President Jonathan Levin and Provost Jenny Martinez initiated an effort in 2024 to “reduce frictions and help make it easier to get things done.” This is one of a series of features on simplifying work at Stanford.

The challenge

The School of Humanities and Sciences (H&S) manages hundreds of faculty research projects that help deepen our knowledge of the world. Funding for individual projects can take years to secure and, once awarded, requires extensive compliance with sponsor and government policies. Beyond the research itself, administrative reporting is time-consuming for both faculty and staff.

What’s changed

H&S had a number of duplicative support roles across departments, often handled by staff juggling other responsibilities in addition to research administration. Now, a central team supports 32 humanities, arts, and social sciences units with the administrative steps related to research, from paperwork-heavy initial proposals through award management and compliance requirements for university, government, and other funders.

How it came about

The H&S Dean’s Office hired two administrators and folded in five staff from the Economics and Psychology departments to create a team with a single focus.

“Transitioning our research administration from departmental staff to the dean’s office has given us access to a broader pool of research administration expertise than we were able to sustain within the department,” says Russell Poldrack, chair of the Department of Psychology and the Albert Ray Lang Professor in Psychology.

Why it matters

A centralized, agile, and cross-trained team with specialized expertise is bringing more consistent service, greater efficiency, more timely guidance, and enhanced flexibility. The changes reduce the time faculty – and staff who support their work – must spend on necessary, but also time-consuming, proposal and award management requirements.

Says Matthew Gentzkow, the Landau Professor in Technology and the Economy and professor of economics, “Because of these changes, faculty can maximize the time they spend on scholarly pursuits, administrative staff are better positioned to manage research funds, and Stanford’s commitment to excellence with integrity in research and education is even stronger.”

Learn more about simplification at Stanford.