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Research Administration Workshops
Please see the detailed description for each of our research administration workshops. Workshops can be taken individually or as part of the Panther TRACKS program. Panther TRACKS (Training in Research Administration Core Knowledge and Skills) is a cohort-based program that provides foundational knowledge in research administration. All workshops are free of charge and are available to all Georgia State University faculty, staff, and students but aimed at those who perform functions that impact sponsored funds.
Panther TRACKS Program Synopsis
The goal of Panther TRACKS is to provide research administrative support staff with the education and tools to effectively prepare grant proposals and manage sponsored projects. Whether you are a Grants & Contracts Officer, Business Manager, Project Coordinator or Lab Manager these courses are designed for anyone who performs duties related to grants and sponsored projects.
Requirements
All GSU faculty and staff are eligible to take advantage of training, even those who are not currently in research administration positions. New participants enroll annually (early Fall) into a cohort that advances through seven basic courses within the academic year. How to enroll in a cohort.
Activities
Participants are required to complete each of the seven Basic Courses:
- Introduction to Sponsored Projects
- Getting Proposals Out the Door
- Federal, State, and GSU Policies for Determining Allowable Costs
- Budgeting for Proposals
- Award Initiation Actions for Successful Award Management
- Using Spectrum Reports and Queries to Review Expenditures
- Award Management and Closeout
Benefits
Provides those new to research administration at Georgia State a foundation for working with various central offices and institutional systems and resources to prepare proposals for submission to sponsoring organizations.
Provides a foundation for working with various central offices and institutional systems and resources to manage sponsored projects from award acceptance to closeout.
Those who complete program requirements are recognized at one of the semi-annual Research Administrator Networking Events. They also become eligible to participate in the Certified Research Administrator (CRA) Summer Camp to gain additional training toward obtaining a professional certificate in research administration.
Introduction to Sponsored Projects
This workshop provides the landscape of how externally funded research is supported at GSU. We explain how proposals are submitted, awards are accepted, how we maintain compliance with federal and state mandates, and how we manage laboratory safety.
Getting Proposals out the Door
This workshop provides an overview of preparing the sponsor forms and providing institutional information for proposals and the proposal submission process at Georgia State University. This session focuses on topics including:
- How to review and interpret funding opportunity announcements for important information and proposal requirements.
- How to work with Institutional Officers in the OSPA to facilitate proposal submission.
- How to complete standard forms for federal proposals and assemble additional elements of a proposal package.
- How to access proposal submission systems and route proposals at GSU for approval.
Federal, State and GSU Policies for Determining Allowable Costs
This workshop examines US Federal, State of Georgia, and GSU Policies that must be considered when estimating (budgeting), accumulating (charging), and reporting costs on sponsored projects. We will delve into how to support faculty by managing research costs while staying within the bounds of the policies and regulations.
Budgeting for Proposals
This workshop provides a close look at the basic steps for estimating project costs for sponsored proposals. Walk through the steps to calculate personnel costs and effort, learn where to put these costs in a proposal budget, learn how to estimate total project costs, and how to prepare a budget justification. Participants will engage in hands-on activities to help them learn how to build a basic proposal budget.
Award Initiation Actions for Successful Award Management
This workshop provides insights into how to request changes for sponsored awards including budgeting, changes in PI, no cost extensions, and more. It will also outline steps for the preparation of financial and programmatic reports and will work through the process for closing out an award.
Lunch and Learn Seminars
Previous Topics Include:
- Sponsor-Funded Hiring Process
- Managing Imprest Accounts for Sponsored Projects
- Cost Transfer Policy and Procedures
- NIH Salary Cap
- GSU Procurement Process
- NDAs, MTAs, and other Research-related Agreements
The Office of Research Development offers a wide variety of training throughout the year. Our goal is to help employees find funding and develop high-quality grant proposals. Training workshops and resources are available to faculty, staff, and students preparing grant proposals (academic portions) as part of their job responsibilities or training. Additional resources are available on the Office of Research Development homepage.
We are available to do targeted informational sessions and training. Feel free to contact [email protected] to find out more.
