Implementation

Duke's implementation strategy is broken down into the following areas:

Organization Structure

Develop and implement a comprehensive roles and responsibilities matrix for research administration at every level: lab, department/division, pre and post award offices, etc. The primary goal is to make sure that there are clear policies and procedures which define the expectations of all offices affecting grant processing.

Business Processes

Huron recommended a number of specific process changes within several offices, many of which have already been implemented or are in the process. In addition, a key recommendation was the creation of an internal Business Process review team which would evaluate all grant processes from application to termination, create the roles and responsibilities matrix noted above and identify changes which would improve efficiency.

Information Technology

Huron recommended that Duke create a long term vision for information technology focused on research administration needs for faculty, staff and the pre and post award offices. These recommendations centered around ease of access to grant financial information and projections, we-based effort reporting and Other Support documentation, and contract/invoice processing.

People

Specific recommendations included the development of a more formalized competency-based approach to the management of grant administrative human resources: job categories and career progression, training, performance management and rewards, work design, and succession planning. The codifying of roles and responsibilities around each level of grant administration will be critical to our understanding of how grant administration positions should be structured, how we recruit for these positions and how our training programs should be designed for current staff.

Performance Measures

An important element to Huron's set of recommendations is the creation of key performance benchmarks for departments and the pre and post award offices. This would be a defined set of expectations which would be measured throughout the year, and linked to the organizational recommendations in terms of accountability.

This step is crucial to our ability to track progress, and also enforces "quality control" throughout the organization.