Vessela Vassileva-Clarke, Co-Chair of the NORDP Mentoring Committee
Fall marks an exciting start to a new mentoring cycle at NORDP! The 2025-2026 mentoring year runs from July through June, and we’re thrilled to welcome all mentors and mentees—whether matched in a dyad or part of a mentoring cohort—into this year’s program.
The June 25 Mentor Program Orientation featured this year’s NORDP Mentoring Award recipient and Mentoring Committee Co-Chair, Angela Jordon. New and returning participants were introduced to the program and joined breakout sessions based on their role—mentor or mentee—and format—dyad or cohort—to learn more about what to expect in the year ahead.
Behind the scenes, the Mentoring Committee, including the Match Team and the Mentoring Leadership Team, has worked diligently to make that stellar start possible. Updating our WisdomShare platform, opening the application window, carefully reviewing and confirming matches to ensure the best possible pairings for all participants, answering numerous emails about program registration, mentoring profiles, etc., are just a few of the tasks they completed. On behalf of both current and past NORDP Mentor Program participants, we extend our heartfelt appreciation and thank them for making the entire process feel easy and seamless!
We are especially excited to continue our mentoring cohorts, now in their fourth year! In this model, three mentees are matched with one mentor, creating a small community for ongoing peer‑mentoring discussions. Thank you to the many dedicated individuals who volunteered to serve as mentors—whether in dyads or cohorts—this year. Your willingness to share your time and expertise makes this program thrive.
Tips for New Mentors and Mentees
If you’re just getting started, here are a few quick tips to help you make the most of your experience:
Log in to WisdomShare for your mentor/mentee’s contact information, messaging tools, and suggested milestones
Explore the Learning tab in WisdomShare for guidance on where to begin
Visit your WisdomShare Dashboard to find active Peer Mentoring Groups (PMGs), and join the ones that interest you—no matching is required for PMGs!
If your mentor or mentee(s) hasn’t reached out yet, don’t wait—take the initiative to connect! There’s no single “right” way to engage
Attend the monthly Mentoring Committee Meetings (3rd Thursday of the month all year) to learn the latest mentoring news and share your mentoring experiences and ideas with a group of NORDP members who are truly into mentoring
Watch for upcoming McHuddles—informal gatherings hosted by Mentoring Committee facilitators where you can share ideas, ask questions, and learn from others through supportive and fun interactions
Have questions, concerns, or suggestions? Reach out to us anytime at mentorprogram@nordp.org
Share Your Story!
The Mentoring Committee is always looking to highlight mentoring experiences. If you were part of a 2024–25 mentoring dyad or cohort and would like to share your story in a future blog post, please contact the McMc team at mentorprogram@nordp.org.
Here’s to a successful and inspiring 2025-2026 mentoring year—thank you for being part of it!
Written by: NORDP Mentoring Committee Communication & Marketing (McMc) Team—Vess Vessileva-Clarke, Elizabeth Lathrop, Brooke Gowl, Jessica Brassard
Applications for the 2025–2026 NORDP Mentoring Program are now open until Friday, May 16! NORDP members are invited to participate as a mentor, a mentee, or both. The NORDP Mentoring Program is a benefit available to all NORDP Members. This program enables research development (RD) professionals to network with NORDP colleagues who have volunteered to share their expertise, guidance, and support. There are two options for matching mentors and mentees in the program: the 1:1 Dyad or the 1:3 Mentoring Cohort (one mentor paired with three mentees).
Key highlights from the 2025 Mentor Recruiting Info Session (4/15).
As a growing profession, NORDP always has more mentees than available mentors.
A small but enthusiastic group of NORDP members interested in exploring the possibility of becoming mentors joined the Mentoring Committee Co-Chairs on Tuesday, April 15, for the annual Mentor Recruiting Info Session. The session began with a brief presentation on what mentoring is and a description of the role of the mentor. People with years of mentoring experience shared stories and best practices from their mentoring “careers.” Additionally, participants were introduced to the NORDP matching program details, the different mentoring “flavors” (dyads and cohorts), and common myths related to mentoring.
During the Q&A, those with experience as mentors encouraged others to become mentors! One does not have to have years of RD experience or formal mentor training in order to be an excellent mentor. Additionally, mentoring is a two-way street. As a mentor, you will likely gain as much as you give.
