Program Management

The Client

The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) is 1 of 15 University of Texas campuses. UTMB educates health science professionals and researchers, cares for patients, and solves biomedical puzzles through scientific inquiry.

The Challenge

The client’s Research Development Services (RDS) were disorganized. Complaints were escalating from facilities and faculty, as well as sponsors. There was no single point of contact for research pre-award activities, such as proposal submission and award negotiation, and post-award activities, such as billing and financial reporting. The university had no experience in assembling a team of people who understood the maze of relationships and activities that constitute research for pre- and post-award operations. This situation made it more difficult to obtain and administer research funds.

UTMB retained BearingPoint to reorganize, restaff, and reequip its Research Development Services (RDS) to better support users and improve research operations.

The Solution

BearingPoint assembled a team of experienced higher-education professionals. With help from the University of Arizona’s Sponsored Projects Office, which had recently consolidated its pre- and post-award research functions, the team restaffed RDS to coordinate activities throughout the entire organization. The key to our solution involved a complete revision of UTMB’s software to enable end-to-end research tracking. Consulting staff administered the school’s post-award activities for nine months. In less than the allotted year, BearingPoint had positioned UTMB to resume self-management of its research tracking.

The Benefits

Thanks to BearingPoint, UTMB acquired top notch research administration and software in a timely manner. Our end-to-end solution offers a single point of contact for numerous research facilities, faculty, and sponsors. Faculty members save administrative time that is better spent on research. Sponsors can more easily select projects and determine how well they perform. UTMB can do more of what it does best-find answers to baffling biomedical questions.
View/Download the University of Texas Medical Branch case study (26 KB)