Bienvenidos a San Juan! On behalf of NCURA and the PRA Program Committee, we are delighted to welcome our friends and colleagues to the vibrant and historic city of San Juan, Puerto Rico for the 20th PRA conference. As its name “rich port” signifies, this is an area abundant in culture, hospitality, adventure, natural beauty, culinary delights, and ecological diversity. The people of Puerto Rico have long demonstrated warm hospitality, respect for their environment, and the ability to overcome great obstacles. Accordingly, our wonderful Program Committee has crafted a program that encompasses the wide breadth of current challenges and new discoveries that pre-award research administrators are currently managing, as well as our perennial adaptability. Truly, this is a conference dedicated to both celebrating and strengthening our “Resilience in Action!”
When looking out over the ocean from one of Puerto Rico’s sandy beaches, it might appear calm, but we know there is a world of activity underneath the surface. Similarly, pre-award research administrators are well-versed in doing amazing work that no one else sees unless they dive in for a closer look. Those behind-the-scenes (or beneath-the-waves) actions have a great and far-reaching impact. Sessions like Complex and Dynamic Clinical teams, From Silos to Synergy, Clarity in Chaos, Thriving Under Pressure and Alternative Funding for Alternative Times, are designed to assist us navigate frenetic activities while keeping the surface as calm as possible.
And just as Puerto Rico is home to abundant and varied plant and animal life, pre-award research administrators encounter unique systems, sponsors requirements, and other challenges in the course of their daily work. We hope that the variety of tracks, sessions, and discussion groups do justice to the breadth of topics in the pre-award ecosystem. Sessions including Institutional Resilience and Audit Readiness, Motivating and Incentivizing Faculty to Write and Submit Proposals, and Allowable vs. Unallowable: The Grey Areas, will help provide attendees with tools to navigate this vast pre-award ecosystem while taking action and building resilience within home institutions.
While Puerto Rico is known for its vibrant culture of famous music and rich history, the Cordillera Central Mountain Range adds elevation to the main island. The obstacles research administrators face every day are akin to climbing mountains such as these. To help with that ascent, we are pleased to offer sessions such as Practical Lessons from Implementing a System-to-System Research Administration Platform, Transferring Awards without Losing Momentum, and Doing the Right thing, One Person at a Time.
We are so glad you are here with us this week. Maintaining connections and growing networks are more important now more than ever, to help us sail through the waves of change and live out Resiliency in Action.
Your PRA Co-Chairs,