ORED offers a variety of training and educational resources to help UA researchers and staff navigate the research process.
Pre-Award
Limited Submissions
Funding agencies (sponsors) may place limits on the number of letters of intent, pre-proposals, or proposals that any one university can submit in response to a funding opportunity announcement (commonly referred to as a Request for Proposals – RFP). The Limited Submissions Grant Application Process is designed to support an equitable review while preventing any disqualifications due to submissions from The University of Alabama beyond the allowed number.
Pivot
Presented by the ASSIST Office, attendees will learn how to utilize Pivot to locate external funding opportunities. Research faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to create an account in Pivot and to receive personalized weekly Funding Alert emails with funding announcements that match their specific research interests. Funding sponsors include federal agencies, commercial organizations, private foundations, other nonprofits, and professional associations. The session is one hour long. All faculty, staff, and students, have access to Pivot.
Proposal Overview and Instructional Videos
Proposal Development Series
The Proposal Development Series is a webinar series presented by experts employed by The Implementation Group (TIG). This is a four-day targeted proposal development series for early to mid-career faculty. Topics include how to interact with funding agencies, how to analyze a program solicitation, the anatomy of a proposal, and best practices for developing a competitive narrative.
Cayuse Research Suite
The Cayuse Research Suite is a connected cloud-based research suite that is designed to simplify the preparation and electronic submission of proposals and other research administration processes. The system provides faculty and administrators with the opportunity to improve efficiency, collaboration, and compliance specific to research administration processes.
Post-Award
Banner Research
To access Banner Research forms, you must attend a Banner Research Training session. To register for a Banner Research Training session, you must first have completed Banner Navigation training. If you have not taken this training previously, please contact Staff Development and Training at (205) 348-9700. Banner Finance is also recommended.
To register for Banner Research Training, please contact Darlene Burkhalter at 205-348-3135 or darlene@ua.edu.
Sponsored Programs Dashboard
Effort Reporting System
To learn more, visit the Effort Reporting page.
Research Ethics & Compliance
Cayuse Outside Interests (Mentioned under OSP Cayuse, too)
CREST Training Series
The Compliance and Research Ethics for Science and Technology (CREST) Series takes an innovative approach to RCR training by providing University of Alabama investigators with a series of enrichment opportunities that are intended to promote and maintain a culture of ethical research and innovation.
CREST Series webinars are typically one hour and are open to all UA students, faculty, and staff. All CREST Series presentations provide in-person Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training credit hours towards the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 8-hour in-person RCR training requirement.
IRB/Human Subject
The University of Alabama’s Human Research Protection Program uses industry-standard training required at peer universities and federal research institutions. The Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) training is transferrable and meets requirements for collaborative or multi-site studies. If a researcher has previously taken CITI human protections training at UA or at another institution, they can affiliate with UA through their CITI account to transfer completed courses without retaking them.
The trainings that meet UA Human Research Protection program training requirement are the Basic Biomedical Research OR the Basic Social and Behavioral Research course. These are the only courses that meet the initial training requirement. Human Subjects CITI training remains valid for 3 years, at which point a refresher course must be completed. If you have not previously completed the Basic Biomedical Research OR the Basic Social and Behavioral Research course, taking the refresher course will not satisfy the training requirement.
UA faculty, staff, and students can access the CITI Program’s Human Subjects Research Training through their existing myBama accounts. UA users should log into the myBama CITI Login Portal using their myBama username and password. All other non-UA investigators should go to www.citiprogram.org to access the training. To learn more visit the OREC Human Subjects Research (IRB) page.
For questions or unsure which course to complete, please contact the Office for Research Ethics & Compliance.
Conflict of Interest
UA’s FCOI Policy requires Investigators (project director or principal investigator and any other person, regardless of title of position, who is responsible for the design, conduct, or reporting of research, whether externally or internally funded) to receive FCOI training from the University. Investigators must receive training related to FCOIs in research:
- Prior to engaging in sponsored research at the University;
- At least every 4 years; and
- Immediately under the following circumstances:
- University FCOI policies change in a manner that affects Investigator requirements;
- An investigator is new to the University; or
- The University finds an Investigator non-compliant with the University’s FCOI policy or management plan.
