October

NCURA visits MSU Denver this week

Group aims to help determine ways to increase funding.

By Nathan Solheim

October 9, 2017

This week, the University will host representatives from the National Council of University Research Administrators Peer Review Program.

Their purpose? To perform an institution-wide assessment of the way the University acquires external funds and help determine ways to increase funding.

“The focus of NCURA will be to evaluate and assess all the policies and procedures with sponsored activities,” said Gwendolyn Mami, executive director of MSU Denver’s Office of Sponsored Research and Programs. “They’ll be looking at procurement, contract management — all of the things that are sponsored activities, including pre and post award. It’s an overall assessment of these activities across the entire University, not just a single office.”

Mami said the University currently administers $22 million in external awards. With NCURA’s recommendations, the University would like to increase that amount to $35 million in funding over the next three years.

NCURA’s visit will last from Wednesday through Oct. 13 and culminate with a report in January.

NCURA will assess the way the University administers awards, talk with faculty who have received external grant funding or contracts, and evaluate research policies and procedures.

“The assessment will be a very broad view of the processes, and it may result in a pursuit of some projects we haven’t before,” Mami said.

For more information, visit the NCURA website.