VOLUME IV ISSUE 2– FEBRUARY 2016
In This Issue
NEWS & UPDATES
Fiscal Year End Cut-Off for New
Award Set-Up
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Carnegie
INReclassification
THIS ISSUE 2
ARTICLES
The Lean Six Sigma System
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Fiscal Year End Cut-Off for New Award Set-Up is April 15, 2016
AWARDS
January 2016 Awards
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FUNDING
OPPORTUNITIES
CAS
KOGOD
SOC
SIS
SPA
WCL
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Contact Info
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In consultation with Grants & Contracts Accounting (GCA) and the Controller’s Office,
a “cut off” date of Friday April 15, 2016 has been established to ensure timely set-up
and reporting of new sponsored awards received in this fiscal year. Thus, all new
sponsored awards must be received in the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) on or
before April 15 in order to be counted in the current fiscal year statistics. OSP and
GCA will work to ensure that all new sponsored awards received in OSP on or before
April 15 will be processed and reported in the current fiscal year statistics.
To ensure timely set-up, OSP and/or GCA may require assistance from Principal Investigators (PIs) and their respective academic unit to resolve award related issues
such as budget matters to process awards. Also, PIs and their respective academic
unit(s) should forward all new awards (if received directly from sponsors) to OSP for
immediate processing.
All new awards received after April 15 will be processed in the order received but
will be reported in the 2017 fiscal year statistics. Please contact OSP and GCA with
any questions you may have. The respective units can be reached at
OSP@american.edu or GCA@american.edu
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Carnegie Reclassification of American University: A Message from
Dr. Scott A. Bass, Provost
We are pleased to inform the university community that AU has been reclassified by the Carnegie
Commission on Higher Education. Among doctoral granting institutions, there are three categories. AU has
moved from what was the lowest level of classification for doctoral institutions, formerly called “Doctoral
Research University”, to the middle tier, or "Doctoral: Higher Research Activity." The reclassification is a
result of strategic decisions made by the Board of Trustees in order to expand AU’s array of doctoral programs to include the Humanities/Professional (Communications) and the Natural Sciences (Behavioral,
Cognitive, and Neuroscience). It is also a result of increased productivity with regard to externally funded
research. AU is now in a more appropriate grouping with universities like Dartmouth College, College of
William and Mary, and University of Vermont.
This classification system is the universal standard by which universities are organized for subsequent
analyses by government and other organizations. Copied below is text from the Carnegie Classification
website that briefly describes the system: The Carnegie ClassificationTM has been the leading framework for
recognizing and describing institutional diversity in U.S. higher education for the past four and a half
decades. Starting in 1970, the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education developed a classification of
colleges and universities to support its program of research and policy analysis. Derived from empirical data
on colleges and universities, the Carnegie Classification was originally published in 1973, and subsequently
updated in 1976, 1987, 1994, 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015 to reflect changes among colleges and universities.
This framework has been widely used in the study of higher education, both as a way to represent and
control for institutional differences, and also in the design of research studies to ensure adequate
representation of sampled institutions, students, or faculty. As a community, we can take pride in our
progress on this significant milestone.
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The Lean Six Sigma System
By Andrew Kada
The Lean Six Sigma system is an approach to streamlining processes using a data and technology. Its goal is
to systematically remove waste, reduce costs, increase efficiency, and improve customer satisfaction
thorough business operations. Lean Six Sigma principles and methods, based on objective measurement and
monitoring of system-critical metrics, can be applied to a sponsored research organization to increase its
efficiency and effectiveness.
