Action Plan for Pre-award Management
(Pilot for 1 year)
Vision:
To improve customer support, communication & assistance to faculty as it relates to sponsored projects pre-award activities & establishing a reliable back-up
system within the office.
Goals & Incentives:
 Cross training within the department to better serve faculty by creating back-up system on pre-award side
 Provide professional growth opportunities by expanding/broadening current expertise & making it easier on everyone if any temporary re-assignments need to
be done due to a high volume of proposals in one of the units, monitoring & balancing work loads within pre-award team
 Improve communication
 Eliminate potential or existing “bad habits”, for example, in some cases starting fresh/re-starting will trouble shoot ongoing issues & will open doors to process
improvements (SPA, department & PIs roles & responsibilities)
 Standardize processes to become more effective & efficient, plus, always keeping in mind flexibility, for example, during proposal preparation, review &
submission
 Build a strong highly trained pre-award team
 Add quality review of the proposals & award agreements, paying attention to details & expanding knowledge in the field of Research Administration
(implemented 2nd review of proposals & awards by the pre-award team members and the Director; plus, Award Transmittal memo)
 Create a centralized repository of all electronic files for each PI on SPA shared drive for easy access by appropriate SPA staff for back-up, cross training and audit
purposes
 Align unit assignments with current/updated job descriptions:
o most subawards are generated by SMAST, esp. DEOS and should be managed by the Sub-recipient Manager which would mitigate potential delays,
miscommunications and late FFATA reports & reduce audit exposures for the University
o allow budget building assistance for the faculty, per faculty survey results received last spring
 Contribute to the success of newly launched SPA satellite Offices at A&S and Engineering Colleges (November, 2015) providing/serving as a Research Concierge
at the College level (appointing more seasoned and experienced SPA pre & post-award staff to lead the initiative, being very well positioned to provide this type
of support, having vast institutional knowledge & being able to assist faculty by referring them to the appropriate offices, depending on a request/question as it
relates to sponsored projects, not limiting services provided to the assigned departments only, in the following areas:
o Proposal submissions
o Budget building
o Award administration and management
o Staying in compliance with University policies & sponsor regulations.
 Promote & support more face-to-face interaction with the faculty at all on & off-campus locations, allowing more flexibility and providing better customer
service, plus, adding to effective communication
Current Situation: Pre-award Managers have specific expertise in certain areas, specializing/working with limited agencies, based on the unit assignments within SPA.
Target Date/Pilot Period: implement at the College & department levels on May 1, 2016 – April 31, 2017 (SPA pre-award team gradually started internal cross training
in December, 2015)
Objective: Create a plan of specific actions/tasks with defined deliverables, due dates, and roles and responsibilities.
Tasks/Deliverabl
es
What needs to be
done?
By Whom
Who will take
actions?
By When
By what date will
the action be
done?
2/24/16
Resources, Skills & Support
Available / Needed
Resources & Skills Available
Resources Needed
(financial, human,
IT and other)
E-mail/listserves: UMD Announce
(February, 2016), SPA Newsletter
(March, 2016), in person, website,
dept./faculty meetings, etc.
Phase I:
Disseminate the
services available
& share
upcoming
changes to the
departments,
centers &
colleges in
accordance with
communication
strategy
EG, MP, GB,
MH;
Department
Chairs, Deans,
Associate &
Assistant
Deans
Phase II:
Internal cross
training within
SPA
MP, GB, MH
EG to oversee
5/1/16
Shared institutional knowledge, skills
& experience working in the area of
research administration (different
angles/perspectives, expertise,
background, offices/units of
organization)
Phase III:
Implementation
phase
MP, GB
EG to
oversee/monit
or
5/1/16 –
4/31/17
Internal & external resources,
knowledge & expertise
Phase IV:
Assess, evaluate
& make
adjustments as
needed
EG
Ongoing & right
after 4/31/17
Meetings in person, e-mails, phone
calls on a regular basis, e.g.., monthly
conf. calls with SMAST leadership
group.
Create PIs folders
on SPA shared
drive; continue
with 2nd review of
proposals &
awards;
implement Award
Transmittal
effective 2/9/16.
Pre-award to meet
with all active PIs,
admins & other
appropriate
parties at the
college & dept.
levels.
Potential Barriers or Resistance
What individuals and groups might
resist?
How to deal?
Administrators and/or faculty?

Clarify roles &
responsibilities

Provide one-on-one
training/meetings, as
needed

Clarify the vision, goals &
incentives, addressing
the “why” questions

Get input & feedback
from the faculty &
admins

Engage in discussion

Effective & frequent
communication
Measures of Success / Progress
Notes
What individuals and groups
should be informed about /
involved with these actions?
Faculty, Deans, Associate &
Assistant Deans, VCR, SPA staff,
Administrative Assistants.
Occasional small group or oneon-one meetings to exchange
thoughts, ideas & best practices.
MP, GB, VCR, Faculty, Deans,
Associate & Assistant Deans &
Admins.