From Proposal to Award: How AAI’s Grant Management Team Fuels Research Success

The Grant Management Team at the Achievement & Assessment Institute serves as a go-to resource for pre-grant support for AAI staff and KU faculty whose research supports AAI’s mission. The team, comprised of a Pre-Award Grant Manager and two Pre-Award Grant Coordinators, has experience navigating unique and sometimes difficult grants for faculty and staff in a many different fields.

The Grant Management Team offers support in various stages of the pre-grant cycle, including offering help with proposals, submissions, understanding funding agency guidelines, and more. Pre-Award Grant Manager Nhan Reed said that solutions often have to be tailored to each individual and require the team to work together.

“There's definitely collaborative aspects, especially if we get into a quick turnaround or something really convoluted,” Reed said. “We all review each other’s work and make sure to work closely with each P.I.”

When a P.I. reaches out to the Grant Management Team, the team members begin the process of gathering all the necessary materials and information for a full and complete grant proposal. They send the P.I. a list of required documents and walk them through any questions they may have and either ask them for things that they need in the budget or meet with them to draft a budget. The team then enters information into the research database before going over the proposal and filling out administrative forms.

In order to ensure quality work, the Grant Management Team asks for a minimum of three weeks before a proposal deadline. Most would expect that larger federal grants would take the most time, but the team said that sometimes it’s actually the smaller local ones that are the most time consuming.

“It's almost like we have an odd bathtub curve,” Grant Coordinator Gabe Downey said. “There's almost no way we can predict it at this point. The grant amount might be $500, but that doesn't mean it's easy.”

Grant Coordinator Megan Reinardy, said that although the work can be challenging at times, she enjoys working with so many different people and different types of grants.

“It makes each day you come to work interesting. No application is the same, no objective of a proposal is the same, which makes it fun because you get to see other people's strengths and where their passion and fire is and we get to play an integral part in that,” Reinardy said. “It is stressful sometimes, but it's also enjoyable.”

AAI is home to 16 centers that all do work that contributes to AAI’s mission. The AAI Grant Management Team works closely with staff and faculty within the centers to help them get the funding they need. Sarah Denning, financial analyst intermediate at the Center for Public Partnerships and Research, has a lot of interaction with the team. CPPR has grants and contracts that range from under $100,000 to multi-million dollar awards, making grant management an extremely important part of her job.

“We worked really close with them to develop workflows for the various types of proposals we submit. It was great because it created clarity on the timing and the ordering of steps and helped us figure out what documents are needed when,” Denning said. “We average 50 to 60 submissions that go through their team per year, so we're always working with them. They are super responsive, take a collaborative approach, and are great partners.”

The Grant Management Team also works with faculty from the School of Education and Human Sciences. Stephen Jackson, assistant professor of the social, cultural, and historical foundations of education, recently connected with the team to apply for a grant.

“The team helped file the paperwork with the university, which I didn't have any idea how to do, and they provided feedback on the proposal itself, which is really valuable. They were able to tell me what works and what doesn’t,” Jackson said. “They were really great every step of the way and answered every question I had.”

In April 2024, Reed was voted one of KU’s employees of the month. One of her nominators wrote, “the relationships she builds ensure trust, transparency and respect, which has greatly improved the overall experience each receives from the grant management department within AAI.” Reed’s supervisor wrote, “Nhan has an amazing personality and is warm and welcoming. She will jump into anything that is given to her and has worked hard to build a team with the same customer service acumen. Nhan is an open book and freely shares her knowledge and skill with others on her team and across AAI and KU. It is important to her to see her team grow and succeed professionally and personally.”

Downey and Reinardy, both of whom were trained by Reed, praised Reed’s work and dedication to quality.

“Neither I nor Megan had much or any experience with grant management, and within six months we were able to handle federal solicitations,” Downey said. “That’s a credit to the person who got us there and trained us to do that.”

Reed credits her colleagues for the work that the Grant Management Team has been able to accomplish.

“My team and I have gotten this to a place where things are so smooth and work so well for all of us,” Reed said. “Yes, it reflects on my leadership, but also my team. I wouldn't be able to do this without them.”

To reach out to the AAI Grant Management Team, please email aaigrantmanagement@ku.edu.