admin burden in canada (abc) - janet halliwell board chair casrai
TRANSCRIPT
ABC – wish it were so simple!
A partnership initiative led by post-secondary education (PSE) institutions and associations, supported by the Canadian national chapter of CASRAI.
Short-term goal of reducing undue administrative burden within the Canadian research life-cycle
Longer-term goal of sustaining these reductions while enhancing the overall productivity and efficiency of the Canadian research ecosystem leading to enhanced research impacts.
Challenges at every level of the research enterprise – students (e.g. immigration, collective agreements), P&T submissions, grant applications, funds management, grant reporting, research partnerships …Some of this is inevitable as a component of “big business”, BUT
Early stage researchers are finding this environment particularly challenging
Established researchers are walking away from funding opportunities
New demands are emerging, e.g. the move to an Open Science environment (how to manage efficiently?)
Collective interest in improving the life and productivity of researchers (and perhaps even research administrators)
The grant application process ◦ The process
◦ Success rates
Contracts
Financial management
Compliance
Reporting
Navigating immigration requirements in hiring
Tracking multiple program opportunities Funding results – activation Institutional compliance tracking systems Monitoring visits Institutional prioritization activities Temporal conflicts Supporting researchers manage admin
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Federal govt
Provincial govt
Business
Higher Ed
PNP
Foreign
Two inevitable consequences (which we could manage better) New norms of accountability & expectations
(demonstrating ROI) Increasing admin requirements & regulations
(managing risk) And two perhaps not so inevitable consequences Lack of alignment of programs, processes
and policies Multiple proposals and low success rates
Ownership by research performing institutions
Acts as a forum for exchange among diverse groups with different lenses on the admin burden challenge
Addressing a small number of issues that would make a difference
Personnel Recruitment: e.g. international recruitment, work permits, etc
Program Design: e.g. eligibility, applications, deadlines etc
Financial Compliance: reporting, monitoring and audit
Non-Financial Compliance: e.g. human and animal ethics, controlled goods, etc
Post-Award Management: e.g. negotiation of funding agreements, inter-institutional transfers, project changes
Reporting: Progress/Performance/Impact Scholarly Communications: e.g. open access, open
data
Funding results
CCCV
Financial audits/monitoring
ORCID
Building awareness
Connecting and engaging a multitude of diverse organizational players
Connecting with researchers
Achieving collective ownership
Leadership
Helping funders see the value in broadly based partnerships
Time and $$
Active engagement and commitment of the PSE research performing community (Steering Committee plus community volunteers)
A host organization willing to organize and facilitate the work (CASRAI)
Engagement of funding organizations in advancing those initiatives in which they are involved
Resources to support the work plan
Focus on the desired end state, then seek to get there as simply as possible
Work collaboratively among sectors and communities
Solicit active engagement of researchers
Take lessons from those who have been successful – in Canada and elsewhere
Name Affiliations
Nathalie Laporte (Chair) CAUBO
Janet Halliwell (Chair) CASRAI
Judith Chadwick CASRAI, University of Toronto
Karina McInnis CARA, Queen's University
Diane Johnston CARA, University of Waterloo
Sally Rutherford CAGS
Geoff Harder CARL, University of Alberta
Andrew Kim CAGS, Memorial University
Doug Peers Deans, University of Waterloo
Graham Carr VPR, Concordia University
Ray Hoemsen Polytechnics Canada, Red River College
