California State University San Bernardino (CSUSB) is a comprehensive, primarily undergraduate minority serving institution with 70% of its student population from under-represented groups. We have seen a decline in externally sponsored biomedical/biobehavioral research. In 2018 our sponsored programs infrastructure underwent assessment by the National Council of Research Administrators (NCURA) Peer Advisory Service. Observations and recommendations from this review are the impetus for the Specific Aims of the proposed project, ?ASPIRE - Advancing Sponsored Program Infrastructure for Research Excellence?, which will improve the university's capacity to support faculty and student research and grant activities.
Aim 1 : Reorganization of Sponsored Programs: We will centralize several, currently fragmented, financial functions of the post-award office under the single Office of Sponsored Program Administration (SPA). We will also establish a new position, a human resources sponsored programs specialist who will serve as a liaison to the university HR. The new structure will provide complete one-stop-shop operations, from pre-award to post- award closeout significantly reducing the number of personnel, offices, and divisions currently involved in these now fragmented operations. Furthermore, we will make significant changes to the application and receipt of grants and contracts, and oversight of charges against facilities and administrative costs. This reorganization will both improve services to PIs and generate efficiencies and cost savings to be invested to sustain the programs developed under Aim 2.
Aim 2 : Enhancement of Faculty Research Development focused on Biobehavioral/biomedical Sciences We will construct two distinct biomedical/biobehavioral research development programs for CSUSB faculty and students. The first program, offered exclusively to new faculty hires will provide a comprehensive two year-long set of research development incentives and activities with a goal of each participant submitting an NIH SCORE or AREA proposal. The second program, open to all faculty and their student mentees, will support two Team Science groups of faculty and students with a goal of having each team submit at least one AREA or Research Program Projects and Centers (i.e., RPPC, P20), or an undergraduate research training proposal (e.g., ESTEEMED; MHRT) or research project proposal. Both programs will gradually expand to provide more resources and support mechanisms for faculty and faculty/student research. Additionally, we will form a partnership with University of California, Riverside, creating opportunities for future collaborative projects.
The SPAD at California State University, San Bernardino program, ASPIRE, significantly improves the research administration infrastructure at a predominantly undergraduate teaching university (Aim1), as well as increases professional development support for faculty and student biomedical and biobehavioral research competitiveness and participation (Aim 2). Additionally, ASPIRE promotes diversity of both faculty and students. Our plan for implementation of Aim 1 synergistically sustains the new activities developed in Aim 2 for long-term growth of the biomedical research enterprise at a minority serving institution.
