Database unites UNC-system schools

An online research database created by UNC-Chapel Hill will be implemented systemwide by the end of 2009 and could be bought by other university systems.

The database, My Research@Carolina, centralizes research and grant processing by making it possible to access all the information in one place.

 It also provides researchers with more information about one another to facilitate collaboration on their projects, said Andy Johns, associate vice chancellor for research at UNC.

The most popular component of the database, called Ramses, is a program that specifically helps researchers apply for grants.

“Before the I’s are dotted and the T’s are crossed, before these grants are submitted, faculty applying for grants must go through Ramses first,” said Courtney Thornton, director of research of the UNC system.

Stimulus

The efficiency that Ramses offers is more important than ever before because funds allocated by the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February are beginning to arrive in researchers’ hands.

The funds have created a significant amount of research activity on the UNC campus and the database could help in centralizing all of the work, Johns said.

“We’ve seen 886 additional grant proposals above the 4,400 we received for the entire year of 2008,” Johns said.

With the stimulus funding, comes added skepticism from federal government officials curious about what type of research is being conducted and by whom. The University can use the database to provide regular updates of the research process.

“Because of the additional scrutiny, we are required to report substantially more data about our grants and about our research,” Johns said.

Across the system

While Ramses is being used by other UNC-system schools such as UNC-Greensboro and N.C. Agricultural and Technical State University, it is not yet implemented in schools with less of a research emphasis, such as Winston-Salem State University and North Carolina Central University, Johns said.

The database was expected to be implemented across the UNC system in September, but officials missed the deadline and are now hoping to accomplish the task by the end of 2009.

Contracting Ramses

Ramses has garnered attention from other higher educational institutions and commercial enterprises.

“When most people think of research administration, they think of Ramses,” Johns said. “We could do a better job of marketing all this.”

The research database has been licensed to Ohio State University, Georgia Institute of Technology and the Tennessee public university system.

Later this month, UNC-CH will announce a contract with a third-party distributor to license the entire suite of programs to academic and commercial entities, including Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.

Johns said the third-party distributor is necessary for UNC-CH to focus on providing quality management for its own faculty’s research.



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