Marquette has a new electronic system for proposal submission, research compliance and grant management. Provided by KualiCo, it is designed to simplify and streamline award acquisition and administration for the university. Kuali’s research management software eliminates the hassle associated with paper copies of grant applications, and allows collaborators to have instant, updated access to files, all through an online interface. It also streamlines the approval process, as chairs and deans can approve simultaneously online.
Kuali’s modules will be configured and made available on a rolling basis; the Award, Proposal Development and Financial Conflict of Interest modules are now active. Training to use the system will take place in phases by department or unit, and all applicants will need to use the software by July 1, 2018. An important change for applicants is that proposals must be substantially complete three days before the sponsor deadline, in order for routing to take place.
In addition to unit training, the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) will host seven hour-long drop-in Kuali information sessions in March and April, starting with a session at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 7, in Raynor’s Beaumier Suite B. The full schedule and additional help resources can be found at: http://www.marquette.edu/innovation/kuali-about.php.
Kuali has multiple advantages over the system currently in place, including real-time reporting and the ability to submit grants directly to government agencies. Kuali will also allow users to manage compliance with the Institutional Review Board and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. Kuali will work with, but not replace, existing financial systems on campus.
The initiative to transition to an online grant management system began back in 2015, with a Strategic Innovation Proposal by Marquette’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. At the time, grant management relied on multiple, disconnected databases that tracked different components of the process, leaving room for redundancy and error. Kuali, already a best practice at other universities, will allow all grant activity to be managed in one place.
The shift to Kuali lines up with Marquette’s Research in Action initiative, which is to double the university’s research funding by 2020. An online grant management system provides the flexibility, efficiency, and evaluation needed to meet that goal.