Elevating Research Through Training
Case Study: R1 Research Training
Challenge
When the University of Denver achieved R1 status, expectations for research productivity and compliance increased dramatically. R1 status marks the university as a top-tier research institution with very high research activity, signaling prestige, increased funding opportunities, and elevated expectations for faculty research and compliance. Achieving this status raised research expectations, and the research administration office faced:
High volume of email questions and process and compliance errors.
Time-consuming reminders for deadlines and compliance issues.
Resource strain and budget implications due to inefficiencies.
My Role
Lead designer and project manager for university-wide research training.
Process & Assessment
Conducted needs analysis using faculty surveys and interviews with leadership and research administration.
Analyzed system data to uncover and quantify process errors, surfacing key pain points and inefficiencies.
Designed pre/post assessments to track knowledge and behavior changes.
Developed a hub of resources such as job aids, SOPs, and just-in-time tools to reduce repetitive queries and errors.
Partnered with deans to integrate training into onboarding and ongoing development.
Impact
Process and compliance errors ↓23% following full rollout of training.
Achieved a recurring 2-hour weekly time savings per staff member, cutting down repetitive emails and reminders and freeing administrative capacity for higher-value priorities.
Confidence: post-training survey scores ↑ from 64% to 91%.
Insights Learned: Driving Research Excellence
Assessment drives improvement. Ongoing measurement ensured training addressed real gaps.
Persistent stakeholder engagement is critical. Leadership partnership ensured adoption and accountability.
Operational efficiency matters. Training that reduces errors and email volume protects resources and budget and reduces risk.
