Over the decade or so associate professor Ben Van Dusen has competed successfully for National Science Foundation (NSF) research funding, he hadn't worked with a research project manager -- a part- or full-time professional who helps keep things on schedule, on budget and in compliance. The School of Education associate professor said now he can't imagine not having that assistance.
He said the benefits go beyond the "time and mental space" it frees for him to focus on his research on student learning and more effective assessments. He believes project manager Nicole Scott, office of the vice president for research (VPR), makes his team better and ultimately, more competitive in its quest for NSF next-phase funding of up to $70 million.
Scott is one of three project managers on the VPR's ResearchPOST (Project Operations and Strategy Team), a new post-award initiative supported the last two years with 2022-31 strategic plan funds totaling $315,000. The other two project managers, Stacy Renfro and Marc Peterson in the Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensic Evidence, split their work weeks between the two units.
The three are available for part-time assignments on research teams -- in any field -- that would benefit from the professional help but whose projects aren't yet large enough to warrant a full-time project manager. Long-term, the goal is to grow their team, preferably with project managers who would transition to other projects instead of leaving Iowa State when a big project wraps up.
"We want to build and retain that talent while also executing research that has the most impact possible," Renfro said.
Researchers always will select who's on their team, but ResearchPOST could help identify projects that are winding down and project managers coming available.
Associate vice president for research Jim Reecy, who wrote the strategic plan proposal, said project managers operating as "free agents" meant a lot of talent and valuable expertise inevitably would leave campus -- mostly because there wasn't a structure or a network to identify other project work for them.
"On the really big projects, our faculty know they need this kind of help," Reecy said. "But there's a whole bunch of projects in the middle that are bigger than a faculty researcher has time to organize -- but smaller than needing a full-time project manager on it."
ResearchPOST's fee-for-service model is designed to meet a team's needs. Key activities team leaders could hand off to a project manager include:
- Monitoring spending, deliverables and budgets.
- Facilitating team meetings and advisory board discussions.
- Planning for and ensuring a project hits milestones and deadlines.
- Maintaining documentation and sponsor reporting.
- Ensuring protocols are in place for compliance.
- Supporting a project launch (team setup, leadership roles, agreements, etc.).
- Serving as liaison between a project, external collaborators and the public.
- (In the current environment) Helping teams pivot to other opportunities if federal funding diminishes.
Giving time back to faculty
Questions?
Contact:
Nicole Scott
Stacy Renfro
Research teams can contract with a project manager for as little as 15% effort (six hours/week) or as short in duration as three months, perhaps to help stabilize a project. That gives a team flexibility, particularly in the current climate of funding uncertainty. Agreements also can last several years, if that's what's needed. Scott's agreement with the Van Dusen team is quarter-time for 15 months.
"We see a lot of projects, so we get really good at identifying the challenge. We use our knowledge base, our connections with offices on campus, to find people with the right skills to come up with solutions," Scott said. "To start, we meet with faculty, talk about their needs and propose a framework. We make sure we rightsize the request with the need."
Reecy noted it's cost-effective for a faculty researcher to hand off organizational tasks to a project manager. Plus, it's smart.
"Whenever we talk to faculty, time is the thing they never have enough of. This is a way to help themselves, provide more time to do the pieces they truly love to do and be more successful doing it because they've given those other tasks to someone who's really skilled at them," he said.
Network for all ISU project managers
Iowa State always will have full-time project managers. Reecy said all signs point to funders' interest in larger and more interdisciplinary projects. Last fall, Scott and Renfro launched the Research Project Management Council as a community of practice for P&S staff for whom managing sponsored research projects or programs is at least part of their job. So far, 54 employees have joined. The group meets quarterly to network, share best practices and strategies that worked, and address common challenges. Members also share documents in CyBox.
Scott and Renfro have begun to assemble what will be an online toolkit for project managers, a ready-made inventory of tools such as software (for example, when to use Smartsheet vs. Gantt charts), ISU resources, sample position descriptions and worksheets, or guidelines for effective team meetings.
"There's a body of knowledge here, so it makes sense to build a community to support each other," Renfro said. "Our project managers are going to be happier employees, and our research teams will be happier because they're better resourced."
Active in external network
Scott said another goal in the VPR's strategic plan proposal was to bring external expertise in professional project management to campus. She and Renfro are active in the National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP). Many large research universities simply are working to organize their full-time project managers, so Iowa State's "meet the faculty where they are" part-time option is innovative. Last month, the two attended NORDP's national conference, where they presented on Iowa State's model.
They share what they learn from their external collaborators with the project managers council.
Reecy said a centralized project management service that offers part-time options always will require some central funding, which the VPR office is prepared to provide as the demand for services grows. ResearchPOST also will carry unused strategic plan funds into the new fiscal year to support its expansion.
