Published April 26, 2018
Dear WashU Faculty,
I am pleased to announce that we will implement our new Research Management System (RMS) for grant and contract proposal development and submission on May 7, 2018. Importantly, we are asking you to submit your information and proposals earlier than normal over the next several months as we all adjust to a new system (see the “What You Need to Do…” section below).
The new RMS is a vended product which is replacing our aging in-house system known as PDS. The Conflict of Interest module, deployed in February 2017, is also a component of RMS.
Over the last two years, in addition to the central project team, many of your departmental research administrators have dedicated much time understanding the functionality of the vendor product, and providing input on how to optimize the various options to meet the needs of the University, schools, and departments.
What You Can Expect
- The expectation is that investigators will experience little change as they work with their departmental administrators to develop and submit proposals to sponsoring agencies using RMS. The one change you may notice is that the Office of Sponsored Research Services (OSRS) will “press the submit button” for system-to-system submissions, and not your administrators. You will need to allow time for this crucial step in the process.
- Multiple training resources and opportunities are available to research administrators in the central offices and academic departments, but RMS is substantially different than PDS. To become proficient with RMS use, it will require time working in the live system developing real proposals. Until all users gain more experience working in RMS, it may take additional time to develop, route, and submit proposals.
- As with any new system, it is likely that we will encounter a few system bugs post go-live. Any issues will be communicated to our vendor, and we will work toward a quick resolution.
What You Need to Do for Upcoming Submission Deadlines
- Provide information earlier to your research administrators for the pieces of the proposal (e.g. budget, key personnel, compliance, etc.) which need to be entered into RMS and approved by OSRS.
- For the other proposal components, complete them earlier so that you, your department administrator, and OSRS are not caught in a last minute rush navigating a less familiar system. We suggest, at a minimum, having the full proposal completed 2 days before your deadline.
- If you have questions about proposals that are already in progress or other questions, please discuss with your research administrators – they have a plan!
Please join me in submitting a proposal earlier than normal as we get closer to major NIH deadlines in June and July.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Lodge, PhD
Vice Chancellor for Research