View our upcoming training, informational sessions, and workshops
ORD Recorded Sessions
- NRSA Fellowships for Postdocs and Graduate Students: Informational Session (Sept. 28, 2022)
- Write a Winning Grant Proposal (Sept. 7, 2022)
Sponsor Resources
- NSF Grants YouTube Channel
- NIH Grants YouTube Channel
- Tools of the Trade - National Institutes of Health (NIH). Hanover Research.
- Keys to a Competitive NSF CAREER. Hanover Research.
- Tips to a Competitive NIH K Award Proposal. Wake Health. [Begin at 2:15 in recording playback]
Post-docs, graduate students and undergraduate students involved in empirical research are required to undertake Responsible Conduct in Research (RCR) education and training as part of their requirements for graduation or employment. Web-based training through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) is available as part of this educational requirement. Click below on "Review Instructions" before you log on to CITI to complete the online training.
In addition, graduate students and post-doctoral research Fellows are required to engage in at least five hours of additional discussion-based RCR education as adopted by their affiliate college, school, or institute prior to degree completion. Below you will find links to useful internal and external resources to assist with this additional training
RCR Learner Instructions
Enroll in a RCR Learner Group
- All learners conducting or planning to conduct Biomedical Research must complete all assigned modules and the associated quizzes.
- All learners conducting or planning to conduct Social and/or Behavioral Research must complete all assigned modules and the associated quizzes.
- All learners conducting or planning to conduct Physical Sciences Research must complete all assigned modules and the associated quizzes.
- All learners conducting or planning to conduct Humanities Research must complete all assigned modules and the associated quizzes.
Because there are a number of modules to complete, multiple log on sessions are encouraged. You are required to achieve a passing score of 80% or better on the cumulative results from your required quizzes.
When you have completed the required modules and any applicable optional modules, please confirm with your program director where to transmit your RCR completion records within your college/department. RCR completion reports do not need to be sent to the IRB.
After you complete and submit the Course Completion Form, you will also be asked to complete a short, anonymous, voluntary user satisfaction survey.
If you have any questions regarding these requirements, please contact your program director.
Instructions for logging on to CITI
- Go to https://about.citiprogram.org
- Select "New Users Register Here"
- Select "Participating Institutions" and find and select "Georgia State University" in the drop down menu
- Select "Responsible Conduct in Research" training and your specific research focus: physical science, biomedical, social and behavioral, arts and humanities, or research administrators
- Provide a User Name and Password of your own choice
- Enter your Name and Georgia State email address and an alternate email address, if you have one
- Click "Submit"
- Complete the Course Registration Information
- You will also be asked to complete a voluntary, anonymous survey about the course. This will help the CITI developers improve the course and correct errors and/or imperfections.
- Click "Submit"
Resources
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Research Integrity
- U.S. Dept. HHS ORI: Introduction to Responsible Conduct of Research
- U.S. Dept. HHS ORI: Avoiding Plagiarism, Self-Plagiarism, and Other Questionable Writing Practices: A Guide to Ethical Writing
- U.S. Dept. HHS ORI: "The Lab Avoiding Research Misconduct"
- On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research, 3rd Edition"
- Georgia State University Research Misconduct Policy
If you would like an IRB representative to give an educational presentation to your faculty or students please contact [email protected]
All faculty, staff, postdocs, students, and others who interact with human subjects (or their identifiable data) to perform research must complete human subjects protection training in CITI to be eligible for Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval.
Georgia State University uses the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) at about.citiprogram.org for comprehensive training on human subjects protection.
- Allow from two to six hours for completion. CITI users can exit and re-enter the program if modules cannot all be completed in one sitting.
- Use a “.gsu” email address as the primary contact for CITI accounts. This will import CITI credit to iRIS automatically.
- A minimum score of 80 percent is required.
- Training must be renewed every three years.
- New submissons are not accepted for IRB review until all researchers complete GSU human subjects training in CITI and it is documented in iRIS.
