NORDP Mentoring Program Webinar Series

Based on feedback from last year’s program participants, the Mentoring Committee has developed a series of webinars to support mentors/mentees/peer mentors when using the OnBoarding Packet, or individual tools in the packet. These webinars are open to the entire NORDP community, regardless of current participation in the NORDP Mentoring Program. Join us for one or all, and committee members will share tips as to how to use the tool, strategies for success, and other best practices. Registration links and descriptions for the first two webinars are below, as well as times and titles for the whole series:

Date Topic Length
June 13, 1:00 pm EST Getting your Mentoring Relationship off to a Strong Start 60 minutes
June 20, 1:00 pm EST The Initial Conversation Guide for Mentor Pairs: Getting Ready, Getting Started, Getting Results 45 minutes
June 27, 1:00 pm EST Self-Assessment Worksheet: Capitalizing on Strengths and Targeting Areas of Growth for Professional Development 45 minutes
July 11, 1:00 pm EST My MESHH Network: Developing Your Own Personalized Mentoring Network to Achieve Your Goals 45 minutes
July 18, 1:00 pm EST The NORDP Individual Professional Development Plan (IPDP): Your Personalized Map for Success 45 minutes

 WEBINAR DESCRIPTIONS

Getting your Mentoring Relationship off to a Strong Start (June 13)

You are a mentor, a mentee, a peer or a near peer mentor. You might just be beginning to form a new relationship as a participant in the NORDP Mentoring Program, or are otherwise engaged in a mentoring relationship. This initial session in the NORDP Mentoring Program OnBoarding Packet Webinar Series will introduce participants to the OnBoarding Packet resources that are available to all NORDP members.

The webinar will provide an overview of mentoring within NORDP and provide tips and techniques for getting off to a strong start. The information that will be shared can be applied to any mentoring relationship, and at any stage. Attendees will have opportunities to ask questions, and provide input.

Following this introductory session, four targeted webinars will be delivered throughout the summer to provide a more in-depth look at each of the OnBoarding Tools: Initial Conversation Guide, Self-Assessment Worksheet, My MESHH Network and Individual Professional Development Plans. Join us for one, or for all, as you develop a strong foundation for mentoring.

Presenter:

Jan Abramson, MS, has worked in higher education since 1990. Throughout img_3098-jan-abramsonher career, she has been an ardent proponent of the value of mentoring. Her career began at University of Central Missouri, followed by appointments at University of Warwick and University of Birmingham (England). Returning to the US, she worked at University of Idaho before landing at University of Utah. Her early career was in student leadership development; since 2005, she has worked in the health sciences providing research and development support for the Hartford Center for Geriatric Nursing Excellence, developing a research office for the College of Health, and growing a health-sciences wide emerging researcher program. In her role in a central research office, Jan is focusing on nurturing and supporting research administrators in Utah and across the country.

The Initial Conversation Guide for Mentor Pairs: Getting Ready, Getting Started, Getting Results (June 20)

Are you part of a mentor-mentee or peer-mentor pair? Whether you are just starting out or have an established mentoring relationship, this webinar will share some best practices. The OnBoarding Packet starts with the Initial Conversation for Mentor Pairs, a guide for preparing for and engaging in your first conversation. The tool has several sections and checklists that can serve as signposts: these include Getting Started, Establishing Agreements, and a Goals Worksheet and Checklist. This webinar will help you get a great start to your mentoring relationship. This tool can also be useful for those not formally paired for approaching people in your own mentoring network (MESHH) for relationship development.

Presenters:

David Widmer, PhD, has 17 years of research development and administrationDavid Widmerexperience at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, first as a Sr. Grants Management Specialist and currently as the Grants & Contracts (G&C) Manager of Scientific Development. In 2009, David started the G&C Funding Development Team (FDT) and has led it since 2011. A NORDP member since 2010, he has been actively involved with several working groups and committees. From 2012-2014 he served on the Membership Services Committee where he was part of the salary survey task force; since 2015 he has been a member of the NORDP Mentoring Program Committee and of the MESHH working group that developed the on-boarding packet and currently serves as Mentoring Committee co-chair. David has a Ph.D. in Biopsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, and Masters in Cell & Developmental Biology and the History of Medicine. David held a Fulbright Scholarship (1998-1999) and was a Fellow of the Swiss Confederation from 1999-2000.

