September 9, 2013

Communication – It’s essential to the grants community at MU.

Communication – It’s essential to the grants community at MU.

Are you ever confused by a new policy or uncertain of the implications of changes the federal government is considering?  We want to initiate a forum where all grants personnel on campus can feel free to gather monthly to discuss hot topics in the grants world.

The word “discussion” is key!  We’ll try to stay away from formal presentations.  You’ll be able to ask questions of the key personnel present on the current topics up for discussion. The communication lines opened by the forums will allow grants personnel to share knowledge to enable a more consistent understanding of the policies and processes.

Besides sharing ideas and promoting consistency in applying policies and procedures, this will be an excellent opportunity to network with others in the grants community.  It’s so much easier to communicate with someone once you’ve met them face-to-face.

Our first meeting will be September 25 from 11:00 a.m. – noon.  We’ll be discussing
·         Electronic Approvals for PSRSs
·         New Electronic PAFs 
·         Input on future topics.  We don’t want to plan our topics too far ahead, however, since we want to leave things flexible enough to have time to discuss the current hot topics. 

These discussions will be shaped through experience.


We haven’t picked out a name for this group yet.  We’re having a contest!!!! Please send an email to koenigsh@missouri.edu  with your suggestions for the name.  The winner will receive a prize!


We haven’t chosen a location for this.  It will depend upon the size of the group.  Please respond “Yes” or “No” to this email by September 11, so we can get an idea of how many people to expect.

If you have questions, feel free to contact one of the Organizational Committee members.

Organizational Committee
Julia Rodriguez, Grants & Contracts Administrator, Bond Life Sciences Center
Brandi Clements, Grants & Contracts Administrator, College of Education
Liz Bent, Grants & Contracts Administrator, College of Ag, Food, and Natural Resources
Amber Neely, Business Manager, Animal Science
Craig David, Associate Director, Office of Sponsored Programs Administration
Jamie Szabo, Senior Fiscal Analyst, Office of Sponsored Programs Administration
Jill Ferguson, Senior Fiscal Analyst, Office of Sponsored Programs Administration
Sheryl Koenig, Senior Grant Writer, Bond Life Sciences Center

Please forward this email on to anyone else associated with research who you think might be interested in attending.