committee will evaluate applicants for the ballot based on the following criteria:

• Potential of applicants to serve NORDP effectively, as reflected in their application materials and other evidence – their description of interests in serving on the Board and the contributions the candidates think they can make, their specific goals for NORDP, and why they think they would make good candidates.
• Diversity of Board Members is highly desirable, although there are no formal requirements.
• Diversity of institution type (e.g., location, size, focus, public, private, etc.) is also highly desirable. 

Nomination and Application: Nominators and applicants are requested to prepare submissions in a word processing program and then cut and paste the information into online submission forms. The forms will time out after ten minutes and information is not saved once timed out.

Applicants must also upload a brief résumé/CV (three pages maximum) in PDF format, a brief biographical sketch (200-word maximum), and a high-resolution headshot (2MB maximum file size; 72 dpi is acceptable). Applicants may also submit a letter of support (two pages maximum) from their direct supervisor or a member of NORDP.

• Nomination: You may nominate another individual for a Board position using the online nomination form by March 31, 2020. Upon receipt of a nomination, the Nomination Committee will contact the nominee to request completion of an on-line application.
• Application: If you are interested in serving as a Board member, please complete your application using the online application form by April 15, 2020. 

Selection and Voting Processes: All members of NORDP in good standing (including affiliate members) are eligible to vote in the election, which will be held online. The Nominating Committee will review applications and present the nominees to the membership for a voting process according to the following schedule:

• Two weeks prior to the planned start of the Annual Meeting: The Nominating Committee will notify candidates regarding eligibility and placement on the election ballot.
• Candidates’ Forum: Nominees placed on the ballot by the Nominating Committee will be invited to participate in an online candidates’ forum (specific date, time, and location will be sent via email to NORDP members, published on the organization’s website, and promoted on its social media platforms). Candidate information will be posted to the NORDP website, and the voting period will run from May 18 to June 8, 2020.
• July 1, 2020: Newly elected Board members assume their duties.
• September 11 to 14, 2020: Newly elected Board members should plan to participate in a Board retreat on these dates.

NORDP is soliciting member feedback on simplifying NIH review criteria in an effort to answer Bruce Reed, Deputy Director at NIH’s question: How might review criteria be modified to obtain the best evaluations of scientific merit?

NORDP’s mission is to advance the global capacity for and impact of research by strengthening the practice and profession of research development. In an effort to do just that, NORDP, as an organization representing research development, will be responding to NIH’s call for input on simplifying NIH review criteria. You can read more about it here.

Please submit any feedback you might have to president@nordp.org by Friday, March 13th so that we can compile the responses and submit a group NORDP response to NIH.

Thank you,
Karen “Fletch” Fletcher
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.