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<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">Dear Colleagues,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">It has been nearly a year since Dean Sharma and I began the effort to rebuild and strengthen the
Engineering Grants Office team and enhance the services we provide to our faculty. Among our key objectives were doubling the size of the team and introducing structural changes to improve grant submission processes. We have expanded the team from three to
six members and implemented a proposal development timeline to help the team plan ahead. Based on your feedback, these changes have led to noticeable improvements in operations.<br>
<br>
However, several recurring challenges continue to affect the team’s efficiency and, at times, create unnecessary stress, leading to extended work hours, including late nights and weekends. While we have made significant progress, there are still areas where
we can work together further to optimize the process to the benefit of everyone.<br>
<br>
Based on feedback from the team and input gathered during our mini-retreat in December, a few common issues have been identified:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">Incomplete transmittals missing key information such as solicitations and PI details.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">Interim deadlines in the proposal development timeline are frequently overlooked.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">Sub-award information is disclosed too late in the process.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">Delays in receiving required documents from sub-awardees.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">Cost-sharing arrangements are addressed at the last minute.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">Multiple and last-minute budget modification requests.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">Inclusion of unregistered senior personnel, graduate students, or sub-awardees just before submission.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">Gaps in communication during critical stages of proposal development.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">Slow response from the Grants Office team members, who manage high volumes of urgent tasks and unexpected issues.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">To address these challenges, we have updated and clarified the proposal development timeline to
better define the roles and responsibilities of both the Grants Office team and the PIs. This updated timeline is shared below and can also be accessed online at the
<a href="https://www.egr.uh.edu/research/resources/proposal-timeline"><span style="color:#0563C1">proposal development timeline</span></a>.<br>
<br>
<img border="0" width="818" height="536" style="width:8.5208in;height:5.5833in" id="_x0000_i1031" src="cid:image001.png@01DB7EEF.D3B29020"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">We greatly appreciate your ongoing collaboration and commitment to helping the team ensure a smooth
and successful proposal submission process.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">Dmitri Litvinov<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:#222222;background:white;mso-ligatures:none">Moores Professor, Senior Associate Dean for Research and Facilities<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none"><a href="mailto:litvinov@uh.edu"><span style="color:#0563C1">litvinov@uh.edu</span></a>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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