Mentors are provided with resources in WisdomShare to aid them in their mentoring efforts. There are also facilitators they can reach out to if they have questions or encounter situations for which they could use help. Prospective mentors were encouraged to consider a mix of mentoring experiences in dyads, cohorts, or even a dyad and a cohort in parallel.
Reflections from some of our most experienced NORDP Mentors
NORDP is a community of people who are passionate about sharing and learning with each other. When it comes to mentoring, there are many people with years of experience to share. Below are some highlights from past NORDP mentoring reflections:
Anglea: “Every mentoring relationship is unique.”
Wendi: “Continue participating in this program and serve as both mentor and mentee. The 360-degree perspective these roles provide will enhance your professional capacity and enrich your personal attributes.”
Christine: “I encourage each mentee to drive our relationship by setting goals (and allowing them to evolve), while I provide tools, resources, contacts, and advice toward achieving them.
Mayla: “Ask lots of questions.”
Toyin: “Extending grace to yourself is critical.”
Julie: “Mentoring truly is a bidirectional exchange.”
Sandra: “It was also very beneficial to work through the MESHH Network framework with someone.”
Julie: “The mentoring relationship serves as a reflective experience that re-energizes my everyday work life.”
Sofia: “Kathy opened my eyes to the possibility of leaving the bench for RD.”
Eric: “Learning how people persevere in their work through challenges and opportunities has helped me become more empathetic.”
Erica: “My mentoring relationships have contributed to my career progression and have made me a better RD professional and leader.“
Erin: “My mentor took the time to reach out to someone who knows people at my current institution and through this contact, I have expanded my network.”
Jess: “Having my mentor’s perspective helps me reflect more clearly because he sees things from an outside point of view while still having the context of our RD mission.”
David: “I feel we have crafted an important connection that will last beyond the mentoring year.”
Figure Caption: Mentoring Flavors & Benefits graphic provides useful information to help you decide how best to participate in this year’s NORDP Mentoring Program.
As applications for the 2025-2026 NORDP Mentoring Program open until Friday, May 16, we encourage all NORDP members to consider how you might benefit from participating—whether as a mentor, a mentee, or both. This valuable member benefit continues to strengthen our research development community through meaningful professional connections and knowledge sharing. Whether you choose the personalized attention of a 1:1 Dyad or the collaborative learning environment of a 1:3 Mentoring Cohort, your participation helps ensure that expertise, guidance, and support remain hallmarks of the NORDP experience. Don’t miss this opportunity to grow your network and advance your RD career!
The traditional mentoring dyad (1:1 mentor-mentee) program has been a NORDP member feature since 2012. The Cohort Mentoring Group, piloted in July 2022, consists of matching three mentees with similar interests with one shared mentor. Both the dyad and cohorts are matched based on the WisdomShare matching algorithm. This is a reflection of one of the traditional mentoring dyads from the 2020-2021 mentoring year.
Angela Jordan
Mentor Angela Jordan, University of South Alabama • Angela is the Director of Research Development at the University of South Alabama and is responsible for strategic, catalytic, and capacity-building activities designed to promote faculty development and enhance their ability to attract external funding. With a background in the social sciences and humanities, Angela brings an interdisciplinary perspective that is informed by the principles of collaboration and community engagement. She has been the Co-Chair of the Mentoring Committee since 2023, actively engaging NORDP members to support mentoring for research development professionals.
Wendi Jensen
Mentee Wendi Chiarbos Jensen, University of Nebraska Medical Center • Wendi is the Director of Research and Grants Development in the College of Public Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Wendi provides all proposal development support, works on strategic endeavors, and helps promote research across the College of Public Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Her experience in working in an institutional-level office as well as a busy academic unit has helped her understand the value that external funding plays in research progress, creative discovery, and educational programming. Wendi participates in NORDP’s Academic Medicine/Affiliate Medical Center Affinity Group and is part of the NORDP Region V: Midwest/Mountain.
Q1: What influenced you to apply to be a mentor and a mentee for the 2020-21 NORDP Mentoring Program?
Angela: 2020 was my fourth year participating in the matched mentoring program, and my third year as a mentor. While I originally joined the program in 2016 because I thought I would benefit from mentoring, with some encouragement I leaped into being a mentor myself, and I found it rewarding. By that point, I knew that every mentoring relationship is unique and was looking forward to another year of being on that journey with some more NORDP members as we worked through problems and thought about goals, whatever shape that would take. Of course that was also the first COVID year, which gave us some additional challenges to talk about!
