2018 – 2019 Winner:
Hannah Roberts, Grants and Conferences Program Officer, UT Libraries
Attending: National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP) Providence, RI (April 2019)
“I chose to attend the NORDP conference because of the network and resources I knew it would give me access to. Experienced grant professionals from all over the United States (and around the world) gather at NORDP annually and bring an enthusiasm to share their knowledge of how they are supporting university research. I was attracted to the content and structure of this particular conference, because much of it is workshop based, allowing for hands-on practice and helpful conversation. By attending the conference, I received a year’s membership and access to their listserv, which has continued to give me educational information for my own professionally development, and kept me in the loop with my peers nationwide.”
2017 – 2018 Winner:
Meghan Daniels, Grants and Contracts Specialist, Office of Sponsored Projects
Attended: National Council of University Research Administrators Annual Financial Research Administration Conference Philadelphia, PA (May 2018)
“The travel grant allowed me to attend an NCURA conference in an area, Financial Research Administration, that I don’t have as much experience with in my role as a Proposal Specialist. Although I don’t handle the financial portion of the awards, much of what I do on the proposal side impacts the accounting side, so it is important to have an understanding of the whole award process. In my experience, one of the great things about NCURA conferences is the real world examples they provide, what has happened at other institutions and how they have handled it. Additionally, at the conference I attended the audience asked a lot of really good, tough questions about things they have encountered that made all of us think along with the faculty instructors about what we would do in that situation. The conference reiterated the absolute need for strong, consistent documentation, which has helped me be more confident in my convictions when requesting revisions or additional documentation from my departments. Additionally, I hope through some of the group discussions I was able to provide my colleagues with tips for asking questions at pre-award that they can take back to their institutions. This profession is one where things change often and consulting with colleagues can help us gain new insights and understandings so being able to do that beyond the UTA community at a conference is invaluable.”