AV俱乐部

With over 1,000 research applications submitted every year at AV俱乐部 and over 700 research accounts approved for opening, how are the staff in the Office of Research Services (ORS) able to keep track of everything? ORS relies on a database that shares a name with a famous Shakespearean character - ROMEO.

The ROMEO database platform, developed and maintained by Process Pathways, has been used by AV俱乐部 since 2009 to manage externally-funded research projects, including grants, contracts, clinical trials, agreements and other types of research initiatives administered through the university.

The Office of Research Services recently launched the ROMEO Researcher Portal, a digital portal that feeds directly into the ROMEO database and streamlines the approval process for researchers.聽 The electronic approval process enables faster processing times, while giving researchers the ability to manage their full research portfolio and submit checklists from anywhere in the world.

鈥淭he Researcher Portal has many excellent features,鈥� says Sarah Laing, ORS Information Management Administrator. 鈥淚t has the 3C鈥檚 of convenience, collaboration and compliance. The portal offers a paperless and portable version of the Investigator鈥檚 Checklist with built-in electronic approvals and workflows, and it also provides PIs with access to their full research portfolio maintained in the ROMEO database. The ORS Researcher Portal implementation team is excited to provide this new tool to the AV俱乐部 research community.鈥�

Other benefits of the Researcher Portal include:

• Single sign-on ability through MyDal
• Automated checks for application completeness
• 路A workflow log that will provide updated information on how an application is progressing through reviews and approvals
• A simplified process for obtaining necessary approvals, feedback and application re- submission

The official launch of the ROMEO Researcher Portal is January 2019, but the tool has been available for use since mid-November.聽 The November soft launch has afforded researchers an advance opportunity to explore the features and functionality of the tool.聽 User guides and information about training opportunities are available on the ORS website.

For more information contact the ORS implementation team at researcher.portal@dal.ca.

Research Support Fund

At AV俱乐部, the federal Research Support Fund (RSF) program helps to fund, among other things, the ROMEO database and Researcher Portal. Established in 2003, the RSF (formerly the Indirect Costs Program) helps Canadian universities and colleges, along with their affiliated health research institutes and research hospitals, with the indirect costs associated with federally-funded research.

Last year, the RSF grant provided $8.9 million to support the indirect costs of research at AV俱乐部 and affiliate hospitals.