Wendi: I was hired for a new position in my college so I did not have others doing the same RD work as I did. The NORDP Mentoring Program allowed me the chance for collegiality when there were no other co-workers at my job site. I had hoped to find a good resource for discussion of my professional goals and challenges. The Program did this by matching me with Angela Jordan!
Q2: What is your favorite part about your relationship?
Angela: Wendi was really great, very grounded, and open to the self-reflection process that is essential for growth. Like many new to research development, she brought invaluable experience and transferable skills from previous jobs, and she was very motivated. Every mentee is different and has different types of goals; Wendi had some very specific things she wanted to work on, which was fun for me.
Wendi: It’s reassuring to connect with another RD professional who can relate to my experiences and help me process any issues I am having. Angela’s insights into how to navigate situations I was encountering always included helpful and concrete approaches she had used. And I appreciated her calm delivery and approach to work.
Q3: How has participation in the Mentoring Program helped broaden your horizons about Research Development in general and/or affected your daily work in particular?
Angela: Being involved in the mentoring program has reinforced my understanding of what great people we have in NORDP. People bring diverse backgrounds and face unique challenges in their jobs and careers, yet at the same time, so many of us share characteristics like having a growth mindset and being very open to sharing experiences, tools, and tricks of the trade. In some professional contexts, the knowledge economy is built on scarcity and controlled access, but in our profession, we have a knowledge economy built on abundance, and it has benefitted my professional growth tremendously. It also informs my thinking about the importance of mentoring in other contexts, such as for faculty and staff development, as well as its use as a component in proposals.
Wendi: I enjoyed our regular discussions about what was going on in our campus and unit environments. Hearing my mentor’s perspective on the RD field was also beneficial as I considered my own workload and how to manage time.
Q4: What surprised you about being a mentor or a mentee?
Angela: To be honest I spent much of my life with an antiestablishment mindset, and would have resisted thinking of myself as a mentor. I didn’t have great mentors as an undergraduate or during my first stint in graduate school, but also wasn’t primed to be a good mentee either. By the time I joined NORDP, I was much more receptive to the idea that being a mentor or mentee did not need to fit into a narrowly defined box and could be a really beneficial opportunity for growth in either role. After having positive mentoring experiences within NORDP, I know that the roles are adaptable to the unique context and needs of each relationship. Although both roles are essential, mentorship is really about the mentee, and in the NORDP context should be driven by the mentee; the mentor can be thought of as a facilitator for mentee exploration and development.
Wendi: I have benefitted from tremendously skilled mentors going back to my undergraduate student days. Early in my career, I may not have realized that i sought mentoring but certainly recognized its impact after the fact. With the NORDP partnering, Angela and I were able to forge a relationship through regular initial meetings and then maintained it by spacing out our meetings a bit. This worked well for me and I hope for Angela. I was surprised how quickly I felt a connection with her.
Q5: What made you decide to maintain a longer-term mentoring relationship and how has it impacted you?
Angela: One thing that came out organically over the course of the year is that, partly in conversation with me about the PhD I was working on at the time, but largely because of Wendi’s work with faculty in her college, she came to realize that she had the capacity and desire to do research herself, which led her to enroll in a PhD program. We’ve kept in touch and I am excited to see her continuing down that path!
Wendi: I was hopeful that we would have a good personal connection, but there are no guarantees that people doing the same kind of work will necessarily like each other. I found Angela to be approachable about not just work but also her personal experiences. We were of similar age and family situations but had followed different career paths. I appreciated the personal commonalities we discovered and how they impacted our professional lives.
Q6: Any words of wisdom or encouragement for those wanting to apply next year? Any other thoughts you would like to share?
Angela: I know that taking the leap to be a mentor can intimidate people if they’ve never been in that role; it’s really easy to talk yourself out of doing it by thinking you don’t have enough experience or the right experience, or that you don’t fit what you imagine a mentor should be. But if someone is considering it then chances are that they do have something to offer, and even if they’re junior in the profession I guarantee that we always have people who are brand new to the field who can benefit from their mentorship.
