The VPRI is dedicated to supporting research and innovation across the University and with our partner hospitals through continuously improving service via the development of innovative administrative systems and tools, research information analysis to support strategic research planning, and recognition for our award-winning researchers and innovators.
U of T is a leading institution in research administration through its development of state-of-the-art tools and processes that ensure appropriate management of research activities, harmonized across university-wide service units and partner offices in the academic divisions.
The Research Administration Improvement and Systems Enhancement (RAISE) is a significant example of system enhancements that benefit the work of the VPRI and our academic units and researchers. RAISE is an integrated suite of web-enabled tools that allow for greater accountability and efficiency.
By automating processes, RAISE enables the VPRI to improve the level of service it provides, and allows academic divisions to realize important cost savings. The annual savings realized with MRAP and MRA alone are projected to be over $520,000
RAISE is a joint initiative of the VPRI and the Office of the Chief Information Officer that seeks to both improve risk oversight practices in the management of research and reduce administrative demands on faculty, academic administrators and staff. It is a robust tool that tackles issues of transparency, accountability, auditability, compliance, accuracy, timeliness, and increased efficiency by creating clear and transparent audit trails for research administration processes. Compliance is enhanced through embedded system rules and preventive controls. By automating processes, RAISE:
- codifies best practices,
- reduces the likelihood of human error,
- improves the time-to-completion of tasks, and
- ensures that financial reporting and audit deadlines are clearly identified.
There are over 4,000 users of My Research, and this number will grow as we roll out the My Research-Human Protocols (MRHP) system in 2016. We estimate 1,500 users for MRHP, many of whom will be students who will use the system only once.
An integrated suite of automated web-enabled tools
