SUBJECT:

OCGA Change in support of Research Community

Dear General Campus and Health Sciences Research Community

OCGA supports the collaborative and interdisciplinary research culture that makes UC San Diego one of the leading research institutions in the world. Therefore, it is critical that they deliver the best customer service to researchers, business officers and administrative staff. I am pleased to announce that as of April 25, 2017, OCGA will be launching a change in how contract and grant staff are assigned to proposal and award activity, transitioning from a model based on sponsor or sponsor type, to a model where a team of skilled staff are dedicated to a given Division, Department or ORU. (PLEASE NOTE: this change does not apply to SIO)

This new model will ensure that the OCGA staff assigned to a Division, Department or ORU are well informed about the targeted research focus and the portfolios of individual researchers. It also ends the practice of departmental research staff searching for the correct OCGA contact for specific sponsor or topic.

Each OCGA team will include officers at all levels; for example:

• those that can quickly act on traditional grant application review and submittal;

• those who are more specialized in unique non-profit or federal flow-through funding opportunities; and,

• those who are skilled at working with for-profit sponsors such as pharmaceutical and computer science firms, and negotiating contracts for clinical trials, industry sponsored research and complex federal projects.

The OCGA teams have already met with research support staff from most academic research units to introduce the assigned team members and explain the benefits of this new model to ensure that administrative staff are informed of this change.

As a result of this change, OCGA expects to provide improved services to UCSD’s research community in support of our $1 billion research enterprise, and the acceleration of research productivity.

Refer to the OCGA assignment list at this link:

Sandra A. Brown Vice Chancellor for Research