Another challenge is that, because every relationship is different, someone’s first experience as a mentor might not be exactly what they had imagined. At that point, it’s easy to think ‘mentoring isn’t for me.’ However, I’d encourage people who’ve had that thought to try it again, because they may find that the next time around it’s a truly rewarding experience.
Wendi: I have subsequently served as a mentor every year since my mentee experience with Angela. NORDP provides a great service through this program and has helped me connect with colleagues all over the US. My advice is the same given to all of my mentees: continue participating in this program and serve as both mentor and mentee. The 360-degree perspective these roles provide will enhance your professional capacity and enrich your personal attributes.
Applications for the 2025-2026 mentoring match cycle will open in the spring — keep an eye out for NORDP announcements. Additional mentoring opportunities are available through the Peer Mentoring Groups that are open for participation throughout the year via the WisdomShare platform [LINK: https://nordpmentoring.mywisdomshare.com/]. Contact the NORDP Mentoring Committee if you have any questions [link: mentoringprogram@nordp.org].
An investment in mentoring is an investment in you!
I am thrilled to announce the launch of a new NORDP Faculty Development Peer Mentoring Group (PMG). This new PMG is designed to support NORDP members who are dedicated to enhancing faculty research success through holistic professional development programming. This new PMG provides a platform for RD professionals to discuss, share resources, and offer feedback on the design, development, implementation, facilitation, and evaluation of faculty development workshops and other programming.
Faculty development is a critical aspect of research success, as it equips faculty with the skills, knowledge, and support they need to excel in their research careers. RD professionals play a key role in designing and delivering these programs, which can include everything from workshops on grant writing and research team management to training in leadership, mentoring, addressing conflict, and fostering wellbeing.
Using the peer mentoring model, the Faculty Development PMG’s goals are to:
Create a collaborative space where RD professionals can exchange ideas and resources related to faculty development programming.
Enhance the quality and impact of faculty development programs by sharing best practices and evidence-based approaches.
Provide feedback and support for RD professionals who are responsible for faculty development initiatives at their institutions.
Foster a community of practice focused on improving faculty research success through effective professional development.
The Faculty Development PMG is for any NORDP members who are involved in or interested in the creation, facilitation, and evaluation of faculty development programs. We invite all NORDP members to join the Faculty Development PMG and contribute to this exciting new initiative. Whether you are an experienced RD professional or new to the field, your insights and experiences are valuable. Whether you are looking to refine existing programs or develop new initiatives, this PMG offers a valuable opportunity to learn from and collaborate with your peers.
NORDP Members can view and join PMGs via the WisdomShare Platform and / or you can email Matthew Schwartz to learn more about and get involved with the new Faculty Development PMG.
NORDP Members interested in learning more about all seven active PMGs can join the 2024-2025 Peer Mentoring Group Kickoff on Tuesday, September 24, 2024 from 1:00 – 2:00 PM Eastern.
Career & Professional Development:exploring how to become more efficient and effective in our roles
Coaching & RD:developing and implementing coaching as part of the research development (RD) skillset
Collaboration & Team Science:building collaborations and interdisciplinary research programs
Faculty Development:supporting RD professionals who perform faculty development through programming and workshops
Leadership & Management:leading in both official and unofficial capacities
Proposal Development & Project Management for Research:Supporting proposal development for faculty grant seeking and leveraging project management tools and methodologies to enhance efficiency and success in securing extramural funding
Strategic Planning & Advancement:guiding policy and planning for enhanced research and scholarship
PMG Co-conveners: Sonya Craig, New York University Langone Medical Center Anna Ortynska, University of Kentucky Denise Wright, Emory University
We are excited to introduce a new theme to our Proposal Development Peer Mentoring Group (PMG) at NORDP— Project Management. This addition is designed to meet the professional needs of project managers, fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing within the research development (RD) community.
At the heart of our Proposal Development & Project Management for Research (PD&PM) PMG is the goal to build a robust community of RD professionals focused on advancing their capabilities through collaboration and shared experiences. This group serves as a dynamic platform for discussing challenges, exchanging best practices, and discovering innovative management and RD strategies.
Members of the PMG can look forward to the following engaging activities:
Virtual Meetups – regular sessions to discuss current challenges, share success stories, and explore effective proposal development and project management tools. These meetups offer a forum for real-time interaction and support among peers. Meeting topics will be shared in advance, so that you can attend the sessions that are of most interest to you.
