Research Advisory Committee

Research Advisory Committee Charge

To support improvements in research policy and practice, the RAC was revised in 2017 to directly review proposal specific aims and scored, but not funded, grants. 

Meeting Minutes | The committee meets monthly | Committee Members

The RAC is focused on the review of 1) specific aims pages, and 2) scored but unfunded grant proposals. The RAC committee is composed of individuals with substantial external grant funding over the past three years. Additional ad hoc reviewers will be invited as needed. Representatives from the UA RDS are also invited to attend. 

Process/Procedures for RAC meetings:

  • Specific Aims Reviews:  

  1. Submit Aims page, and FOA / RFA at least one week prior to the review date

    1. For Junior Faculty, specific aims need to be reviewed by his or her faculty mentor or the Associate Dean for Research prior to being submitted to the RAC

  2. 5-minute presentation by PI (a maximum of 5 slides) focusing on previous data, key investigators, and methods

  3. 10-15 minute RAC discussion

  • Scored Grant Reviews:

  1. Submit grant proposal, summary sheet, FOA, and one-page response to reviews at least one week  prior to the review date
  2. Five-minute presentation by PI (a maximum of 5 slides) summarizing reviewer comments (grouped together across reviewers by criteria to reduce repetition)
  3. 15-20 minute RAC discussion

  • Scheduling:

  1. RAC Admin to schedule 1-2 aims pages and/or grant reviews for each meeting
  2. Meetings will be held monthly