Grant & Contact Accounting Leadership Transition

On January 1, 2023 the office of Grant & Contract Accounting (G&C) transitioned from leadership under the Vice President of Finance to the Vice President of Research and Economic Development (VPRED). Joining the pre and post award functions under a single leadership is common and will create a more synergistic and collaborative approach to the administration of research to better serve the faculty and department administrators.

A key component of the VPRED’s strategy for improving research administration will be to find ways to leverage support to reduce administrative burden on faculty and support staff. We have begun this effort by working to update the Roles & Responsibilities Matrix to identify responsibilities for the pre- and post-award functions so stakeholders know who to contact to assist them with pre and post grant administration. Internally we will share resources to coordinate communication related to pre and post grant research administration. This, the first edition of our newsletter, is a new way for us to communicate essential information related to research administration support. It will be released quarterly, subscription-based, and published by the Offices of Research & Sponsored Program Development (RSPD) and Grant & Contract Accounting (G&C). Content will focus on UND research administration and federal and non-federal sponsor updates and reminders, quick facts, guidance, and training information.\

Another component for improving research administration under VPRED will be to use technology to reduce the administrative burden on faculty and support staff. For example, UND has been working in Novelution to build proposals for submission and tracking. G&C will soon begin using Novelution for post award management. This will allow a single record to span the lifecycle of a project from proposal to award and will allow better management as well as the ability to monitor post-award action and closeout activities.