OCGA Change in Support of the Research Community

The Office of Contract and Grant Administration (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 to deliver the best customer service to researchers, business officers, and administrative staff.

I am pleased to announce that as of June 1, 2022, OCGA will complete its yearlong redesign and restructuring effort to create smaller, more agile, and resilient teams. The redesign focuses on delivering positive customer experiences and improved service quality and efficiency by leveraging our staff’s expertise and deploying existing and emerging customer-centric technologies. The changes to OCGA reflect our ongoing commitment to continuously finding better ways to improve services for you.

What is Changing?

The new operating model shifts from our “Department Model,” in which officers were assigned to departments and tasked with learning the intricacies and protocols of multiple funding agencies to a “Specialist Model” with a strong focus on small expert teams supporting the three highest impact functional areas - Proposal Review and Submission, Award Negotiation and Execution of Agreements, and Client Experience:

Proposal Review and Submission: As an effort to support a 40% growth in proposals over the last six years, we have streamlined processes to support compliance with Proposal Submission Timeline. Our dedicated proposal team will consist of experts proficient in sponsor policies and processes across the various federal and non-federal sponsors.
Award Negotiation and Execution of Agreements: To provide researchers and research administrators with expertise in award negotiation, facilitate the appropriate application of sponsor policies, and improve the turnaround times on award processing, OCGA created smaller, more agile, sponsor-segmented teams. Each team is equipped with experts, knowledgeable and experienced in fulfilling the full range of responsibilities required to address these complex and difficult negotiations. This will ensure that awards and agreements are rigorously reviewed and completed within reasonable expectations.
Client Experience: Through our review of customer satisfaction surveys and direct feedback from the research community, we have developed a new client experience team focused on providing relevant, timely, and accurate responses to basic research administration questions, as well as support for Kuali Research. The new Client Experience team will leverage UCSD Services and Support Research portal and the Research Administration Activity Dashboard to ensure client inquiries are promptly addressed. Client Experience Agents can be reached at researchadmin@ucsd.edu.

Over the next several months, OCGA staff will be meeting with research support staff from all areas of campus to introduce the team leaders, discuss refinements to areas of responsibilities and answer questions about this improved model. These meetings will also present staff with an array of resources and tools that will be available for customers to access when they need to contact OCGA, inquire about a specific activity, and/or seek guidance/expertise from staff.

As a result of the new model and campus investment in additional resources, OCGA expects the campus research community will experience improvements in the timeliness, accuracy, and quality of services in support of UCSD’s $1.5 billion research enterprise, and the acceleration of research productivity. We greatly appreciate your patience as we continue to incorporate your feedback for greater efficiency.

Please refer to more information about this new model visit the OCGA website. If you have any questions, please contact Ross Dammann, AVC OCGA at rtdammann@ucsd.edu.

Corinne Peek-Asa
Vice Chancellor for Research