Resource Sharing – allows participants access to a collective repository of tools, templates, and case studies. These resources are intended to enhance practical knowledge and application, equipping members with the materials needed to succeed.
The PD&PM PMG represents an exciting new avenue for professional growth and community building within NORDP. By joining, you’ll be stepping into a collaborative environment where every member plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of project management in research development while learning about best practices of proposal development. This initiative is not just about managing projects—it’s about building leaders and forging a path to greater effectiveness and impact in the research community.
If you’re a NORDP member passionate about project management and/or proposal development and willing to contribute to a community of like-minded professionals, this PMG is for you.
Join us in this journey of growth and collaboration! We invite you to join us to learn more by attending the upcoming PMG Kickoff on Sept 24 — registration is now open.
2024-5 Peer Mentoring Group Kickoff
When: Tuesday, September 24, 2024, 1:00 – 2:00 pm Eastern
Who: Any NORDP members who are interested in learning more about Peer Mentoring Groups (PMGs).
What: The NORDP Mentoring Committee’s Peer Mentoring Groups (PMGs) provide an ideal platform for NORDP colleagues to share ideas and learn from each other.
Registration: Register for the PMG Kickoff here to get the zoom link!!
Contributors: Mentoring Committee Marketing and Communication (McMc) Team
The summer always serves as an exciting beginning to the mentoring year. The typical cycle for the NORDP mentoring year runs from July to June for the mentoring dyad and mentoring cohort participants. The Mentoring Committee, specifically the Match Team and the Mentoring Leadership Team, work in May and June to make adjustments to the WisdomShare platform (more on that in a moment), prepare the application window, and make the matches and verify that good matches are being made.
On June 25, the Mentoring Committee sponsored the 2024 Mentor Program Orientation, introducing this year’s participants to the program and featuring one of the 2024 NORDP Mentoring Award recipients, Paula Carney. Breakouts based on participant’s role as a mentor or a mentee either in a dyad or a cohort, allowed everyone to learn more about what to expect in the year to come.
WisdomShare is a tool that NORDP has purchased to easily and effectively match mentors and mentees. The tool can match individuals or groups based on several criteria such as job level, years in the RD field, preference for dyad or cohort format, and other matching preferences. WisdomShare’s algorithm scores matches, but the Match Team and other mentoring committee volunteers still go through each dyad and cohort with an eye on the human element to make sure the best matches are made.
Using this year’s WisdomShare mentor- and mentee-profiles, the Match Team spent approximately 11 hours to process and finalize the matching. Overall, we have 197 NORDP members participating in this year’s Mentor Program. We matched 91 unique matches — 57 dyad pairs and 34 cohort groups, a slight increase compared to 56 dyad pairs and 31 cohort groups in 2023. The Mentoring Committee is especially excited for another year of mentoring cohorts after two successful years. Mentoring cohorts match three mentees to one mentor and they lead peer-mentoring discussions throughout the year. Many thanks to the 73 brave individuals who volunteered to be a Mentor either in a dyad or cohort this year!
Advice for new mentors and mentees (matched participants):
Use the WisdomShare “Learning” tab to help you figure out where to begin.
Log into WisdomShare for your mentor/mentee’s contact information, messaging, and for a suggested milestones list.
Go to the WisdomShare Dashboard to find active Cohort and Peer Mentoring Groups (PMGs) and to join the PMGs you are interested in.
If your mentor/mentee has not reached out to you yet, be the first to contact them! There is no right or wrong way to connect to RD peers.
Look out for future McHuddles – informal gatherings hosted by NORDP Mentoring Committee facilitators and an opportunity to share ideas, ask questions, and collectively learn from other mentees/mentors in breakout sessions.
Contact the Mentoring Committee (mentorprogram@nordp.org) if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions.
The McMc team is always looking for mentoring dyads and cohorts to profile in a blog post. If you were part of a 2023-24 mentoring dyads and cohorts and are willing to share your experience, contact the McMc team through mentorprogram@nordp.org.
Contributor: Kristin Boman, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
In academic settings, research mentoring and mentor training has traditionally been focused on faculty and trainees. NORDP collaborated with NIH-funded evidenced-based Center for Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) to adapt the Enter Mentoring curricula for research development professionals. Since then, 100 + NORDP members (7% of members) through six cohorts have participated in mentor training for research development (RD) professionals offered by the NORDP Mentoring Committee.