Investigators must take financial conflict of interest training every four years in CITI. Investigators should save a copy of the Certificate of Completion for their records (available in the completed courses section in CITI) CITI FCOI Training Instructions.
For more information, visit the RICIP Conflict of Interest page.
Responsible Conduct of Research
While Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training is recommended for all researchers, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) require faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and any staff participating in the research project to receive appropriate training in the RCR.
Investigators must take the RCR training every four years in CITI and save a copy of the Certificate of Completion for their records (available in the completed courses section in CITI) CITI RCR Instructions.
For more information, visit the RICIP Responsible Conduct of Research page.
Animal Subjects (IACUC)
The IACUC requires that all IACUC members, researchers, students, and anyone working with laboratory animals complete training prior to any involvement with animal subjects. The IACUC supports two online training programs that are designed to provide the user with the required information on the humane care and use of laboratory animals as mandated by federal regulations. View the CITI IACUC Training Instructions.
To learn more, visit the ORC Animal Subjects Research page.
Biosafety
Required Biosafety Training
All faculty, students, and staff working with biohazardous or recombinant/synthetic nucleic acids must complete biosafety training within 60 days following registration before conducting any research. The Research Biosafety: Handling Biohazardous Materials course is administered through the CITI program and must be renewed once every three (3) years.
An institution must follow the NIH Guidelines if it receives any funding from the NIH for research involving recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules. Even if only one research project involving recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules at an institution benefits from NIH support, all such projects conducted at or sponsored by that institution must comply with the NIH Guidelines.
It’s important to note that CITI biosafety coursework and the Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) assignments through Skillsoft are distinct. You should initiate the CITI coursework with the guidance of the OREC Biological Safety Program page instructions.
Shipping and Transport of Specimens
Faculty, senior research staff, and administrators responsible for shipping biological materials must complete Shipping and Transport of Biological Materials (Renewal every two (2) years) to familiarize themselves with IATA/DOT shipping regulations.
Contact the Biological Safety Officer at (205) 348-5941 for more information on required biosafety training.
Other
Two Minute Tuesdays
In an effort to provide education and support to our faculty, staff, and administrators, the Office for Research & Economic Development presents brief, two- to three-minute videos on specific, targeted subject matter. The subjects are diverse and timely to keep UA employees up to date and informed on the ever-changing rules, procedures, and regulations in University research.
If you have questions, please email Lauren Wilson at lawilson64@ua.edu.
Faculty Workshops
NSF Career Program
NSF CAREER Program is a virtual workshop presented by Dr. Kelvin Chu, former NSF program officer. Topics include an overview of TIG services, a background on the NSF CAREER program, best practices for developing a 1-pager for NSF program staff, how to develop a compelling project description with integrated plans for research and education, and the NSF merit review process.
Networking: Collaborative Arts Research Initiative
The Collaborative Arts Research Initiative (CARI) is an interdisciplinary, arts-focused research engine driven by the interests of faculty from across the University. By facilitating collaborations across disciplines, CARI maximizes the impact of faculty arts research, while enriching the University, local, and regional communities. This speed networking session seeks to assist UA faculty interested in pursuing collaborative arts research.
We invite UA faculty members from a wide range of disciplines to participate in a discussion of ongoing projects, potential funding sources, and next steps toward forming collaborative teams and structuring projects. We encourage faculty with active research projects as well as those with an interest in future projects to participate in this networking opportunity.
Speed Networking is a fun and fast-paced way to bring together faculty researchers from different disciplines who otherwise might not meet. The goal is to provide a structured format in which researchers can explore new partnerships outside their usual group of collaborators, discuss research expertise, spark new approaches, and evaluate the potential for future collaboration.