UNIIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Last fall, Penn State’s leaders announced the launch of the Research Support Transformation Project (RSTP) to capitalize on the University’s unprecedented growth in research and creative endeavors, including surpassing $1.2 billion in research expenditures in 2022-23. The RSTP aims to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens and increase the efficiency of operations so faculty and staff members can devote their full attention to pursuing groundbreaking discoveries, innovations and scholarship that address pressing societal issues.
Over the past several months, the RSTP core team and its executive sponsors have been documenting and analyzing current processes and engaging stakeholders, including faculty and staff members, through a series of interviews to learn about their experiences. Now, they are sharing progress to date and inviting all faculty and staff members to provide input to help inform the project’s future directions.
“I know firsthand the many challenges our researchers face because, as an active researcher, I experience them myself,” said Andrew Read, interim vice president for research. “Our researchers are encumbered with administrative tasks, they struggle with a grant management system that is clunky and opaque, and they face barriers to purchasing necessary equipment, among other things. These are just a few of the hurdles we must overcome to reach our full potential as a top research institution. Penn State is already a powerhouse of research and creative activity. Imagine what we could do if we had systems in place that are optimized to support this critical work.”
Read noted that having the full support of the University's executive team, including Justin Schwartz, executive vice president and provost; Michael Wade Smith, senior vice president and chief of staff; and Sara Thorndike, senior vice president for finance and business/treasurer, is essential to the success of RSTP. Additionally, Thorndike added that this level of engagement across senior leadership means that the Office of the Senior Vice President for Research will receive the assistance it needs across the institution to make changes that will be impactful for researchers.
"For the first time, we are able to take a much more comprehensive look at the research support system, identify problems, and solve them with the full involvement of the senior administration,” Thorndike said.
Read said that the core team — a group of faculty and staff co-chaired by Lee Kump, John Leone Dean in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, and Jeremy Bean, associate vice president of enterprise change and transformation, along with project manager Ashley Stauffer, analyst in the Office of Research Information Systems — has already made some important strides, including preparing to reintroduce financials into the myResearch Portal via development of the myFunds module, so faculty members can more easily monitor the financial data associated with their sponsored projects and general funds accounts, including startup and research incentive funds. The myFunds module is anticipated for release in mid-April.
Responding to concerns that Penn State is understaffed to effectively facilitate proposal submission, post-award management and commercialization processes, the team is considering how to help units with their staffing shortfalls, while also creating new positions within the Office of Technology Management, Office of Research Information Systems and others.
Another top priority is to improve the procurement process. Therefore, the team has taken steps to improve efficiencies so researchers can more easily and quickly purchase the equipment necessary to conduct their research.
Importantly, the core team is soliciting input from faculty and staff members and has created a multidirectional communication portal to collect this feedback and provide project updates as it progresses forward. The portal, housed within SharePoint, is accessible to only those internal to Penn State.
“We can’t fix issues if we are unaware of them,” Read said. “Community feedback is critical to inform the actions we prioritize within RSTP. We want researchers to share their experiences with us and know that we are committed to removing barriers so they can do what they do best.”