The RD mentor training curricula is being adapted further for research professionals, i.e. program managers, clinical research coordinators, regulatory and compliance officers, etc. in collaboration with personnel from the University of Minnesota’s (UMN) Department of Family Medicine and Community Health and Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Loyola University Chicago and CIMER. Once the curricula adaption is completed, it will be beta tested, assessed, and disseminated (see figure below).
One of the NORDP Mentoring Committee‘s goals is to contribute to the national scholarly discussion of mentoring and bring knowledge of the state-of-the-art in the science of mentoring to NORDP. With support from NORDP Mentoring Committee, UMN, and CIMER travel awards, Kristin Boman presented a poster on staff mentor training at the 2024 Association for Clinical and Translational Science (ACTS) meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, April 3-5, 2024. Boman co-chairs the NORDP Mentor Training Team with Dr. Paula Carney and leads the UMN Primary Care Practice Based Research Network. The poster generated interest from training and workforce development leaders at several universities; in fact, conversations have begun about potential dissemination pathways.
Several members of the NORDP Mentor Training Team have laid the groundwork for this initiative by volunteering their time and skills, especially Paula Carney, Kathy Partlow and Jan Abramson who led the initial training adaptation for RDs. The most recent cohort was highlighted in a recent blog post. Feedback from NORDP participants has also been instrumental for continual improvements to the training curricula. The next NORDP Mentor Training Workshop is anticipated to launch in early 2025.For more information on the NORDP Mentoring Committee, including how to become involved, please contact the Mentoring Committee via mentorprogram@nordp.org. You can also visit the mentoring tag on NORDP news for any program updates.
Registration for the 2024-2025 Mentoring Program is currently open on Wisdom Share for all NORDP members to sign up as a mentor, a mentee, or both. New participants need to create an account on Wisdom Share. Returning participants should follow the instructions available online from the NORDP Mentoring Committee. Deadline to apply for the 2024-2025 mentoring program closes on Friday, May 17, 2024.
In this installment of the Mentoring Reflections, we caught up with mentee-mentor pair Sandra Arriaga (Mentee) and Julie Hawk (Mentor) from the 2023-2024 cohort of the Mentoring Program to share their experiences with NORDP.
Sandra Arriaga is a Research Development Specialist with the Stanford Research Development Office and has spent the entirety of her career working in higher education. After years of teaching college composition, running academic programs, and writing proposals on the side (with a brief stint living and working in Amman, Jordan), she transitioned to the field of research development full time. Sandra has a Master’s degree in English with a concentration in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and brings a background in education, social science, and applied linguistics to her work supporting STEM faculty from across the university on their proposals. Outside of work, Sandra enjoys traveling and yoga, and is learning to play drums.
Julie Hawk obtained her PhD in English from Georgia State University in 2012 and spent the next few years teaching at Georgia Tech and then the University of West Georgia, where she discovered that she could translate the skills from her training to a Research Development context. Since 2016, she has been working with researchers on a variety of kinds and sizes of grants. She currently works at Emory University School of Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics, where she deals mostly with large biomedical grants. However, her experience in both an emerging research institution and at an engineering powerhouse provides a wide skillset and range of disciplinary directions for grant seeking.
Q1: What influenced you to apply to be a mentor and a mentee for the 2023-2024 NORDP Mentoring Program?
SA: I am relatively new to research development, having started my current position in 2021 after a few years writing and editing proposals outside of my previous full-time role. Initially, I prioritized getting to know my immediate colleagues, supervisor, and institution while taking advantage of the many resources that NORDP offers. Once I had solid footing in my current role, I felt ready to join the NORDP’s mentoring program because I had heard wonderful things about it from my co-workers.
JH: I have been doing Research Development for several years, and last year I had a wonderful experience as a mentee in this program. Not only did the mentoring relationship provide a touchstone for learning more, but it also showed me that I was more ready to be a mentor than I thought. So I decided to pay it forward and sign up as a mentor.
Q2: What is your favorite part about your relationship?
SA: Julie offers great perspective and is just plain fun to talk to. We have a lot in common and both of us have our cats make a guest appearance more often than not. Her thoughtful advice and observations always make me feel energized after our calls, no matter what is going on for me in work and life.
