Research Staff Profile -- Carol Sprague

Behind the Scenes in Bringing Funding to Campus

The Office of Grant and Contract Administration (OGCA) advances the sponsored activities on campus by reviewing, processing and submitting funding proposals to external sponsors. Under the direction of Carol Sprague and a staff of eighteen very dedicated people, OGCA processes approximately 1600 proposals each year, helping to bring in more than $100 million in external funding for research and instructional activities on campus.

Along with pre-award services, OGCA also represents the interests of UMass in award negotiations and revisions, formally accepts awards on behalf of the campus and provides post-award oversight of grants and contracts for sponsored projects. The office also manages the funding opportunities website--a recent addition to their repertoire of services. "We are happy to oversee the funding opportunities since it keeps us informed and involved in the funding process from the very beginning. It helps us serve the campus better," says Sprague.

OGCA works to develop supportive relationships with faculty and researchers. "The funding process can seem long, complicated and confusing, and we are always on the lookout for ways to make it easier and less intimidating," Sprague said. "From the time a proposal is submitted to a sponsor agency to the time the proposal is selected for award usually takes about 6 months," explains Sprague. We continually try to develop ways to help make proposal and award processes more efficient and streamlined. The proposal and award process requires OGCA to interact heavily with other offices such as the campus Compliance Offices and the Controller’s Office. We have learned over the years what can slow proposals and awards down and our staff is always working to make the process easier and faster for faculty."

Carol came to OGCA in 1985 and has been the director since 2001. She has seen many changes during her time at UMass Amherst. Research activities are heavily regulated by various University policies and state and federal laws. It is always a challenge to keep up with changing requirements and policies. "One of the biggest changes affecting research is the move to electronic systems. Many sponsoring agencies now require that the entire process from proposal review to post award maintenance be managed electronically. It has been a challenge keeping up with the different electronic submission systems used by our sponsors, but the staff has been great about ramping up their knowledge base to get the job done."

The move to electronic submissions has made the process easier in some respects for those seeking sponsorship. Sprague points out that faculty can now work on their proposals from anywhere. "Faculty feel like they can now prepare a more polished application and overall, the campus has better prepared proposals that are more fundable. On the other hand, the electronic submission requirement has put some extreme time pressures on the OGCA staff, because faculty can work on their applications up to the very last moment, which causes a log jam at deadline time."

There are several online resources to help faculty and staff with the process. The JORDAN Online Database (JOL) allows people to track the status of their proposal or award. "It is a work in progress with new features added regularly. We welcome feedback about how to make JOL an even better resource for the campus,” notes Sprague. "Many people might not know that you can manipulate the data available on JOL to create customized reports. People can generate and print the information they need almost instantly." In order to improve communications, OGCA developed a listserv to share updated information and allow members to ask and answer questions and draw upon the expertise of other people in the area. "Our hope is that faculty and staff will use the listserv more and more as a resource for proposal preparation and award processing," said Sprague. “Our vision was for people to seek assistance of not only OGCA staff but also support each other with useful information that they may encounter in proposal processing or award administration.”

Other useful tools available on the OGCA website include a graduate student fringe calculator, a basic budget building tutorial, and a budget building program GAMS (Grant Application Management System). OGCA also has a staff directory that describes who to contact based on where you are in the proposal process and the different sponsors. Sprague and the OGCA staff are happy to offer training and assistance with the many tools they have developed, and they welcome suggestions on how they can continue to serve the campus. Contact Carol Sprague ( 545-0698) with questions or workshop and training needs.