For Administrators

What is a Department Research Administrator?

Department Research Administrators (DRA) are administrative staff at the departmental level who coordinate with Principal Investigators, school administration, and central administration personnel to provide administrative and financial support for one or more sponsored projects. DRAs report directly to supervisors in the department (e.g., Department Chair, Center Director, division administrator, Principal Investigator, etc.).  The DRA serves as adviser to the Principal Investigator and Department Chair on research-related administrative and fiscal matters.>

Within the College of Arts and Sciences, most DRAs are responsible for post-award activities on behalf of their faculty, i.e., effort reporting, budget transfers, account management, etc.  As research grows within the college, DRAs are moving towards assisting their chair and faculty with pre-award activities such as proposal/budget development, RAMSeS approvals, etc.  However, it is still only on occasion that administrators and some chairs consider pre-award as part of their administrative responsibilities.  With time, we expect that more DRAs will express interest in learning about pre-award activities.  Any administrator who would like to be more involved should contact the Grants Administrator Specialist for training.

To define the roles and responsibilities of all individuals involved with research, the college has developed two documents:>

Roles and Responsibilities Matrix

Roles of Individuals on A&S Sponsored Programs

Roles and responsibilities between departments may vary greatly, based on an individual’s appointment and other duties as assigned.  The above are provided only as a reference and are not to be interpreted as primary responsibilities of all department administrators. >

Institutional Commitment

All members of the University community involved in research will take personal responsibility for their actions in pursuit of individual and organizational excellence. Each individual will uphold the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in accordance with East Carolina University’s Code of Conduct, sponsoring agency policies and regulations and all other University policies governing research.>

Basic Award Management

Award Management Resources

Admin Policies & Regulations