INTRODUCTION BY CHIEF RESEARCH OFFICER A central component of great research is a record of trustworthiness in all respects, from technical innovation to fiscal responsibility to care and attention to compliance considerations. This Handbook is intended to be useful and to be used often in guiding all those involved in research at The George Washington University. The overall goal of the Office of the Chief Research Officer is to be widely recognized as one of the most effective, productive and efficient groups on campus. Our specific goals, among others, are that our Department: Provides exceptional training, information technology, and career development opportunities for its staff; Establishes and maintains clear, well documented business processes; Provides exceptional customer service to its faculty and administrative clients; and Embraces a culture of shared information, mutual respect and innovation.

Carol Sigelman Associate Vice President for Graduate Studies & Academic Affairs, will serve as Acting Chief Research Officer as our search continues. For research questions, please call Caroline James, Administrative Coordinator, at extension 4-7315. Dr. Sigelman can be reached through e-mail at: carol@gwu.edu

This Handbook advances these goals in a number of important respects. It serves as a primary training tool for the entire GW research community as well as for new Departmental staff. It becomes a central repository of documented business processes related to how our Department supports GW’s research community. It establishes expectations of improved service to our faculty and administrative clients by setting forth the requirements of the research process and enterprise. And it honors the culture of shared information by embodying the extensive effort, including significant input as solicited from our clients, to compile and make available this information covering the research process at GW from the initial inspired idea to initiation of a sponsored program to successful program completion with follow-on avenues of research to pursue.

This Handbook has been designed to provide a sequential guide of the various actions necessary in the order in which they typically occur to successfully initiate and complete a sponsored research program at GW. In general, Sections begin with a brief introduction to the process described in that phase of the research program, followed by a narrative section with more detailed information. A number of checklists are included to enable researchers and staff to verify that the required actions for each phase of the research process have been conducted as necessary to proceed to the next phase. Forms are also referenced and linked to enable actual implementation of the training provided in this Handbook to address particular pre-award and post-award requirements. For additional convenience, references and links have been provided in each section to GW and external Forms that may be used to complete sponsored research activities discussed in that section as well as to selected internal and external websites providing additional information and resources. To quickly reach these Forms and websites, you may also consult the appropriate Appendix as well.

This Handbook is maintained in electronic format and is updated at least annually and more often in the event that:

• New University or Department policies are enacted that bear on the research process,
• Recurring questions are presented to us indicating a need for clarification of procedures in a particular area,
• Compliance matters need to be further explained or reinforced in some respect.

On behalf of the entire staff, we thank you for the opportunity to be of service in supporting the important and innovative research work that is conducted at The George Washington University.