Over the past nine months, the College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS), College of Arts & Sciences (A&S), and the Office of Research (OoR) have been working together on the formation of a Cooperative Grants Office (CGO) to provide centralized pre-award services to both colleges. This office will combine the talent and resources of the pre-award offices in each college to create a more robust, resilient, and responsive team.
Leaders in both colleges approached the OoR regarding the creation of this office to enhance our ability to provide support for all manner and size of proposals, coordinate pre-award support during absences or job vacancies, and help train and develop the next generation of pre-award support specialists. A committee was formed of faculty and leaders from all three offices, and a charter was drafted and approved by the colleges. This charter commits the office to a shared governance structure, with a steering committee from the colleges directing the strategy of the office, which will report to OoR Operations. Over the last several months the three units have been working to develop policies, determine responsibilities, and recruit leadership for the new office. An Executive Director will be appointed to lead the office, which will include 8 FTEs at launch, in addition to the Director. At present, seven of those positions will be filled by current staff members of the A&S and CEAS pre-award offices, with the 8th position to be filled shortly.
The new Cooperative Grants Office will provide the colleges with the ability to tap into greater resources when submitting large or complex proposals; to train staff to familiarize themselves with units or sponsors that require extra attention or have special requirements; to cover for staff who are on vacation or leave; and to afford staff time to engage in professional development and training.
On September 1, 2024, the grant pre-award offices for The College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering and Applied Science will begin the process of operating cooperatively. The pre-award teams (A&S: Kellee Adams, Karen Rolf, Caroline Rucker, & George Young; CEAS: Lesley Calvin, Julie Ison, & Amy Jones) will begin the process of assigning work per the needs and priorities of both colleges. Carol Ross, Associate Director for Grants in CEAS, is retiring effective 8/31/2024 after 28 years of service to the University, and hiring is underway to refill her position. In the interim the seven members of the two grants offices will work together to ensure all projects are submitted accurately and on time for all constituents.
Over the following months, these offices will continue the process towards a merger into a single Cooperative Grants Office (CGO). This will include changes to workflow and policy, which will be reviewed with faculty and affected staff where needed prior to implementation, for feedback and modification. The goal is to establish a set of policies and processes that guarantee maximum efficiency and service for all areas in both colleges. As policy changes are considered, there will be a comment period to allow for faculty feedback, as well as an implementation period for any new policies that affect grant submission.
For now, all deadlines and policies in effect for each college will remain in place. For the time being, faculty who wish to submit proposals in A&S should contact Kellee Adams, and faculty in CEAS should contact Lesley Calvin, per your college's normal procedures. Kellee and Lesley will be working cooperatively on staffing assignments and workflow management, along with Patrick Clark, until an Executive Director is in place for the office. Questions regarding the CGO, including questions about policy, procedure, and workflows, should be directed to Patrick Clark at clarkpk@ucmail.uc.edu.