Today’s combined system of Lean Six Sigma originated from two separate but similar methods: Lean and Six
Sigma. Lean focuses on increasing speed and inventory dynamics. It is popular among manufacturing,
logistics, and supply chain organizations. Six Sigma focuses on identifying and removing defects and
variations, and increasing quality. It is most often utilized by organizations that supply mass services or
products. Over time, as the two systems showed success in many types of organizations, they were
eventually integrated to create the comprehensive Lean Six Sigma system. Lean Six Sigma has been
increasingly applied to business administration. Many businesses implement Lean Six Sigma in their
workplace. The implementation is led by experts who are trained and certified at different levels of
proficiency, which are signified by belt color, similar to karate. Masters of Lean Six Sigma possess black belts,
while other trainers have green belts, yellow belts, and white belts, comparable to the succession of karate
belts. As an overview, Lean Six Sigma has seven foundational principles which are:
Focus on the Customers (At AU, this would be sponsors & research faculty)
Identify and understand how the work gets done (The value stream)
Manage, improve, and smooth the process flow
Eliminating non-value-adding activities (also known as waste)
Manage by face and reduce variation
Inform and equip the people in the process
Undertake improvement activity in a systematic way
The application of Lean Six Sigma has already been successful at a number of research organizations, and
these organizations can provide a model for growing institutions like AU. The first step in Lean Six Sigma is to
map the processes for all functions involved in the research administration workflow, including the sponsored programs central office, the contracts/legal department, academic departments and offices, and research faculty and their respective staff. Utilizing the mapping of grant processes across a University, stakeholders are able to portray their award life cycle as a detailed, readily accessible, and visual friendly illustration. Along with creating comprehensive process maps, organizations introduce electronic workflow systems
designed for research administration. This software tool enables evaluators to objectively measure process
metrics for all the parts of the map that are processed through the software system.
The evaluation of an organizations workflow starts from a baseline determined by monitoring the time needed to process all types of tasks and, most importantly, the time taken by differing teams and research types
throughout the institution. A key consideration for Lean Six Sigma evaluators is recognizing, however, the
fact that large and complex organizations are not uniform or operationally consistent due to the varied nature of the research programs (products or services) being handled. Using objective metrics, evaluators identify areas of “waste”, defined as redundancy, unnecessary complexities, and other factors leading to setbacks or delays throughout the grant process (proposal development, submission, award set-up, and postaward administration). In order to identify waste and develop solutions, evaluators broadly seek to answer
these questions.
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Waiting: Where are people, systems, offices, or facilities idle? Are they waiting for a work cycle to be completed?
Defects: Does an existing or new process result in anything that the customer (researchers) deem inadequate,
cumbersome, or inefficient?
Movement: How many task objectives (administrative or research related) are achieved with each processing
step?
Extra Processing: How much extra work is performed beyond the standards established by the research project’s
sponsor or applicable regulations?
After identifying the instances and causes of waste, institutions are able to reorganize or create parallel workflows that
save time and resources. By continuously monitoring the flow of the administrative processes, organizations can also
reallocate and reorganize personnel and resources as needed. This includes training existing staff, and bringing on new
staff.
Many people who are a part of a Lean Six Sigma initiative report benefits and improvements from the approach. However, a significant investment must be made by an institution to obtain the highly qualified experts and technical systems needed for Lead Six Sigma to be successful. A critical factor for ensuring successful implementation of Lead Six
Sigma is that throughout the process of changing existing policies and procedures, all stakeholders are involved, including academic representatives, managers, front-line staff, and researchers throughout the institution. Organizations
that don’t emphasis the value of feedback from stakeholders and customers see dissatisfaction with the many changes
that are made.
In conclusion, Lean Six Sigma shows how process mapping methodologies can bring improvements to all areas of an
organization. American University can learn from both the successes and failures of Lean Six Sigma at other research
universities. Large scale adoption of a metric-centric approach together with proven electronic research administration
system has the potential to increase an organizations effectiveness, but it is time and resource intensive, and it is critical to involve all stakeholders at every step of the transformation.
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American University – Office of Sponsored Programs – January Awards Overview
In January 2016 (FY 2016), the Office of Sponsored Programs recorded the following grants for American
University researchers.
