Foundation Management
Finance and Operations
Facilities Planning and Management
Research Advancement
Sponsored Research Services
Office of Communications
Human Resources & Risk Management
Finance and Operations
The primary function of this division is to ensure the responsible stewardship of sponsored funds and to ensure efficiency and cost effectiveness in SDSU Research Foundation operations. Departments are finance and accounting, financial systems, investments and financial reporting, and computing services.
Facilities Planning and Management
This department identifies, acquires, and manages property in support of sponsored programs not housed in university facilities. Facilities staff manage nearly 1,000,000 square feet of property owned by SDSU Research Foundation and lease non-Foundation-owned space for various research projects off-campus. The department provides all services required for housing qualified researchers, including furniture procurement, copier/fax availability, shipping and delivery, mail, moves, equipment tagging, shredding, storage, and maintenance.
Research Advancement
The research advancement team focuses its work on advancing SDSU's research agenda. This department works closely with technology transfer, sponsored research development, congressional representatives, federal and state agencies, the San Diego community, and SDSU's vice president for research to identify, develop, and implement opportunities for SDSU.
Sponsored Research Services
Approximately two-thirds of SDSU Research Foundation's annual revenue is received in the form of grants and contracts awarded to conduct research and educational projects. SDSU Research Foundation administers grants and contracts in accordance with all regulatory sponsor-specific terms and conditions and CSU Executive Order 890, Administration of Grants and Contracts. Through the efforts of SDSU faculty, 1,240 proposals were submitted during the year ended June 30, 2010, resulting in over $151 million in grant and contract awards.
The sponsored research services division consists of three units dedicated to assisting faculty with pre- and post-award activities.
Sponsored Research Development
Often known as the "pre-award" unit of SDSU Research Foundation, the sponsored research (SR) development unit assists SDSU faculty in all aspects of proposal preparation and submission. The SR development employees assist SDSU faculty and staff to develop and submit pre-proposals, proposals and budgets, facilitate approvals, and negotiate awards. In addition, employees conduct workshops and many other activities to assist faculty in obtaining sponsored funding.
More information about these services can be found at http://www.foundation.sdsu.edu/srd/index.html.
Sponsored Research Contracting and Compliance (SRCC)
SRCC works with, and includes functions of, both pre-and post-award. It is primarily responsible for negotiating favorable terms and conditions on awards to the SDSU Research Foundation; initiating the subagreement process on those grants and contracts that involve collaborating organizations; and working closely with the SDSU Division of Research Affairs to ensure compliance with university, SDSU Research Foundation, and sponsor policies in areas such as human subjects, animal subjects, conflict of interest, environmental health and safety, cost-sharing, and export controls.
Sponsored Research Administration
Also known as "post-award," sponsored research administration (SRA) coordinates post-award administrative and financial services for sponsored research funds and self support program funds. SRA also provides fiscal and other management services for a broad range of university-related activities including the management of gifts for The Campanile Foundation. In general, the policies and procedures that apply to the administration of SDSU Research Foundation funds are also applicable to Campanile funds. However, because The Campanile Foundation and SDSU Research Foundation are two separate non-profit corporations with separate financial audits and tax identification numbers, the following restrictions apply:
- Cash may not be transferred between SDSU Research Foundation and The Campanile Foundation funds.
- Expenditures may not be transferred after the fact between SDSU Research Foundation and The Campanile Foundation funds.
Exceptions may be made only with approval of the director of sponsored research administration, the associate executive director of sponsored research services, the chief financial officer of SDSURF, or the chief financial officer of The Campanile Foundation.
More information about specific post-award services can be found at http://www.foundation.sdsu.edu/sra/index.html
Office of Communications
The Office of Communications is responsible for the overall communications of SDSU Research Foundation, including communication with sponsors, SDSU Principal Investigators (PIs), employees, the media, and other internal and external constituents.
An important component of this communication is the grant information function. Office staff are responsible for the identification and dissemination of grant information to the university community. The office receives and distributes information about federal, state, and private funding sources. Our database of faculty interests allows us to match up grant opportunities with appropriate faculty. We provide program guidelines and application materials, information about agencies and the federal budget, maintain a file of sample funded proposals, facilitate a series of grant-related workshops, and issue a monthly electronic newsletter of funding opportunities to faculty and staff.
Human Resources & Risk Management
Human resources and risk management is responsible for the recruitment, selection, and hiring of SDSURF employees, as well as the classification of all personnel positions. In addition to this it is responsible for the development, maintenance, and enforcement of policies affecting employees. This department also manages employee relations, compliance with labor laws, employee training, and the administration of employee benefits and worker’s compensation. Human resources and risk management also provides the administration of SDSURF insurance matters.