- Training completed at other institutions may apply toward GSU training requirements. See instructions under "CITI Registration" below for Organization Affiliation. When a researcher is affiliated with GSU in CITI and registers for a GSU CITI course, previously-completed training (if current) will count toward GSU CITI requirements. Additional modules may be required to complete the remainder of GSU requirements.
Email [email protected] with questions about human subjects training in CITI.
- Go to https://www.citiprogram.org.
- Click the “Register” button at the top right of the screen.
- Select your Organization Affiliation. Enter Georgia State University. Read the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and check the box next to “I AGREE to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy” if you agree. Check the box that appears next to “I affirm that I am an affiliate of Georgia State University” if you are a GSU researcher or external collaborator. Click “Create a CITI Program account.”
- Enter your Personal Information. Use your gsu.edu email address. If you have a secondary e-mail, you may enter it (optional). The email addresses in CITI and iRIS must be identical.
- Select your Username, Password, and answer the Security Question.
- Enter the Country of Residence.
- Choose CEU credits (if applicable).
- Enter Georgia State Requested Information in the text fields.
- Select the human subjects protection Curriculum relevant to your research:
- Group 1 Basic – Biomedical Researchers and Key Personnel
- Group 2 Basic – Social and Behavioral Researchers and Key Personnel
- IRB Reference Group – New and Current IRB Members
- Select any additional courses needed. These additional courses do not fulfill the GSU human subjects training requirement.
- Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
- Conflict of Interest (COI)
- Additional course(s) as applicable
- Click Complete Registration.
- Click Finalize Registration.
- Login at www.citiprogram.org
- On the Main Menu page, scroll down and click View Courses. Under Courses Ready to Begin, click Start Now on your chosen group.
- Locate the Supplemental Modules heading, then scroll down to “International Research-SBE (ID: 509)” and click Start.
- Login at www.citiprogram.org
- Locate My Learner Tools for Georgia State University by scrolling to the bottom of the main page. Click Add a Course.
- For Question 1 (required), select Not at this time.
- For Question 2, select GCP – Social and Behavioral Research Best Practices for Clinical Research.
- For Question 6 (required), select Not at this time.
- Click Submit at the bottom of the page.
External collaborators may affiliate with GSU in CITI to complete training (see instructions under "CITI Registration" above for Organizational Affiliation) OR provide evidence of training comparable to GSU’s CITI requirements for Biomedical or Social Behavioral human subjects protection training. Courses limited to conflicts of interest or responsible conduct of research will not meet the requirement.
For CITI training records to be imported to iRIS, the external user’s CITI account email address must match the external user’s iRIS email address (as provided on the IRB External Account Request form).
External users (those without a .gsu email address) should email their CITI training certificates to [email protected].
Group 1 Biomedical is for studies involving drugs and/or devices whether investigational or marketed. Group 2 Social Behavioral is for studies typically characterized by data collection methods such as questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, direct observation and non-invasive physical measurements. IRB Reference Resource includes a mix of courses in biomedical and social behavioral topics. Users should select the learner group most appropriate for their research or field of study. Principal Investigators should ensure research team members complete the appropriate training.
If research involves a topic that is not included in the basic course, an additional, optional course should be added. For example, research conducted via the internet or research conducted outside of the United States (international research).
- Ensure the correct training was completed. Only the Group 1 Biomedical, Group 2 Social Behavioral, or IRB Reference Resource courses fulfill the IRB training requirement. Responsible conduct of research, conflict of interest, and any other training available in CITI do not meet the IRB requirement for training.
- Ensure you are affiliated with GSU. If training was completed elsewhere, make sure you have listed GSU as your institution in CITI.
- The email addresses in CITI and iRIS must be identical. Either email address can be changed, but the primary email in CITI and the email in the My Account section of iRIS must be the same.
All faculty, staff, postdocs, students, and visiting investigators who will be working with vertebrate animals are required to complete the following:
- Complete AALAS Learning Library Training for species specific and general knowledge training.
- AALAS Learning Library training must be renewed every three years. It is the researcher’s responsibility to maintain current certification.
- First-time users of the AALAS Learning Library must enroll and can use the How to enroll in and use the AALAS Learning Library guide.
