APR PI Financial Data Project

1
APR PI Financial Data Project
Report to the Campus October 10, 2009
2

• Team Members

Steve Hahn (Team Leader) Grad School Carl Vieth
(Coach/Advisor) EPD Teri Balser Biology
Education Diane Barrett Human Ecology Warren
Emery - SMPH Mark Faber PSL Bob Heimstreet -
RSP Hua Ramer Business Services Sharon Vetter -
Pharmacy Bin Ye - RSP
3

• The Problem

1. Campus researchers and their administrators share
   the frustration that they do not have timely,
   accurate, and comprehensive information about the
   status of their grants.
2. There is confusion regarding the best way to use
   financial data and the timing of data included
   in reports.
3. The impact of this confusion is overspent grants,
   excessive funds left over at the end of the
   project, rework of financial transactions, and
   the cost of doing financial investigation instead
   of research.

4
Previous Data Collection

• Face-to-face interviews with 62 faculty and staff
  from six colleges/units regarding their
  experiences with grants management and their
  needs
• Formed a matrix of the needs
• Validated the matrix with the remaining
  colleges/units
• Broadened the scope of the project to include
  internal inputs into the system

5
Currently Internal Inputs

• Reviewing inputs into system and the effects of
  the timing of these inputs on accurate grant
  management

• Time to set up or close out a grant
• APR Award Set-up Team has already greatly
  enhanced
• Cost transfers
• APR Cost-transfer Team underway
• Internal billing, such as
• Fleet
• Greenhouses
• MDS

6
Conclusions

• Not only do faculty and other PIs need
  understandable tools, but they need to know when,
  where, how and why to use those tools. Education
  is key.
• There are systemic issues that impact grants
  management, particularly as relates to business
  processes. This results in a need for coordinated
  planning and communication.
• A measure of ambiguity exists in the
  implementation of a critical system (HRS), as
  well as other system implementations
• There is broad recognition that good grants
  management requires professional grants
  administrators that know and serve individual
  faculty and other PIs, and that this type of
  support requires departmental commitment

7
Next Steps

• Develop implementation strategies for 1) PI
  support, 2) communication and 3) education needs
• Present a multi-phased plan and timeline for
  rollout to our sponsors for green light
• Interface with other teams and projects (HRS) to
  coordinate efforts for supporting the research
  enterprise on campus

8

• Questions/Feedback
• Learn more _at_
• http//www.vc.wisc.edu/apr