Part three of our five-part series covering strategies to accelerate growth and break down organizational silos in research administration. Read part two here.
In a research landscape that is constantly evolving, the need to foster interconnected and efficient workflows between Sponsored Projects and Compliance teams has never been more critical. In the third installment of Cayuse’s Accelerated Growth Series, Cayuse Senior Solutions Consultant Heather Winters and co-presenter Catherine McGuire illuminate the path to breaking down silos and effectively mitigating compliance risks in research administration.
Using their years of industry expertise as a guide, Heather and Catherine delved into the vital aspects of identifying and mitigating compliance risks, demonstrating how technology can help organizations transform their approach to regulatory compliance and sponsored projects management.
The webinar had four core objectives:
- Identify ways to keep up with regulatory changes
- Ensuring congruence checks by creating transparency
- Improving communication and workflows with automation
- Formalizing processes and breaking down silos to bridge the gap
The current state of compliance
In recent years, the research industry has seen a surge in regulations that pose intricate challenges to both Sponsored Projects (SP) and Compliance teams. The hurdles are manifold, from environmental impacts to conflicts of interest to aligning grants with the appropriate protocol submissions.
In our 2023 Benchmark Report, we asked research administrators across 640 institutions to share how they spend their time. By far, the most time-intensive task our respondents identified was reviewing and creating documents, followed by communication and collaboration, then assessing compliance.
Often, the SP and Compliance teams operate in silos. They may report to separate offices and even operate on competing priorities. Workflows are frequently founded on manual document exchange or on divergent software platforms that can’t communicate, making the task of compliance a time- and labor-intensive process.
Funder to protocol congruence
Understanding and acknowledging that both teams play different—but equally critical important—roles in the project lifecycle is the first step toward breaking down these silos.
Sponsored Projects submits proposals to funders while Compliance submits protocols to the appropriate committee. In the end, funder-to-protocol congruence must exist; the results from the work of both teams must match. This collaboration is vital to comply with stringent regulations, such as the Public Health Service (PHS) Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and the NIH Grants Policy Statement. A common fear among compliance teams is whether all of the Just-In-Time (JIT) requests make it to the compliance desk for congruence review before award, ensuring compliance with NIH.
The dualistic nature of these efforts plays a role in the design of Cayuse’s software platform for research administration. Cayuse has integrated our Sponsored Projects application with Compliance to make collaboration and communication easier between the PI, SP, and Compliance teams.
The benefits of adopting technology for compliance processes
The results of our 2023 Benchmark Report are clear; over 1,000 participants identified the following five benefits as leading results when adopting Cayuse’s software suite to aid in pre- and post-award and compliance efforts:
- Improved efficiency
- Time savings
- Increased compliance
- Greater transparency
- Improved communication and collaboration
Each of these wins can make a massive difference to under-resourced and overtaxed teams, especially against the backdrop of new and anticipated regulatory changes. Preparing for and managing new and existing federal, state, and global regulations and guidelines can be time-consuming at best. The ability to quickly implement new regulations at all points in the institution is non-negotiable.
Referring to the speed of regulatory change doesn’t quite do the situation justice; changes can happen literally overnight, as we saw recently with the sanctions on Russia. Teams need a way to execute these regulations promptly without making the process time-consuming or burdensome for administrators.
Technology like Cayuse helps teams adapt to changes at speed by:
- Automating notifications and approvals using branching logic to reduce the administrative burden
- Engaging all stakeholders in a shared workspace for increased transparency
Cayuse Sponsored Projects for streamlined compliance
Cayuse’s dedication to cultivating cross-team collaboration is reflected in our innovative solutions that bring Sponsored Projects and Compliance together on a single platform. With features that enhance efficiency, increase compliance, and foster greater transparency, the name “Sponsored Projects” doesn’t do this application justice. It’s the hub in the center of everything, a project management tool that helps teams manage research projects from inception to close out. In Sponsored Projects, teams can ingest data, trigger research-based disclosures, link compliance protocols, and more.
In this webinar, we reviewed four key benefits of Sponsored Projects:
- Proposal Management: Flag activities, proactive planning, shared workspace, research disclosure triggers
- Automated Notifications: Engage individuals and teams at any stage for increased transparency
- Award Setup: Ensure accuracy of linked protocols, status (JIT, etc) for reduced risk
- Functional Reporting: In-app report-building tool for all
Proposal Management
Proactive planning is facilitated through rules-based flagging of specified activities and research disclosure triggers that allow compliance to foresee potential requirements and plan accordingly. Because all the data is stored and managed on a central platform, information is never lost as staff turns over or leaves for PTO.
Our Proposal Form Builder empowers you to create rules around specific scenarios. For example, when would you want to notify IRB or a vet director? How would you flag restricted travel or conflicts of interest? The fully configurable platform allows you to create thoughtful workflows for staff who wear a lot of hats.
The goal is to reduce the burden on department administrators with branching logic that hides unnecessary questions when they aren’t needed while gathering all required data. The platform can also link protocols and facilitate congruence checks. Each office can reach out to the other directly within the platform.
Automated Notifications
There is so much to consider with compliance that it’s easy for tasks to slip through the cracks, and automation is part of the solution. As referenced above, notifications can be tailored to engage individuals and teams at any stage, increasing transparency, enabling timely action, and mitigating risk. The system rules are fully configurable, letting you auto-notify users when they take specific actions. In-app notifications hyperlink directly to the relevant record, saving time and preventing confusion while keeping all stakeholders up-to-date on critical tasks.
The system can also trigger research-based disclosures, allowing administrators to see who has received or completed them and whether a conflict of interest exists.
Award Setup
In this more reactive phase of research administration, Cayuse’s award setup features allow a detailed view of award status, ensuring accuracy, reducing institutional risk, and increasing transparency with clear updates for all relevant users. Smart forms gather data and copy information from existing records. If a protocol is linked, it stays linked, eliminating the need to re-key data. JIT workflows ensure that projects get in front of the appropriate eyes for congruence review; automated routing means that nothing gets missed in the shuffle.
Functional Reporting
Reporting is a vital tool everyone wants, as it offers a holistic view to improve compliance management. All Sponsored Projects users can configure their own dashboard data so it’s relevant to them, and they can filter and download real-time data.
The objective is to help teams keep pace with regulatory changes, preventing data from slipping through the cracks via automation and customized dashboards.
A future of cohesive research administration
As we venture further into an era marked by regulatory complexities, the need for solutions that offer seamless integration and collaboration cannot be overstated. Cayuse is proud to provide industry-leading solutions to research administrators, streamlining processes and empowering organizations to undertake research projects with an enhanced focus on compliance. Our mission is to empower organizations to conduct globally connected research, advancing their impact on science, discovery, and society, and compliance is a critical piece of the overall puzzle.
