University of Florida Integrated Research Support Tool (UFIRST)

Stephanie Gray,
Director, Division of Sponsored Programs

The Office of Research is leading a major project to review and significantly improve the way this office and other central university resources perform and support the business of sponsored research administration across the entire campus. The vision behind this effort is to provide faculty and staff with coordinated and enhanced support in the business of securing and managing sponsored projects. This effort seeks to identify and replace business practices that are inefficient and ineffective. The objective will be to improve systems and processes, as well as assign resources to important and supportive functions.

The ultimate goal is to create a new integrated system, designated as the University of Florida Integrated Research Support Tool (UFIRST), that will redefine research administration processes throughout the proposal and award lifecycle at the University of Florida to efficiently and compliantly route proposals and related documents, collect information, present information to stakeholders for approval, and provide user-friendly systems for tracking and reporting pertinent information.

To fulfill this goal, we have enlisted the assistance of 15 research administrative staff from throughout campus to serve as representatives of and liaisons to their units. Their input and feedback will support us in developing process improvements and system requirements that meet the business needs of units both large and small. By the end of the summer, this team will have laid the groundwork for the Office of Research to begin to identify systems or tools that will best facilitate this strategic vision.

A website with project details, timeline and access to all project documents is available at: http://www.research.ufl.edu/faculty-and-staff/initiatives/ufirst.html

If you have any questions or concerns, please email UFIRST@research.ufl.edu or contact Stephanie Gray, Director of the Division of Sponsored Programs.