The UC Davis Vision: The Campus’s Strategic Plan

Strategy: Strengthen research at all levels by facilitating the application for and management of grants of all sizes across disciplines

Point People: Barry Klein and Neal Van Alfen

Narrative Summary of Fifth Year Implementation Efforts:

Key Objectives and Campus Efforts for Implementation

Facilitating the application for and management of contracts and grants of all sizes across disciplines continues to remain a high priority for UC Davis.  The campus set a new record in research funding, totaling to over $586 million in 2007-08.  Even during a period of tightening research funding nationwide, there was an increase of ten percent in research funding over the previous fiscal year 2006-07.  This remarkable growth marks the fourth year in a row that research funding has surpassed the half-billion-dollar mark.

While there is a strong trend in the growth in research funding, tremendous pressure has been placed on Sponsored Programs to help sustain this momentum.  The workload of this unit has increased both in volume and complexity since the last reorganization of the Office of Research, which was five years ago.  As a result the structure of Sponsored Programs was struggling to effectively keep pace with rapidly growing campus research needs.

Complicating this situation was the impending budget shortfall faced by the Office of Research because of the impact of state budget reductions.  It became critically important that the office strategically plan for the best use of campus support funds.  The Office of Research underwent a comprehensive review of its organization during the budget reduction process and formulated its budget reduction plan using the criteria of meeting core mission strategic priorities.  In formulating its plan, the office solicited input broadly across campus to ensure that campus research needs would be met.  Based on this review, the Office of Research made the determination of the critical need to protect Sponsored Programs from any budget reductions and to add key positions.  Planning for the major reorganization of Sponsored Programs began during spring. 

Another unit in the Office of Research, the Interdisciplinary Research Support (IRS) unit, played an important role in contributing to the growth in research funding.  This unit coordinates the preparation of major research grants and has contributed significantly to the success rate of these grants.  Nationwide, the success rates of grant applications to the NIH and NSF has decreased significantly in the past five years.  However, those proposals assisted by the IRS consistently achieved a higher success rate, an average of 40 percent versus the national average of approximately 25 percent.  The average award size of IRS-assisted projects is $24 million, which is substantially larger than the average awards made by the NIH and NSF.  The IRS also administers the Limited Submission Program, which announces research funding opportunities across campus.

2007-08 Accomplishments  

1. The Office of Research solicited input from faculty and research administrators broadly across campus and used this feedback to formulate priorities of the reorganization of Sponsored Programs.
2. The Office of Research established a website providing updates on the Sponsored Programs reorganization.
3. Research Administration Forum continued to meet monthly as an open forum meeting for anyone on campus involved in research administration and has been an important mechanism for receiving feedback.
4. The number of subscribers to the Limited Submissions Program list serve grew to 1,057. 
5. The Office of Research’s Limited Submissions website continued to expand its listing of funding opportunities.  The program added a listserve and website dedicated to Humanities Limited Submissions.
6. Successful efforts were made to track and decrease the turn-around time for clinical trials.
7. Each Sponsored Programs staff member belonged to a professional association and attends annual external meetings.
8. Sponsored Programs held weekly staff training sessions.
9. The Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) program continued its expansion to include a well-attended lunch seminar series with campus and invited national expert speakers.  The program services the majority of the training grants that carry a requirement for RCR training.

In an ongoing effort, the Office of Research has been working with the Academic Senate on revising campus policy related to Organized Research Units with a focus on establishment and evaluation.  The goal is to have a revised policy in place in the near future.