University Partners With Huron Consulting to Increase Efficiency and Effectiveness

Russell Cothren

The U of A has partnered with Huron Consulting Group to design and implement enhanced post-award research administration business processes.

The project, jointly led by the Division of Research and Innovation and the Division of Finance and Administration, will span four to six months and will focus on the sponsored programs' post-award processes, including award setup, labor and non-labor expense management, sponsor invoicing, cash management, financial reconciliation and reporting, and award closeout.

"The university and the Division of Research and Innovation are excited to partner with Huron to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our operations," said John English, vice chancellor for research and innovation. "Our mission is to serve the researchers on this campus and support their great work, and this project will move us to our goal of being a leading, compliant research administration."

"The partnership we have with Huron will lead to adoption of best business practices and more efficient processing of research transactions," said Ann Bordelon, vice chancellor for finance and administration. "Our sponsor partners and our research faculty and staff should see more streamlined transaction processing. Any time we can take non-value added work out of someone's day, they can focus on activities that further the mission of the university." 

The U of A and Huron will engage campus stakeholders to design, and then subsequently design and implement, future state business processes for post-award research administration with a focus on efficiency and effectiveness of process, maintaining and improving regulatory compliance and providing high-quality service and expertise to U of A research faculty and staff.

Additional DRI initiatives will be rolled out in the coming months, including a redesigned and more user-friendly website, improved calendaring system and enhanced workshop and training offerings.