Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

A: This is the first nationally representative study aimed at identifying differences in depth, resource availability, and understanding of Research Development (RD) in the context of Research Administration (RA). This survey will also assess the strengths and weaknesses of the RD initiatives, as well as the perceived needs and priorities for both internal and collaborative support to improve the quality and capacity of RD/RA.

A: The SUNDRI universe is comprised of a national census of 1300+ 4-year institutions. One contact per institution will answer questions on behalf of the institution’s RD/RA office(s).

A: There are no monetary incentives for your participation. However, please visit our free, interactive dashboard with benchmarking data from national higher ed surveys such as IPEDS and HERD. Following data collection, the dashboard will be updated to incorporate finalized SUNDRI data for institutions that respond.
By participating in the SUNDRI survey, you will help improve the field’s understanding of RD/RA activities and opportunities across a wide array of 4-year colleges and universities.

A: The online survey should take 30 to 40 minutes, on average.

A: The topics covered include your institution’s RD services and activities, related processes, people, and structures. A preview of all survey questions can be found here: https://sundri.rti.org/survey.

A: Please do, as this is valuable for us to know. After responding that you do not have any offices or units that provide RD services, the survey will direct you to just a few questions specific to your institution as a whole.

A: Yes, there will be a public report with aggregate results issued at the end of the study. However, individual institutional data will not be available except to that institution. Through the enhanced dashboard, which will be constructed after data collection ends, a participating institution will have the ability to see their own data compared to their Carnegie Classification’s data as well as to a user-selected peer group’s data. The respondent who submitted data for an institution will not be identified and the responses to some questions may be omitted from the dashboard.

A: The data obtained during the study will be combined to produce statistical reports. Your specific responses will be included with the responses of hundreds of other participants and will be used only for statistical purposes (no identifiable data will be used for research purposes).

Only a limited number of researchers on the project are authorized to access information that may identify individual institutions. The full data file will not be available to everyone but rather, a statistical dashboard will be available to all responding institutions. We are considering a process where an outside researcher can request a detailed analysis, which would be run by project staff. If you would like to make a suggestion for an additional detailed analysis, please contact the help desk.

A: Please contact the helpdesk at sundrihelp@rti.org.

A: We will only collect one submission per institution. You are welcome to connect with your participating colleague to collaborate on the response.

A: It could prove helpful to have your institutional fact sheets, strategic plan, organizational chart, most recent annual report on sponsored research and grants activity, and information about RD personnel on hand before you begin entering responses.

A: Participation is voluntary with no penalties for not participating. You may decline to answer any individual questions, exit the survey at any point, or exit and return to complete it later.

A: Please visit SUNDRI - Support Networks or contact our helpdesk at sundrihelp@rti.org.