The legacy of a colleague: reflecting on who we are and what we do.

It has been more than two years since I "discovered" the Society of Research Administrators International (SRA). In that period, I have learned much from of the society and have tried to contribute what I can. Recently, I was invited to participate as a track leader for the upcoming annual meeting, and to be part of the Journal of Research Administration's editorial team. This confluence of events in my relationship with SRA made me pause and reflect on this society of ours.

Why SRA?

I could not help but recall when a colleague first suggested to me that I should belong to SRA. I looked at the suggestion from the perspective of what I could gain from membership. What was in it for me? Would SRA collect my membership fee like some associations, and offer little in return? At first, I believed that SRA had nothing to offer to me, coming from human subject research. At superficial first glance, it appeared to me that SRA was very focused on university-type research.

The annual meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah changed my view. I looked at the program syllabus and selected the sessions and workshops that were likely to be meaningful and helpful to me in my practice. It took some time but I was able to find sessions. At the meeting, I was pleasantly surprised not only by the caliber of the programs but also by the people who presented and the people who attended. Conversation with members of both groups convinced me that this was not unusual, not the luck of the draw of one particular meeting. In other words, there was depth to SRA. Every interaction I have had with the SRA since has been full of opportunities to learn. I have gained information that validated my daily practice, tools that I have adopted or implemented from SRA's offerings, and ideas that made me sit back and think. SRA has helped me to be more effective research administrator.

Who are we?

However, who am I? Better yet, who are we? For many, if not all, it appears that research administration found us rather than the other way around. We all seem to say that we were "drawn" into research administration. We all have our stories of the journey. Mine was the track of greatest resistance. I started as a Clinical Research Coordinator (CRC) in the early nineties. I coordinated clinical trials with complex protocols that advanced what we know in cardiovascular care. The work required clinical expertise and analytical skills. Conference presentations on clinical investigations and learning on my own served as my initial training in clinical research coordination. Little or no time was allocated for administrative functions. I would argue that most of my CRC colleagues had similar training. More often than not, training was trial and error, or worse: trial by fire! The administrative demands of a CRC can be daunting.

CRCs are usually involved in budgeting, supervising, and sometimes in hiring some of the clinical research team members. They may have little appreciation of what clinical trial agreements entail or the influence of agreement language on their practice. Nuances of indemnification, publication, intellectual property and other contractual elements are sometimes only glanced over. CRCs are usually more concerned that contracts are executed expeditiously so that their respective clinical trials can begin.

As they move forward with their research careers, CRCs may find themselves in the midst of the "research administrative jungle," with little or no structured educational support or training from their own institutions. Research billing, allowable costs, indirect rate calculations or trial cost analyses may be left for the "finance guy," who needs input from the CRCs to make budget models work. Some CRCs are expected to manage these activities themselves in a feel-your-way-through manner. I remember an NIH grant proposal budget in the early 90's. Without effective training, I had no idea what a facilities and administration rate was, but was told that it was 25% and put it in without question. I also put postage and office supplies in the direct cost line. At other times early in my career, I was called on to use the disciplinary process on a subordinate for poor performance, and to interview a replacement for a budgeted position. I felt unprepared to handle all of these. These may have been "rookie" mistakes but they can certainly be avoided.

Literature confirms that my experience is more the rule rather than the exception. Fedor (2005) found out that CRCs are expected to "manage the full spectrum of research activities. CRCs require a wide range of technical, managerial, ethical and regulatory expertise" (p.6). She lists the main administrative functions, activities, and responsibilities of the CRCs (Table 1), confirming from an interview-based study that showed that most training was "on the job". This lack of formal support and training can only add to the CRCs' frustrations, and leads to job dissatisfaction and turnover among CRCs. Center Watch (2003) reports that the highest turnover rate among CRCs comes at one to three years of experience.

This phenomenon will only increase with the continued demand for clinical trials. Innovation in the practice and delivery of healthcare and the advance of basic science demand well-conducted clinical trials. Gambrill and Zisson (2005) reported that the clinical research industry grew 12.3% to $18.5 billion from 2003 to 2004. Combined with the almost $29 billion that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget (NIH, 2006), this increase may lead to a sudden and critical shortage of well-prepared CRCs needed to perform mandated procedures, collect data, coordinate research plans and manage the clinical trials that potentially improve lives. SRA can make a great difference here. SRA cannot totally reverse the trend, but it can positively affect it. SRA can embrace a group of professionals and help them avoid the mistakes that my colleagues and I made early in our early careers.

I go back to the earlier question: who are we? The short answer is that we are everything that is research administration! The diversity of background of SRA membership has been one of our strengths, but it can also be our Achilles heel if we do not continue to improve outreach both to our traditional membership and to new or emerging areas of specialty. SRA needs to expand its collaboration with other professional research associations and define itself as the "go to" association for all aspects of research administration and management. It needs to advertise the value of its workshops, sessions and meetings, but also the diversity of its membership and the openness of its community to everything research administration.

These are exciting times for all of us. SRA is at the cusp of change, growing into a new executive structure, developing new core curricula for novice research administrators and Responsible Conduct for Research tracts. These will compliment the various certificate tracts, sessions, and workshops that SRA currently offers. We help make financial responsibilities, rules and regulations clear and manageable, but are also stewards of responsible conduct of research. We are integral participants in the research process. We are facilitators. We are problem-solvers. We embody my earlier short answer: we are everything that is research administration!

The Research Administration Professional

Themes of "Professionalization" of research administrators abound in our society. Certification in Research Administration (CRA) is available for those who want to validate and/ or learn more about the art and science that we profess. One cannot speak of research administration certification without mentioning the name of its ardent advocate and pioneer: Herbert "Chuck" Chermside. Many of you know that Chuck passed on earlier this year. He left us his legacy in certification among a host of other things. He cherished helping us in research administration to the very end. In this edition of the Journal, Roberts (in press) eloquently wrote that Chuck's death left us with the responsibility to define who we are. I offer that we are at the threshold of doing so. The textbook on research administration and management published by Kulakowski and Chronister (2006), and the emergence of graduate certificate program(s) underscore this. It will be only a matter of time before we have an accredited graduate degree in research administration in several universities with future research administrators carrying credentials of Master in Research Administration, (MRAs) at the end of their names.

I may be reaching too far with another notion. Can we consider a Fellowship in Research Administration? There are members fight now who are worthy of such recognition, Fellow of the Society of Research Administration International, (FSRA). Some may question why we need this when we already have certification in research administration. I ask, why not both? Being a fellow of the society validates the personal achievements of our outstanding membership and elevates our profession that much more.