In the constantly evolving landscape of research administration, adopting technology that supports efficient grant management is more important than ever—and making informed buying decisions is critical. To this end, Cayuse recently hosted a live webinar to address fundamental questions about how research institutions should evaluate and purchase eRA technology. If you missed the live event, you can watch the recording here.
In this post, we recap our core takeaways from the session, including the following topics:
- 2023 ListEdTech Report highlights
- What to look for in a grant management solution
- Building vs. buying a grant management system
- Questions to ask when weighing your options
Insights from ListEdTech
Justin unveiled key findings from the 2023 ListEdTech report, an annual survey that includes data from over 1,000 institutions. ListEdTech only works with educational technology across almost 30 product groups—everything from ERPs to LMS to grant management software—to learn which software institutions are using and help others to learn from their peers.
Cayuse is the current market leader, both as a percentage of total institutions and a percentage of total enrollment. This growth can be attributed in part to acquiring complementary products, and partly to providing a seamless solution that covers the entire research process from end to end, a feat very few competitors can rival.
Justin also shared projected market trends for grantee software, which is expected to experience significant growth over the next five years.
Shacey underlined this projection with her own experiences at Attain. While the aftershocks of the Great Resignation are still keenly felt throughout the research industry, organizations are slowly orienting away from staff augmentation and toward more strategic projects, with a growing emphasis on improving processes. This transition underscores the need to align people and technology to streamline operations.
Common hesitations when purchasing eRA software
Of course, adopting eRA technology isn’t without its challenges. Institutions are often hesitant to change course due to the potential strains associated with implementing a new software system.
Fear of the unknown can cause institutional paralysis, with research administration teams choosing their current systems and processes over potential improvements because they are simply too overwhelmed to do anything else. Shacey emphasized the role of strong leadership in overcoming this fear of the unknown and steering the team toward a tech-driven future.
She also suggested looking at the higher benefit to your organization, rather than compounding the administrative burden by letting inefficient processes run teams into the ground. “It’s never a good time to do a big software implementation,” she said. “There’s always a reason not to do it today. At some point, you just have to rip off the band-aid.”
Build vs. Buy: what’s best for your institution?
When deciding between developing a homegrown solution and purchasing professional software, organizations should consider both their immediate needs and their long-term goals.
- Best Practice: While a custom-built solution might be tailor-made to your institution’s processes, it might not always align with industry best practices, potentially paving the way for compliance risks. Professional software like Cayuse is built on years of industry best practices, setting institutions up for success.
- Cost of Maintenance: The cost of maintaining homegrown systems is often high, especially when you consider the loss of knowledge during staff turnover. Often, institutions have to completely rebuild or make major changes as team members leave and knowledge is lost with them, even when documentation is created as a record.
- Ease of Use: End users tend to find homegrown solutions easy to use because the solution was designed for them. However, they often do not consider process efficiency, so look again at whether your processes make sense or are a byproduct of historical use. That said, ensure that any technology solution you adopt is easy for users to learn and use.
- Scalability: Cayuse was built by research administrators for research administrators and covers the full research lifecycle from end to end, offering scalability as institutions grow. SaaS solutions also provide a repository of industry knowledge, which is crucial for the long-term viability of a technology solution.
- Peer Review: Justin noted that the use of homegrown systems is declining as more institutions are transitioning to vendor-managed solutions. Ask your peers what solutions they use and how they like them.
Successful change management
Change management represents a significant hurdle for many organizations, especially because the day-to-day work still has to get done throughout the software implementation timeline. Our panelists discussed how to drive positive change while maximizing buy-in and maintaining focus on a shared vision of success.
True change management is about much more than a great communication plan. Leveraging her expertise as a Senior Manager at Attain, Shacey recommended the following steps:
- Evaluate your readiness for change. For example, if your institution is truly understaffed, work on solving that problem before rolling out new software. That solution may involve backfilling staff so your core team can focus on the rollout, or outsourcing a dedicated implementation team so your team can keep current projects moving.
- Find the right sponsor. This often-overlooked step is critical to getting buy-in from PIs and other stakeholders. Find a sponsor who is highly visible within the organization and who can elicit action from PIs. Most organizations will need multiple sponsors, as the direct supervisor is the best person to deliver messaging about changing expectations. Build a sponsor coalition within each institutional silo as well as a larger sponsorship team.
- Communication and training plans. Get users of every type involved from the very earliest stages, including product demos. This helps people across the institution to feel a sense of ownership for the final product. Advisory committees are one good way to get buy-in and answer questions without bottlenecking the process with “too many cooks.”
- Pick a rollout timeline. While there is never a “perfect” time to roll out new software, try to avoid high-deadline periods to avoid overwhelming the central office. As Justin noted, a typical grantee system implementation spans about 22 months from RFP to completion, so work back from your target release date with realistic expectations about how long the process will take.
- Analyze process gaps. At the time of implementation, look at your business processes and see where the gaps are. Your office doesn’t function in a vacuum; research administrators touch every area of the institution, so involve them. Ask questions about the impact of implementation on other teams. Map out business processes from inception to award close-out, reflecting on the different connection points and how each will be affected by the software.
- Think long-term. Don’t just think about what you want your technology to do today. Think about how you want to grow over the long term. What are the long-term goals for your team and your institution? Establish a plan for that from the early stages of technology purchasing, making sure to select a solution that supports those long-term goals.
Key questions to ask when evaluating eRA technology
When embarking on the evaluation process, organizations must be equipped with the right questions to make informed decisions. Here are a few of the questions our panelists recommend:
- What are my peers using, and how do they like their solutions? This question often forms the basis for a vendor shortlist.
- What is the implementation approach? Understand your responsibilities during implementation so you can enter into a relationship clear-eyed about expectations and what’s on the horizon.
- What’s on the product roadmap? Know where each technology product is headed to ensure it aligns with your institutional goals. While a vendor may not offer every solution today, other features may be on the near-term roadmap. Select a vendor that leverages customer feedback to iterate.
Conclusion
Navigating the complexities of buying technology for grant management requires a thoughtful strategy, incorporating insights from industry peers and aligning processes with evolving industry best practices. In this webinar, we aimed to chart a path for successful eRA technology adoption: evaluate your institutional readiness, incorporate end-user feedback, and ensure clarity on the implementation process before you start.
