Background

In the fall of 2006, Duke engaged the Huron Consulting Firm to work with an internal team of administrators and faculty to conduct a detailed review of Duke University's grant administrative processes and all levels: labs, departments/divisions, pre and post award offices, and other central administrative units and processes which impact the research mission. The principal objective of the review, as described by the Huron report, was to evaluate the operations of the primary research support units at Duke and provide recommendations that would enable Duke to improve the service provided to the research community and more effectively manage the research operations.

Huron concluded that Duke's research volume has strained its administrative support structure and its ability to effectively manage the activity. The enhancement of federal regulations governing research has compounded the complexity of managing research during this period, adding to our challenges. Huron met with more than 120 representatives throughout the University, including approximately 20 faculty members from both the Medical School and the Provost Area Management Center.

Huron findings

Although Duke has made improvements over the last few years, the growth in the research volume at Duke coupled with the increased scrutiny by the Federal government has severely strained the research administration support structure at Duke at the department, management center and University levels. Several key factors that have contributed to the current environment include:

• The lack of an effective, consistent research administration support structure at the department and management center levels has led to inconsistent service levels for researchers and added strain on the central research administration offices.
• The increased demands placed on department administrators for non-grants administration activities such as human resources and procurement has impacted their ability to focus on grants administration.
• The staffing levels within the departments and central research administration offices have not increased commensurate with the increase in research volume and complexity at Duke.
• Roles and responsibilities among the departmental and central administrative units involved in research administration are not well defined, communicated or understood.
• The lack of defined core competencies for research administration positions within the central and academic units at Duke has hindered the institution from developing best practice human resources processes (recruiting, hiring, evaluating, terminating) for these positions.
• There are insufficient reporting mechanisms to provide faculty with timely sponsored program and financial information critical to the effective management of research.
• Technology has not been adequately integrated into some research administration processes.
• There is no formal performance measurement system for research administration offices and academic units.

Although there are several deficiencies in Duke's research administration support structure, it is important to recognize that most research universities struggle with comparable issues. Nearly every research institution suffers at some level from insufficient integration of technology into administrative processes and challenges relating to the provision of timely and accurate administrative service to the research community. Although such issues are common among Duke's peers, the recent growth of the Duke research enterprise combined with the degree of current customer dissatisfaction creates increased urgency for Duke to address these issues in a timely manner.