JH: Sandra and I have a lot in common, including our educational backgrounds and our past teaching experience. These commonalities allow for easy analogies when we are talking through various experiences in our work lives. Sometimes I forget that I’m officially her mentor, as I certainly get as much out of the mentoring relationship as a mentee is supposed to. It truly is a bidirectional exchange.
Q3:How has participation in the Mentoring Program helped broaden your horizons about Research Development in general and/or affected your daily work in particular?
SA: Because I’ve only held one “official” RD position so far, I can sometimes lose sight of the fact that so many of us experience the same kinds of challenges and that others have dealt with them before me. Julie brings an outside point of view from within a similar professional culture, adding a voice of reason and experience which helps me reflect more deliberately. Through talking with Julie, I also learned more about her experience as an NORDP Consultant and became more interested in that type of work.
JH: Both as a mentee last year and a mentor this year, I have learned so much about the varied ways to approach RD work as well as the similarities that underlie all those variations. Working in a department as the sole RD professional, a network of colleagues is something I must intentionally cultivate. Participating in the mentoring program is one very important way that I do that, and it is extremely valuable.
Q4: What surprised you about being a mentor or a mentee?
SA: How much I needed one! It was the right time for me, and I was fortunate to be matched with the right mentor. While I have many opportunities to engage in professional development and mentoring within my organization, there’s nothing like talking to someone who “gets it” but isn’t steeped in the exact same context. It was also very beneficial to work through the MESHH Network framework with someone. Talking with Julie helped me see mentors and opportunities to find mentors where I hadn’t seen them previously.
JH: Like many others, I occasionally suffer from Imposter Syndrome, so I think I was most surprised by the fact that I actually know a lot more about RD than I realized. I was also surprised that the mentoring matching system seems to work so well. Both last year and this year, it matched me very well indeed!
Q5: What made you decide to maintain a longer-term mentoring relationship and how has it impacted you?
SA: When I reflect on my career so far, one theme that emerges is that whenever I’ve had the opportunity to learn from a mentor, I have thrived. In a previous career (teaching), I also served as a mentor after I had accumulated enough experience, and both sides of the mentoring relationship have been so valuable. Through the mentoring relationship, I have been able to appreciate how much I’ve learned and refined my own internal compass. I find mentoring especially important because I work remotely. I can intentionally build the type of connections that non-remote employees might be able to create more serendipitously.
JH: I have always benefitted from longer term mentoring relationships, whether they were formal or informal arrangements. After experiencing a great deal of benefit as a mentee in the program last year, I knew that any fears I had about not having enough time to participate were unfounded. Like the adage that one should meditate for at least 10 minutes every day unless you’re too busy, in which case you should meditate for 30 minutes, the mentoring relationship serves as a reflective experience that re-energizes my everyday work life.
Q6: Any words of wisdom or encouragement for those wanting to apply next year? Any other thoughts you would like to share?
SA: If you’re worried about having enough time, consider the “return on investment.” The way you’ll feel refreshed and re-charged after talking with your mentor will likely make managing your time easier in other aspects of your work. And by all accounts, NORDP does an excellent job with matching people. You won’t regret it!
JH: If you’ve been in RD for a while but think you aren’t advanced enough to be a mentor, that’s probably Imposter Syndrome. On the other hand, you could always start by being a mentee. Regardless of which you do (or both!), you will absolutely benefit from it.
Contributors: Proposal Development Peer Mentoring Groups (PMG) Co-conveners — Sonya Craig, New York University, Grossman School of Medicine and Lindsay Ridpath, University of Arizona
The Proposal Development field is growing as proposals become more complex and as the competitiveness for obtaining research funding continues. Academic success is not achievable through the efforts of a solitary individual; the era of lone geniuses thriving in academia has passed, emphasizing the collaborative nature of contemporary academics that thrives on teamwork, be that with other investigators or with research development (RD) professionals.
To help RD professionals build a network of support, NORDP initiated the peer mentoring groups (PMGs) in 2019, out of what was then the Community of Practice Groups. As David Widmer stated for an earlier blog post about the PMGs: “We are never fully developed by a single mentor. If you think about your broader network, it’s clear that you are being mentored by multiple people.” Jan Abramson said PMGs developed “from a discussion about member needs, the importance of building a network of mentors, and making sure anyone who requests a mentor has one.” A driving factor in PMGs is NORDP members’ needs. Christina Howard, David Widmer, Jan Abramson, Kathy Partlow, Faye Farmer, Katie Shoaf, and other members of NORDP’s Mentoring Committee, are the brains behind the PMGs, orchestrating the programming that has proven to be a valuable resource for many. The Proposal Development PMG is one of six active groups.