- Contact the IACUC Office at [email protected] for further assistance or to determine which modules are required.
- Attend an Animal Facility Orientation Meeting. See details on the Using DAR Animal Facilities webpage.
- Enroll in the Medical Monitoring Program for Vertebrate Animal Exposure (MMPVAE) program. See details on the Research Occupational Health webpage.
- To learn more about required training please see the Required Education Document.
All faculty, staff, postdocs, students, and visiting investigators who will be working with invertebrate animals are required to complete the following:
- Investigators working with invertebrate animals must provide Georgia State’s IACUC Office with an annual report of what invertebrates are being used, the number of animals used annually, the type of procedures done on the invertebrates, and where the animals are housed. The annual report is due by March 31 each year.
Faculty, staff, postdocs and students, it is your responsibility to determine what training to take and to make sure you complete it before performing certain tasks or working in certain areas. Review the information below and note the training you are required to take.
Note: People being paid (salary or tuition waivers) by Georgia State and students, visitors and/or affiliates working in research are required to complete the BOR and USG training listed to the right within six months of employment:
Initial Training (require once):
- Introduction to Laboratory Safety (for people who work in or provide oversight of a laboratory): Initial training is offered virtually via WebEx, register on the URSA Training Schedule calendar.
- Introduction to Biosafety Training (for people who work with biological materials): Initial training is offered virtually via WebEx, register on the URSA Training Schedule calendar.
- Introduction to Hazardous Waste Disposal (for people who handle hazardous waste): Initial training is offered virtually via WebEx, register on the URSA Training Schedule calendar.
- Chematix Training(for people who enter chemical inventories or who request disposal of chemical or biological waste): This training is offered in conjunction with the virtual Introduction to Hazardous Waste Disposal Training ONLY via WebEx, register on the URSA Training Schedule calendar.
Refresher Training (required annually):
Laboratory Safety, Biosafety, and Hazardous Waste training must be completed annually online in iCollege. A mastery score of at least 80 percent is required for the training to be considered complete.
Specialized Training:
Review the following to determine whether you are required to take any of the following specialized training for the research you participate in.
- Security Awareness Training (for people who need access to research buildings): This training is offered online in iCollege. Training must be completed annually.
- Introduction to Bloodborne Pathogens (for people who could be exposed to human blood or other potentially infectious material as part of employment) This is an online module provided by the University Systems of Georgia and can be found on their website at https://www.usg.edu/facilities/training/pathogens/. Training must be completed annually.
- NIH Guidelines (for people who work with recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules): This training is offered online in iCollege. Training must be completed every three (3) years (initially and when renewing your IBC protocol)
- Shipping Biological Materials (for people who package, label, and ship biological materials). This training is offered online in iCollege. Training must be completed every two (2) years.
- Introduction to Hazardous Waste Disposal Training for Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design (for people who work in studios that contain chemicals): This training is offered online in iCollege. Training must be completed annually.
- Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) (for people who use DEA Controlled Substances). This training is offered online in iCollege. Training must be completed initially, then every three (3) years.
Note: It is your responsibility to maintain current training records. Completion of training will be verified during biosafety, radiation, and chemical safety protocol processing and laboratory assessments.
- Introduction to Radiation Safety Training: Initial training will be offered via WebEx until in-person training resumes. Register for the virtual training on the URSA Training Schedule calendar. Training is required by law according to 10 CFR § 20. This training must be renewed annually online in iCollege. This event occurs on the first Wednesday of every month.
- Laser Safety Training (for people working with Class 3B, 4, and embedded lasers): This training is offered online in iCollege and must be completed once. Introduction of Radiation Safety must be completed first.
- X-ray Safety Training (for people operating x-ray equipment): This training is offered online in iCollege and must be completed once. Introduction of Radiation Safety must be completed first.
Note: It is your responsibility to maintain current training records. Completion of training will be verified during biosafety, radiation, and chemical safety protocol processing and laboratory assessments.
Upcoming Training Classes and Workshops
Contact Us
Research Administration
Candice Ferguson
[email protected]
Research Development
Responsible Conduct of Research
Jeff Steltzer
[email protected]