Left to right: Sabrina Woo, MU Research Analytics data analyst; Kelsey Hassevoort, McAllister & Quinn managing director; Katie Rieger, MU Strategic Proposal Development Service (SPDS) proposal manager; Sarah Polasky, SPDS director; Maggie Berg, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign research development manager; and Vyvian Tran, Research Analytics data analyst.
Two powerhouse teams from the Division of Research, Innovation & Impact shared their expertise recently at the National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP) annual conference in Arlington, Virginia.
Sarah Polasky, director of MU’s Strategic Proposal Development Service (SPDS) and Katie Rieger, a proposal manager on the SPDS team, joined forces with colleagues from other places, to present “Building Community Within Research Development.” Their session covered the development of formal and informal relationships in hybrid and remote settings to build inclusive communities at work.
“This year’s presentation was a timely topic as many offices are navigating a balance between in-office, hybrid and remote employee structures,” Polasky said. “I’ve been a member of NORDP for almost 10 years and regularly participate in their webinars, conferences, committees and mentoring groups.”
Rieger, who received a Conference Attendance Award that covered expenses, said the SPDS team works efficiently because of intentional community building, valuable tools and strategic planning. She finds NORDP networking opportunities especially valuable.
“Attending the conference has helped me stay current on trends in research development, build my skills and knowledge, and expand my professional network,” Rieger said. "I would highly recommend NORDP membership to anyone involved in supporting research and innovation.”
Vyvian Tran and Sabrina Woo, both data analysts in Research Analytics, help produce research and sponsored projects reporting and analyses for the Mizzou Community. They led a poster session titled “Lessons Learned in a Competitive Intelligence (CI) Pilot Analysis” that highlighted the successes and challenges they faced when producing CI reports for university leadership.
“We engaged in productive discussions with many research development professionals who were in the early stages of building their own CI functions,” Tran said. “It was an empowering and meaningful experience for us both, and we would be eager to attend again.”