“Research administration has not been immune from the high turnover, rising salaries, calls for greater flexibility and telework that followed full telework during the pandemic and shortages of skilled applicants,” Lisa Nichols, senior director of sponsored research programs at the University of Pennsylvania, said at a recent virtual conference.
Nichols and other research administrators participating in the conference said it will take a lot of trial and error to adjust to the post-COVID-19 changes. The fallout includes a dilution of institutional knowledge, delays and backlogs; and more spending for recruitment, retention and consultants.