Quick Access Resources

PARS
(Proposal APPROVAL ROUTING SYSTEM) Research
Reporting Dashboard

Important Note: Requires Single Sign-On to Access

About Us

The Office of Research Administration (ORA) is a University-wide office authorized to submit proposals and receive awards from external sources on behalf of the Board of Trustees of the University of Maine System.   ORA is also the fiduciary for the University of Maine on grant-related matters. An organizational chart can be viewed if interested in seeing the structure of staff within ORA. Please be aware this chart is only recommended for viewing on computers and has not been formatted to properly display on tablet/mobile devices yet.

Leadership

Christopher Boynton is the Director of the Office of Research Administration (ORA) and the University of Maine’s Authorized Institutional Representative.  In this capacity, Director Boynton has the authority to submit applications or proposals, negotiate, execute, and otherwise obligate the University on the resulting grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts for sponsored projects.

Who WE ARE & WHAT WE DO

Goals

  • Provide excellent customer service
  • Offer integrated research support services
  • Provide transparent research administration
  • Create efficient and streamlined internal processes
  • Reduce administrative burden
  • Educate faculty and staff knowledge related to research administration

Our Role

  • Review proposals for completeness and compliance with sponsor and university non-technical requirements
  • Approve and endorse proposals on behalf of the University
  • Submit proposals to sponsors
  • Manage electronic systems for proposal preparation, institutional approval, and submission to sponsors
  • Negotiate favorable terms on behalf of the principal investigator (PI) and the University (e.g., publication rights, intellectual property rights, rights in data, indemnification, payment terms, etc.)
  • Accept awards on behalf of the University
  • Resolve post-award issues (rebudgeting requests, change of PI, disputes with subrecipients, questions about allowability of costs, closeout, etc.)
  • Serve as institutional point of contact for questions raised by sponsors (e.g., adherence to terms and conditions, compliance with reporting requirements, etc.)
  • Assess potential subrecipients for risk
  • Negotiate and execute subawards after ensuring compliance with sponsor requirements
  • Monitor subrecipients
  • Approve subaward invoices for payment (after PI review and approval)
  • Establish and maintain project accounts in the financial system
  • Create purchase orders in University financial system
  • Sponsor invoice management
  • Provide support across all ORA teams to help resolve a variety of issues and situations (e.g. budget reallocations, cost transfers, budget revisions)
  • Financial reporting

News & Updates

Office of Research Development

justice icon

Office of Research Compliance

UMaine Research

UMaine AI

school research

Center for UnderGraduate Research (CUGR)

Maine EPSCoR

Research Administrator’s Network

Student Symposium