Provost - Center for Latin American and Latino Studies
PI: Eric Hershberg
Title: Religion and Climate Change in Cross-Regional Perspective
Sponsor: The Henry Luce Foundation
Funds: $425,000.00
School of International Service - International
Politics
PI: Tazreena Sajjad
Title: Bridging the Gaps: a New Framework for Gender and
Electoral Violence
Sponsor: International Foundation for Electoral Systems
Funding Source: United States Agency for International
Development
School of Communication Investigative Reporting Workshop
PI: Charles R. Lewis
Title: Investigative Reporting Workshop
Sponsor: The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Funds: $1,500,000.00
Funds: $32,111.00
School of International Service - International
Development
PI: Robin Broad
Title: From National Responsible Gold-Mining to Global Investment & Trade Policy
Sponsor: Voices for a Sustainable Future
School of Communication - Center for Environmental
Filmmaking
PI: Christopher Palmer
Title: Program Support for the Center for Environmental
Filmmaking
Sponsor: Herbert W. Hoover Foundation
Funds: $5,000.00
Funds: $24,668.00
School of International Service - International
Development
PI: Jonathan Fox
Title: Proposed Center for Accountability Research
Sponsor: The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Funds: $1,500,000.00
School of Communication - Investigative Reporting Workshop
PI: Charles R. Lewis
School of International Service - Comparative and Regional
Studies
Title: Accountability Studies and the Public Accountability
Data Map
PI: Jordan Tama
Sponsor: Reva and David Logan Foundation
Title: Maximizing the Value of Quadrennial Strategic Planning
Funds: $900,000.00
Sponsor: IBM Center for the Business of Government
Funds: $20,000.00
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American University – Office of Sponsored Programs – January Awards Overview
In January 2016 (FY 2016), the Office of Sponsored Programs recorded the following grants for American
University researchers.
School of International Service - International Peace and
Conflict Resolution
PI: Mohammed Abu-Nimer
Title: Fellowship-Senior Advisor for Policy and Research
Sponsor: King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre
for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID)
Funds: $55,369.00
College: School of Public Affairs - Justice, Law &
Criminology
PI: Lynn Addington
Title: Intimate Partner Violence, Stalking and Sexual Violence Among Non-College Attending Emerging Adults: Exploring the Prevalence of the Problem and Utilization of Victim Services
Sponsor: U.S. Department of Justice - National Institute of
Justice
Funds: $39,958.00
Washington College of Law - National Immigrant Women's
Advocacy Project
PI: Leslye Orloff
Title: Developing Training Tools for Courts: Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and U Visas in Family Courts
Sponsor: State Justice Institute
Funds: $50,000.00
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Funding Opportunities Organized by
School/Department
Note: Please note that these offerings are a sampling of what is available via our search funding tools and serve as examples for you
to consider. If you have not attended a “search funding tool” training session, we encourage you to do so. Performing an
individualized search, tailored to your unit or specific research interests will provide the most exhaustive means of locating
resources. Please contact Afelder@american.edu with any questions related to our search funding tools.
College of Arts and Sciences
Institute of Physics (IOP) - Honorary Fellowship
The Institute of Physics seeks help in identifying exceptional individuals for the award of its highest honour, Honorary Fellow. Honorary fellowship is conferred by the Institute on distinguished individuals for… more » exceptional service to physics or a closely
related discipline. It may also recognize important service to the Institute or someone whose relationship with the Institute has
been of tremendous benefit.
Deadline: April 15, 2016
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA) - Unitarian Universalist Funding Program (UUFP)
The (UUFP) is a denominational grant making program of the Association. Inspired by the liberal religious tradition, the mission of
the UUFP is to promote the influence of Unitarian Universalist principles through… more » grantmaking. With funds generously
provided by the Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock, the UUFP awards grants to Unitarian Universalist (UU) and
non-UU projects and organizations. Grants are made that: Support the work of social justice, Strengthen Unitarian Universalist institutions, Transform gratitude for being into generosity of living and Make Unitarian Universalism more visible in the world.
Deadline: 16 Mar 2016
Kogod School of Business
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) - Research Funds
ICAS is committed to supporting and encouraging high quality policy relevant research, which is in the public interest, will contribute to the ICAS policy themes and positions, and will have an impact on the accountancy… more » profession or business in an international or UK context
Deadline: Continuous
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Funding Opportunities Organized by
School/Department
Note: Please note that these offerings are a sampling of what is available via our search funding tools and serve as examples for you
to consider. If you have not attended a “search funding tool” training session, we encourage you to do so. Performing an
individualized search, tailored to your unit or specific research interests will provide the most exhaustive means of locating
resources. Please contact Afelder@american.edu with any questions related to our search funding tools.
