Competitions for Research Funding

The Office of Research Support (ORS) at Duke University recently deployed an online solution for managing Institutionally Limited Nominations for Research Grants. The solution developed by Zaloni manages the end-to-end lifecycle for competitions and integrates with the existing ORS website. The system includes features where ORS staff can create new Competitions, Researchers can apply for those competitions online and pre-designated Reviewers can review and rate the applications. Winners are then promoted by the ORS staff and notifications are sent to all the applicants.

Application Submission

Applicants interested in applying for a competition can sign in to the system using their University login credentials. They can upload their submission and save it against a competition. Once all materials have been uploaded, they can submit their application. Research Administration staff is notified when a new application is submitted. Applicants are reminded if they have expressed interest and have not submitted their materials, prior to the competition deadline. Upon submission, Research Administration staff can verify for completeness and approve applications for review.

Managing Reviews

For each competition a group of reviewers can be assigned. The reviewers are notified when the competition deadline has reached so that they can review the applications. Reviewers can view all applications and provide their comments and rating. They can see the average rating each application has received. Reviewers are reminded if they have not reviewed the application prior to its review deadline. Research administration staff has the ability to send reminders to the reviewers on demand. Once all reviews are complete for a competition, Research administration staff can promote winners. Winners are then shown against each competition.

Automated Notifications

One of the biggest advantages of the online system is that it eliminates manual processes including notifications to the stakeholders during the various stages of a competition. The system automatically generates notifications for Applicants, Reviewers and  Research Administration staff. The system also features Distribution profiles where University wide personnel can register to receive notifications about new competitions. Notifications are sent to registered profiles based on the disciplines for which competitions are created.

Archival and Recurring Competitions

Once competitions are concluded and winners are awarded, they can be archived for future use. Past competitions can be cloned to create new competitions. This is specially useful for recurring competitions such as Annual Research grants. Archived competitions can be searched for details.