RASU FAQs

Tulane University is one of the nation's leading research universities. Students, faculty, and staff are pursuing research across colleges, schools, and departments, in research centers and institutes based on campus, and through interdisciplinary programs, partnerships, and affiliations. This enterprising network is supported by administrative offices that manage related issues such as safety, compliance, technology, and finance. In recent years, research funding and expenditures have grown. From FY18 to FY23, expenditure grew from $148M to $202M, an increase of 36%.


Given the size and growth of the University’s research enterprise, more efficient and consistent processes are needed. After considering several approaches, University leadership unanimously approved the Research Administration Service Units models as the best way to manage our expanding research administration work.

What is RASU?

Research administration describes all day-to-day activities associated with the administration of grants. These activities are done not only by Sponsored Projects Administration (SPA) and Grants & Contracts Accounting (GCA), but also by Schools, Departments, and Institutes. Research administration activities include but are not limited to identifying funding, assisting with developing a budget on a proposal, reviewing and approving proposals, managing and reviewing award expenditures, and initiating award setup.

The chosen model is one where there are clearly defined roles and responsibilities between a team of individuals who provide high-quality research administration services to a distinct group of faculty, departments, or school/s and share these responsibilities with SPA and GCA. These units, known as the Research Administration Service Units (RASU), house pre- and post-award teams that perform research administration functions.

There are four units:

  1. Uptown - launched November 1, 2023
  2. TNPRC (Tulane National Primate Research Center) - launched November 1, 2023
  3. PHSW (School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine & School of Social Work) - launched April 1, 2024
  4. SOM (School of Medicine) - to launch in early 2025

Each unit provides:

  • Pre- and post-award services
  • Research Administration personnel staffed at appropriate levels given award volume and activity per unit
  • Research support staff that are directly connected to Faculty and Principal Investigators within each unit
  • A measurable accountability and responsibility for Research Administration functions and resources to support research based on metrics
  • Consistent application of administrative procedures to create efficiency in research administration across the units

The first phase of this change included identifying which research administration functions and activities should be done in the RASUs. A cross-functional team thoroughly reviewed a list of roles and responsibilities for all research administration functions and activities, from developing the biosketch to closing the award. This team, made up of SPA, GCA, and School-level staff, made detailed recommendations about where each function should sit. For a comprehensive list of research administration responsibilities and which units are responsible for them, please see the Roles and Responsibilities grid.

We have been rolling out these changes in phases, to test the structure in our environment and to minimize disruption to faculty researchers. So far, we have launched 3 of the 4 units. RASU Uptown and RASU TNPRC launched on November 1st, and RASU PHSW launched on April 1st. We are currently working on building RASU SOM and are excited to launch the final unit very soon.

Why RASU?

Our research funding and activity has grown dramatically over the last decade. The administrative infrastructure, practices, and division of labor to support research are not as effective as they need to be and as they can be. Considering the continued growth in research, coupled with the urgent need to improve the effectiveness of administrative support, we need to change the current model.

To fundamentally rethink how to best provide excellent support to academic research, we charged a group to collect and analyze data about our current state of operations, determine what the current critical issues are, and provide recommendations for moving forward. The following issues were identified:

  • Unclear roles & responsibilities
  • Variability in the quantity and quality of support provided to PIs
  • Communication breakdown between the many operating units at Tulane (lab→department/division→ school/unit→central), which can lead to redundancy and rework
  • Inconsistent processes across multiple operating units

With these findings in mind, it is clear that we need to build a new kind of organization – one without ambiguity about central verses local functions, and a greater focus on performance excellence and the strategic initiative to make necessary changes.

All AAU and nearly all R1 universities operate in a distributed model. There are many versions of this model, including shared services, centers of excellence, departmental level support, and college/school level support that connect back to central offices. There are several universities that have implemented shared services like our RASU model for part or all of their research administration functions. Among these are the University of California, San Francisco, University of California, Berkeley, George Mason University, the University of Kentucky, Emory University, the Texas A&M University System, and Yale University.

The goals of this model are to:

  • Provide high-quality, consistent support to faculty
  • Create a customer service-oriented culture
  • Provide a balanced workload and backup resources for staff (e.g. during FMLA, vacations, staff turnover, etc.)
  • Provide knowledgeable and competent staff focused solely on research administration'Streamline and standardize processes, increasing the efficiency of staff and enhancing research compliance
  • Deliver a clear definition of roles and responsibilities and accountability
  • Mitigate risk involved with research administration activities

How does RASU affect my Work?

Each department is assigned a RASU pre-award and post-award staff specialist to manage their grants. For a list of RASU representatives, as well as representatives from Sponsored Projects, Grants and Contracts Accounting, and Corporate and Foundation Relations, please click here.

RASU staff are located as close to the PIs and schools they serve as possible. RASU TNPRC is located on the TNPRC Campus, RASU Uptown is located in Israel Hall on the uptown campus, and RASU PHSW is located in the Tidewater Building downtown. 

If you perform research administration activities, your job functions will likely change because of this new approach. We are working closely with School, University Leadership, and the Office of Human Resources & Institutional Equity to determine how staffing and staff responsibilities will change. During these discussions we will communicate what we can when we can. We want to keep people informed during this transition, so they are prepared for the changes.

If all an individual’s responsibilities are moved, it does not mean that they will automatically be transferred. The new approach will redefine the roles and responsibilities of some positions. There will be skills assessments and one-on-one discussions to determine who has the appropriate skills and personal interest to work within the research administration support group. This new approach will provide opportunities for training and growth for Research Administration staff across the University.

Additionally, there will be a need for new hires, some of these staff will come from outside of Tulane and all internal Tulane candidates will be considered first before making additional external hires. It is important to understand that the changes we are undertaking are not intended to reduce staff headcount. During our background work on this and the Cayuse project it became clear: we need better systems, training, and structures to do our jobs. Mostly, we will need you.

As Tulane increases its impact as a highly functioning R1 university and invests in infrastructure, changes are being made to support this initiative. In the past SPA and GCA have been able to support functions that, in nearly all other R1 universities, would be considered a local, department- or school-level activity. As research growth continues, this is no longer a sustainable model.

There are many reasons for this but the two most important are: 1) PIs should be supported locally to receive the best support and to focus their efforts on research and proposals rather than administration, and 2) that having inconsistent processes can lead to audit findings and difficult corrective action plans. With the new grants management system, Cayuse, and changes in the operating model, the dependence on these offices and their roles will change.

The goal of this project is to ensure consistent high levels of service to PIs related to research administration, not to disrupt current areas of success. If you have a person or people that you work well with, our aim is to keep that connection. To date, we have maintained nearly all of these connections.