Surdna Foundation - Business Development and Acceleration
Many businesses owned by people of color, women, and immigrants face hurdles in securing access to start-up and growth capital,
contracting opportunities, and business networks. These barriers limit a business ability to thrive and grow. Alternative business
models like employee-owned cooperatives benefit corporations, and social enterprises offer a promising alternative that can counter this trend. In the right policy and business environment, sustainable businesses, employee owned cooperatives and social enterprises can create positive economic, environmental and social benefit.
Deadline: Continuous
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) - Outreach and Education, Technical Assistance, and Financial Education for FSA
Programs, Functions, and Activities
Due to the complex nature of some of FSA's programs, FSA intends for this RFA to focus additional outreach and education to those
producers in those areas who could benefit from the additional outreach. The goal of this RFA is to provide additional outreach and
education to producers related to Agency programs and operations and thereby: (1) increase access to FSA programs and services;
and (2) improve technical assistance and financial education related to FSA farm and farm loan programs.
Deadline: March 18, 2016
School of Communication
National Science Foundation - Documenting Endangered Languages (DEL)
This funding partnership between the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
supports projects to develop and advance knowledge concerning endangered human languages. Made urgent by the imminent
death of roughly half of the approximately 7000 currently used languages, this effort aims to exploit advances in information technology to build computational infrastructure for endangered language research. The program supports projects that contribute to
data management and archiving, and to the development of the next generation of researchers.
Deadline: September 15, 2016
Japan Foundation, New York - JFNY Grant for Arts and Culture
Overview The Japan Foundation New York office (JFNY) accepts applications for projects that take place within the 37 states east of
Rocky Mountains listed below for the JFNY Grant throughout the year. This grant aims to support projects that will further understanding of Japanese arts and culture. Successful projects may be granted up to $5,000. Priority will be given to those projects that
have secured additional funding from sources other than the Japan Foundation.
Deadline: Continuous
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Funding Opportunities Organized by
School/Department
Note: Please note that these offerings are a sampling of what is available via our search funding tools and serve as examples for
you to consider. If you have not attended a “search funding tool” training session, we encourage you to do so. Performing an
individualized search, tailored to your unit or specific research interests will provide the most exhaustive means of locating
resources. Please contact Afelder@american.edu with any questions related to our search funding tools.
School of International Service
Longview Foundation (Longview Foundation for World Affairs and International Understanding) - Grants
As a small foundation, the Longview Foundation must focus its resources in order to have impact. Trustees have identified K-12
education in the U.S. as their primary area of interest and fund projects that directly… more » support building global perspectives in teachers and students. Proposals funded will advance the field or impact significant numbers of students. Foundation
funds education activities in: State Networks on International Education, Internationalizing Teacher Preparation, and Innovations
in International Education.
Deadline: March 23, 2016
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Support the National Environmental Monitoring Conference (NEMC) as
Part of the Environmental Measurement Symposium
NEMC serves as a forum for members of the environmental community to raise the awareness of the greater community to problems and issues that they have uncovered and work with their partners across the community to solve them. It also serves as the
principal forum for the community to work together to improve the quality of environmental information, facilitate the development and use of new monitoring technologies, and make compliance monitoring more cost-effective. To support these objectives, EPA anticipates providing financial support to a technically qualified organization to manage the NEMC for a five year period. The awardee will be expected to be responsible for:
- conference design and management (e.g., planning committee for sessions, exhibitor area, training sessions).
Deadline: March 31, 2016
United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) - Sustainable Employment and Economic Development Strategies
(SEEDS)
ANA promotes the goal of self-sufficiency in Native American communities primarily through the Social and Economic Development Strategies (SEDS) program, which authorizes the SEEDS initiative. In making funding decisions, ANA prioritizes projects that
focus on placement of otherwise unemployed or underemployed individuals in new or existing jobs that increase their earned
income as well as projects that will begin to create jobs and develop businesses by the mid-point of the proposed project period.
In addition, while partnerships are encouraged, recipients are directly responsible for the outcomes expected that they identify in
their application.
