The Cayuse platform is centered on solutions first developed by Chris Harker, Ph.D. in 1994. At the time, Harker was a medical researcher, faculty member, and laboratory director at Oregon Health & Science University. He wanted to develop an easier way to handle the processes associated with research administration and proposal submission, so people could focus more on the actual science. Decades have passed, yet ease of use remains our guiding principal today.
Here’s a look back on some of our early company milestones in Cayuse history:
1994
Chris Harker develops his first Public Health Service (PHS) grant application software, Grant Slam, in his living room. He forms Cayuse, Inc., naming it after the famed Cayuse Native American pony of the Pacific Northwest.
1995-2003
Cayuse’s Grant Slam grant application software is a bestseller, proving very popular with thousands of investigators, helping them to produce their paper-based NIH grant proposals. (Remember CD-ROMs?)
2002
Cayuse’s Grant Slam software forms the basis for an electronic research administration (eRA) grant submission system. Chris Harker applies for and receives a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) NIH grant to create and commercialize such a groundbreaking eRA system. Here’s his grant abstract:
2006
Cayuse becomes the first vendor to successfully communicate system-to-system with Grants.gov through its flagship Proposals solution (originally called Cayuse 424). With robust error validation, pre-population of common fields, automated budget calculations, and world-class support, Proposals quickly amasses a large and loyal customer base.
2010
Cayuse’s list of customers includes the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, which pairs Proposals with their leading-edge internal solution for research administration. The UNC solution, known internally as RAMSeS, was developed centrally and hosted for the other institutions within the North Carolina system. This architecture made it a viable option for commercialization, and its intuitive user interface aligned well with Cayuse’s design principles. In 2010, Cayuse licenses the RAMSeS system, commercialized the platform (enhancing stability and scalability) and made it available as a Software as a Service (SaaS) offering, branded Sponsored Projects.
Today
Nearly one-third of the top 100 research institutions in the United States use Proposals, and after a five-year break from Cayuse, company founder Chris Harker returns as an advisor. Chris, we’re glad to have you back and look forward to the future of Cayuse!
