Improving Support Services for Researchers

Dear Colleague,

The achievements of UW faculty can be measured in many ways, but one of the most common benchmarks is financial support. Using that yardstick, FY 2007 was an outstanding year, with faculty members receiving a record $1 billion in research funding. What is even more remarkable is that we’ve been able to generate these awards at a time when federal funding for research has flattened.

In many ways, the UW research program is stronger than it’s ever been, but we’re facing serious new obstacles in the years ahead – tighter budgets at funding agencies, unfunded compliance mandates and major changes in proposal submission requirements. In this increasingly competitive environment, it’s crucial that we optimize the University’s administrative systems, and deliver outstanding support services that help researchers compete and succeed. Enhancing these services has been a top priority since I became vice provost, and I’m happy to report that we’ve made significant progress.

We’ve enhanced and expanded the services offered through the Office of Research (OR) and its units—OSP, ORIS and HSD. Our energies have focused on core areas of faculty concern, and improving the day-to-day work environment of researchers. Over the past year, we’ve streamlined many aspects of the human subjects review process, created better tools for electronic research administration, and provided new funding to researchers at pivotal points in their careers. We’ve also partnered with other administrative units to coordinate our efforts and leverage resources.

The links to the right outline these service and process improvements in more detail.

Although much more remains to be done, I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished. In many tangible ways, we’ve taken steps to make the mechanics of research run more smoothly, ease the administrative burden on PIs, and set the stage for more improvements in the future.

In the coming months, OR will continue collaborating with the entire research community – deans and chairs, faculty members, administrators and staff—to continue improving and coordinating services for researchers, and to create strategies that will position the UW research program for success in the future.

Mary Lidstrom, Vice Provost for Research