Rachael Voas, MA, CRA, is the project manager for the Grants Hub, Office of the Vice rvphoto-300x300President for Research, at Iowa State University. In this role, Rachael leads interdisciplinary team development efforts in strategic areas and is actively involved with Team Science training initiatives. Rachael has six years of research development experience and has occasionally learned lessons the hard way, so she looks for opportunities to develop mentoring relationships to help others find an easier path and further the prowess of research development professionals.

Posted on behalf of the Mentoring Committee.

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 Conference Notes: Strategies to Grow Research at a Branch Campus

Strategies to Grow Research at a Branch Campus

Presenters:

  • Sian Mooney, Arizona State University
  • Susannah Gal, Penn State Harrisburg
  • Faye Farmer, Arizona State University

Thanks to our session scribe, Kara Luckey, University of Washington, Tacoma!

Key points from the session. We learned: 

  • Working in the RD space at a “branch” campus (and similar contexts) can present challenges for the RD professional and the faculty they serve stemming from feelings of isolation, distribution of power and resources, and a lack of energy for the research enterprise.
  • To meet these challenges, the presenters suggested multi-pronged approaches in three broad areas: Culture change, enhancing visibility internally and externally, and creative allocation of existing resources.
  • Presenters from ASU West Campus and Penn State-Harrisburg suggested a number of tools to move towards a culture of active research, including: Promoting and celebrating research through regular newsletters/publications and annual recognition events; creating opportunities and a ‘safe space’ for faculty to develop collaborations and a shared sense of purpose; and one-on-one encouragement to individual PIs who are well-positioned to pursue significant funding opportunities but require a ‘push.’
  • Presenters outlined a number of mechanisms to improve internal and external visibility of faculty research, including: Using consistent talking points on and off campus to emphasize faculty work and its importance to the larger university, developing relationships with key champions and allies within the branch campus, with other branch campuses, and at the primary campus; and seek out university-wide committee appointments to bring visibility and resources to research on your campus.
  • Finally, presenters encouraged branch campuses to pursue opportunities to effectively and creatively allocate resources, including: Developing a strategic plan that can be used to make the case for the needed for resources; rigorously demonstr­ate the return-on-investment of requested resources and equipment; Maximize access to existing resources and trainings offered at the main campus, and make the case to central campus staff for why they should come to the branch campus; Encourage the use of classrooms for research, especially for faculty with high teaching loads: Offer a cohort-model to train undergraduates across branch campuses to minimize the burden on individual faculty members.

What did you hear at this presentation that surprised you?

One branch campus (ASU, West Campus) saw an impressive 8-fold increase in funding revenues after several years of targeted efforts toward cultural change led by Sian Mooney that followed many of the approaches identified in the session.

What resources did you discover at this presentation?

The presenters used a helpful real-time polling tool – sli.do (or slido.com) – that allowed audience members to respond to questions posed during the presentations. This made for a more interactive panel than would have been likely for the last session of the conference.

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

An audience member asked about the sharing of DUNS numbers across campuses, and the implications for funding. The presenters agreed that the sharing of DUNS numbers has political importance – e.g. communicating that the campuses are part of *one* university – however, there are limitations that can be frustrating for faculty on branch campuses. In particular, faculty on branch campuses must compete internally for limited submissions, which can leave branch faculty members feeling that they are at a disadvantage.

What else from this session should NORDP members know?

A large part of the cultural change achieved by the presenters from ASU West Campus and Penn State-Harrisburg was the result of encouraging faculty to think of themselves as active researchers. This was achieved through a good deal of cheerleading and deep support provided at the individual and collective level. As trust was (re-)built, faculty began to internalize their identity as active researchers, and – with targeted communication up the chain – administration at both the branch and main campuses began to take notice as well.

    

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.
_______________________________________________________

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!

_______________________________________________________

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

_______________________________________________________

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.

_______________________________________________________

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.