Proposal development can be summarized as the process of advising, writing, editing, coordinating, and compiling grant applications. The RD specialist can have many roles within proposal development, including as an educator, a project manager, a writer/editor/illustrator, or an advisor and advocate. Many proposal development professionals give guidance on and coordinate writing of grant components (including budgets, letters of support, and research strategies), manage grants libraries and other institutional resources, and coordinate and manage peer or “Red Team” reviews.
The proposal/research development role has evolved over the last decade, leading to major growth in proposal development specialists in university settings. Now, innovations in generative Artificial Intelligence and graphic design have the potential to transform both proposal development and proposal evaluation, meaning that the roles of RD professionals are likely to change in the near future. Likewise, complex proposals and transformational initiatives, like ARPA-H, are transitioning grant writing from a solo experience to one requiring strategic planning from a group. Industry support in research is also increasing, as more government agencies are including industry participation in their proposals. Some examples of this are the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) and Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) programs, and the US Economic Development Association’s (EDA) Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs (Tech Hubs). Companies like Amazon are increasingly offering research awards (Amazon Research Awards) to test solutions. Industry understands the value academic research brings and is increasingly interested in research collaborations rather than developing an internal R&D arm.
By connecting with colleagues at other universities through our Proposal Development PMG, members are able to stay abreast of how other institutions are negotiating these new developments as they arise. Our PMG has active members from all over the US, in the medical, engineering, social science, and humanities fields. Some members are in leadership roles within their institutions working in large RD offices, while on the other extreme, we have colleagues who are independent consultants who work from home. We both joined the PMG for different reasons: Sonya was working within an academic unit as the sole grant writer and wanted to grow her RD professional network; whereas Lindsay joined the PMG as a Foundation Relations professional with the goal of cultivating connections and gaining a comprehensive understanding of the research enterprise. Whatever your office size or job classification, if you have an interest in discussing proposal development best practices and challenges, we invite you to join us for an informal conversation the first Tuesday of every month at 1 pm ET. See this site within WisdomShare for more information, or direct any questions by emailing the Mentoring Committee at mentorprogram@nordp.org.
Contributors: Mentor Training Team Paula Carney, Loyola University Chicago and Kristen Boman, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Mentor Training for Research Development Professionals – Registration forJanuary/February 2024 Workshop (UPDATE: Registration is closed and there is a waitlist)
Are you a mentor? A mentee? Do you find yourself formally or informally mentoring staff or faculty? Are you ready to explore mentoring competencies that can be utilized across the work of research development (RD)? This interactive workshop series covers the 9-module Entering Mentoring curriculum, initially developed for mentoring researchers and tailored for RD professionals.
“EXCELLENT training! The ideas presented are very applicable both to mentoring both within the research development profession and elsewhere in the research enterprise — the things I have learned and practiced in this course are incredibly valuable to me as I provide mentoring to faculty, particularly early stage investigators and junior faculty, in the area of grantsmanship.”
A recent workshop participant
Using evidence-based strategies, participants will build upon competencies crucial to the success of the mentoring relationship and expand mentor training across the research enterprise. Participants who complete the entire curriculum will receive a certificate of completion. The curriculum results from an association between the NORDP Mentoring committee and the University of Wisconsin Center for Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) in collaboration with the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN), organizations involved in developing and validating the original curriculum. RD professionals at all levels of mentoring will explore how mentoring (shown to improve career outcomes, impact employee engagement and retention, and lead to more inclusive work environments) can benefit mentors and mentees in RD.
Workshops will be presented and facilitated by the NORDP Mentoring Committee; many are certified CIMER Trained Facilitators.
Webinar Schedule:
Two (1.5-hour) sessions each week for 5 weeks (every Tuesday and Thursday) January 30 – February 29, 2024 2–3:30 pm EST/11 am–12:30 pm PST
If this workshop doesn’t fit in your schedule, share your scheduling preferences to help us plan for future Mentor Training by completing a survey of your preferences.
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