ResearchNET

ResearchNET

SIF 41 UVA ResearchNET Research Development

Project Manager: Dean Evasius, Office of the Vice President for Research

The purpose of this project is to substantially enhance the research support infrastructure in order to increase the number and quality of awards to the University.

BoV Approved: September 2016

Project Dates: 10/19/2016 – 10/18/2020

Total Funding: $4,461,000

Executive Summary

The objective of the UVA ResearchNET is to substantially strengthen UVA's research support infrastructure across Grounds.  It is a product of the joint VPR/School/Provost Office/OSP research needs analysis undertaken in 2016 to identify gaps and propose approaches and opportunities for substantial research growth. This goal aligns with Pillar 2, Strategy 5 of the Cornerstone Plan: The University will enhance institution-wide infrastructure and services to encourage and support research, scholarship, creative arts, and innovation by faculty and students. This project focuses specifically on research development, an enabling infrastructure that assists faculty in successfully competing for sponsored research funds. The project team proposed phased central, VPR, OSP and School support over a 3-year period to develop and mature a research development program that includes central positions within the VPR Office and OSP, research development positions that will be based in the Schools, software tools for identifying research opportunities and potential collaborative networks, and training and support for faculty in preparation of proposals, particularly for larger, trans-disciplinary proposals.

Current Status: Completed

Achievements

The PAC conducted its final review of this award in February 2021, and determined that the original goals, milestones, and metrics had been met. The full award was expended. Some of the accomplishments include:

  • Through the proposal development pilot, provided support to 77 proposals (nearly $200M in requested funding) that were submitted in FY17-20. Of these, 30 are pending, 8 have been awarded, and 40 were declined.
  • The creation of an online listing of multidisciplinary Grant Funding Opportunities as a resource for the UVA research community;
  • The development of a list of Internal Research Funding opportunities across the Grounds;
  • The development of a set of Proposal Outlines and Templates for NIH and NSF with corresponding instructions for each proposal section;
  • The development of a library of successful proposals as a proposal development resource across Grounds;
  • The creation of a suite of online resources for Faculty Recognition, including a curated list of featured recognition opportunities, a database of faculty honors won by UVA faculty, and a database of over 2,000 faculty recognition opportunities;
  • Support for the UVA New Faculty Orientation by developing a session on Research at UVA in partnership with the Office of Sponsored Programs and Corporate and Foundation Relations. This collaboration produced a collection of 22 Research Resources flyers from Schools and units across the Grounds;
  • The creation of a Community of Research Development (CoRD), a community of practice for research development professionals across Grounds, and a Research Development Monthly Newsletter. The CoRD community has grown to approximately 80 members via its list serve;
  • Organization of visits to Grounds by key program personnel from DARPA, IARPA, NSF, NIH, ORNL, MITRE, NEH, NHPRC and other stakeholders from both federal funding agencies and industry;
  • The development of an online listing of COVID-19 related funding opportunities, and the creation of a weekly report on COVID-19 related research activities at UVA which is disseminated through the Research Roundtable. A summary of this information is captured in the publicly available COVID-19 Research Dashboard.