In fiscal year 2021, Georgia Tech’s research enterprise — with grants, contracts, and other sponsored activities — totaled a record $1.2 billion, and we are currently on track to break that record in fiscal year 2022.

To create a stronger business and service model to support initiatives, investigators, and continued growth, the Institute is undertaking steps to structure and scale its research support functions to enable best-in-class research stewardship and ensure best practices around compliance.

The effort reflects the Institute’s and the Executive Vice President for Research (EVPR) office’s commitment to strengthen service and support functions as the research enterprise continues to grow. This commitment translates into streamlining processes and roles, and hiring additional employees at all levels, including 19 new positions for fiscal year 2023 in research administration, grants and contracts accounting, and research integrity and compliance. Additional positions may be added in coming years as the need arises. A more robust workforce with improved levels of servicing will allow Georgia Tech to better implement the strategic goals set by the Commission on Research Next, as well as further the Institute’s mission to develop leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition.

“The investments being made in the people and processes that drive research forward here at Tech will enable us to fully serve the strategic research endeavors of the Institute and ensure our enterprise can innovate and scale to its full potential,” said Tech’s Executive Vice President for Research Chaouki Abdallah. “I am confident that the positive changes we are enacting will help the whole research enterprise to grow at a healthy rate.”

Following recent internal reviews, the EVPR’s team worked in partnership with the Office of the General Counsel and the Office of the Vice President for Administration and Finance to review the Institute’s research administration functions. Consulting firm Deloitte also conducted an assessment that covered research administration, grants and contracts accounting, contracting, compliance, and pre- and post-award functions — centrally and across units — to help inform how to support growth of the research enterprise.

To increase the visibility of research, ensure research integrity, streamline processes, and improve the functionality of the EVPR office overall — and in addition to the 19 positions mentioned above — a new leadership reporting structure and corresponding positions will be created.

A chief research operations officer (CROO) will join the EVPR office. That role will manage the newly created associate vice president of Research Integrity Assurance and the vice president of Research Development and Operations. The current position of vice president and general manager of the Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC) and Georgia Tech Applied Research Corporation (GTARC) will be split into two positions: associate vice president of Research Administration (also reporting to the CROO) and general manager for GTRC and GTARC (reporting to the Institute vice president for Finance and Planning).

“At Georgia Tech, it’s our people that make the innovative and groundbreaking research possible,” said Abdallah. “By investing in our research infrastructure and creating more efficient processes, we ensure that all faculty and staff are fully supported as they carry on the work to improve the human condition.”

Searches for the newly created positions will be announced in the coming weeks.