Utah State University

Utah State University was working through a homegrown system to manage proposals for Sponsored Programs, a system it shared with the Space Dynamics Lab. Because there wasn’t any way to create workflows or route proposals for approvals, staff was spending a lot of time manually entering information. They wanted to be able to automate as much as possible to leave more time to help principal investigators with their proposals. Staff also wanted a program that was easy to use so they could be more self-sufficient.

USU decided to break from the homegrown system and move to Kuali Sponsored Programs, chosen based on functionality and fit, along with price. Workflows were created to meet specific needs of staff within the Sponsored Programs office as well as principal investigators are able to work on proposals online, get reviews and approvals, and meet deadlines.

Office staff members have been able to create specific workflows to streamline and automate many of the business processes across campus. The software has eliminated paper forms and automated document routing.

Dan Perry, systems analyst, says that Kuali Research has allowed USU to create, manage, and track proposals and awards all within the software, which enables them to better assist PIs with the proposal process from the very beginning. The Sponsored Programs office can now work alongside PIs to create proposals that are more robust, giving them a better chance of being funded. USU reports that since implementing Kuali Research in 2017, proposal rates have increased, and they are able to easily produce reports to gain insights into their process and the win/loss ratios across the institution.