Deadline: April 6, 2016
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Funding Opportunities Organized by
School/Department
Note: Please note that these offerings are a sampling of what is available via our search funding tools and serve as examples for you
to consider. If you have not attended a “search funding tool” training session, we encourage you to do so. Performing an
individualized search, tailored to your unit or specific research interests will provide the most exhaustive means of locating
resources. Please contact Afelder@american.edu with any questions related to our search funding tools.
School of Public Affairs
Charles Koch Foundation - Criminal Justice and Policing Reform
The Charles Koch Foundation seeks to support research that fosters a fuller understanding of the origins and drivers of individual
and societal well-being. To this end, the Foundation invites researchers, faculty, graduate students, and policy experts to submit
proposals for the support of research on select topics relating to well-being.
Deadline: Continuous
Indian Land Tenure Foundation - Tribal Government Strategic Land Planning Training
ILTFs Tribal Government Strategic Land Planning Training provides workshop materials to be adapted to an individual Indian community and used with tribal leadership and staff to identify and design a strategic land management plan for the Indian nation addressing items such as land acquisition, land use, land consolidation, environmental stewardship, resource management and land
records management, to name a few. Tribal governments have discovered that developing a strategic land plan not only helps tribal
staff strategically work towards achieving defined goals, but also helps the Indian nation to be more strategic in using available
funding with a vision for the future and long-term sustainability of its nation and tribal membership.
Deadline: March 31, 2016
Dirksen Congressional Center - Dissertation Research Grants
Grants support research on leadership in the Congress, both House and Senate. Topics could include external factors shaping the
exercise of congressional leadership, institutional conditions affecting it, resources and techniques used by leaders, or the prospects for change or continuity in the patterns of leadership. Additional topics include: congressional procedures, such as committee operation or mechanisms for institutional change; Congress and the electoral process; and the creation, implementation,
and oversight of public policy. Proposals must demonstrate that Congress, not the specific policy, is the central research interest.
The award may be used for research expenses, such as travel to conduct research, duplication of research material, purchase of
data sets, and costs of clerical, secretarial, research, or transcription assistance.
Deadline: April 01, 2016
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Funding Opportunities Organized by
School/Department
Note: Please note that these offerings are a sampling of what is available via our search funding tools and serve as examples for
you to consider. If you have not attended a “search funding tool” training session, we encourage you to do so. Performing an
individualized search, tailored to your unit or specific research interests will provide the most exhaustive means of locating
resources. Please contact Afelder@american.edu with any questions related to our search funding tools.
Washington College of Law
MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. - Human Rights and International Justice Grant
MacArthur's grantmaking objectives in human rights and international justice include strengthening human rights inquiry and
implementation internationally; encouraging the advancement of the rule of law and human rights protections in the countries of
Russia, Nigeria, and Mexico; and facilitating the development of an international justice system.
Deadline: Continuous
Virginia Sea Grant - Coastal and Marine Law and Policy Internship
VASG is a host site for the College of William & Marys Law School externship program. Law students spend 2- or 3-credit hours
per semester researching and drafting policy analysis of coastal and marine regulatory, jurisdictional, and governance issues, such
as the Chesapeake Bay program, coastal and marine spatial planning, ecosystem-based approaches to fisheries management, and
the Mid-Atlantic Regional Ocean Council (MARCO). Interns may conduct literature reviews and interviews, draft summaries, and
work with the VASG Communication Center to produce communication products (e.g., podcasts, Youtube video, web content).
Interns are overseen by a public administration and policy scientist and have oversight and mentoring opportunities with the National Sea Grant Law Center. Other Virginia-based law schools could also be considered for this internship program.
Deadline: Continues
Equal Justice America - Summer Fellowship for Law Students
Fellowships support law students at select law schools who wish to work with organizations that deliver civil legal services to
those most in need. Fellows work with over 500 legal services organizations across the country. Interning under the supervision of
experienced attorneys. Fellows must secure a full-time (35-40 hours per week) placement working at least 10 weeks for a legal
services organization. the fellowship is for one summer.
Deadline: March 21, 2016
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What to expect in next month’s OSP Monthly:
Funding Opportunities
Policy Updates
Upcoming GAR Dates: April 15th
Contact Information
Office of Sponsored Programs
202-885-3440
osp@american.edu
www.american.edu/provost/osp/index.cfm
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