In 2008, the Working Group implemented a listserv, HRAList, that provides member organizations an opportunity to query each other on grants administration issues. As the international economic situation worsened in the fall of 2008, the group also organized a series of conference calls and webinars on managing research award programs in a challenging economy.
Individual Development Plans (IDPs):
In January, 2007, members of the HRA Advisory Committee met to consider the benefits and implications of adding a requirement for an IDP as a component of health research and training awards for postdoctoral fellows and early career investigators. Despite data demonstrating the correlation between the use of IDPs and postdoctoral productivity, IDPs are not widely used in the mentoring of postdoctoral fellows. An IDP is a professional development tool that can help postdoctoral fellows and early career investigators identify professional development needs and career objectives. Specifically, the goals of the IDP are to:
- Identify short-term needs to improve performance
- Identify long-term career options and the training necessary to realize those options
- Clarify work expectations
- Foster communication between the advisor and the trainee
Description of other topics considered by the Grants Administration Working Group
Other topics researched by the group include reviewer conflict of interest policies, intellectual property and patent policies, and the mentoring of early career clinical investigators. A longstanding issue of great interest to the group is career development.
The group periodically reassesses interest in different topics, since both the environment and organizational needs change frequently.
All Alliance members are invited to participate in Grants Administration meetings, conference calls and events. The group is chaired by Pat Hinton, American Heart Association.
