Effective staffing of the ERC is essential to the success of the center. Yet the pressures of starting a new center may lead to hurried hiring. Settle on an administrative structure before defining positions. Then proceed thoughtfully in writing ERC job descriptions; taking time now prevents problems later! You might consider filling immediate needs with temporary personnel. Special planning is required to be sure that the needs of the center are addressed.

6.5.1 Building an Effective ERC Staff

6.5.1.1 Staff Size

An informal study of 17 ERCs during the 1990s indicated that center support staff ranged in number from 3 to 19. The average number of administrative support staff was 7 FTE (full-time equivalents). All centers report changes in staff over time, but no clear pattern of change has been documented. It is clear, however, that the center's current position in the ERC life cycle (start-up, mature, etc.) will affect staff size. Extra effort is required the first time you do anything new; thus, demand for staff support may be especially high during start-up and during key times of transition. It is essential that the Director and AD discuss budget limits (and forecasts) frankly and realistically.

Determine how large your ERC is expected to become, based on your strategic plan, and consider how ERC staff can be used to extend faculty expertise and time. (E.g., do you really want your faculty to edit newsletters, maintain databases, handle accounting transactions, maintain equipment, etc.?) Regardless of ERC size, it is the faculty who represent the core of the center; all other staffing must be built around this base in order to leverage your most precious resource: faculty expertise.

Remember the need for flexibility in managing ERC resources! In drafting employment agreements, be poised to balance the pressures of ERC growth and new program development against a simultaneous need for downsizing and reorganizing due to program shifts and funding changes over time. Traditional human resource practices and layoff policies may not accommodate simultaneous retrenchment and reallocation within one administrative unit. Anticipating problems in this area can positively influence your early personnel choices, and may prevent grievances, conflict with unions, and/or future litigation. Plan early for the phase-down of NSF support in grant years 9-10.

6.5.1.2 Defining Job Descriptions

Some centers have a very small staff. In addition to general administration of the center, the Director and the AD may share responsibility for education programs, industrial collaboration, and outreach. This is not the most effective structure in the long run. Thus, the ERC Director typically appoints separate individuals with responsibility for administration, industrial liaison/technology transfer, education, and (sometimes) research management. A brief outline of essential ERC functions follows below.

General Management/Administration : Chapter 2 describes the responsibilities of the ERC Director. NSF now requires newly formed centers to also appoint a Deputy Director; this position is filled by a faculty member within the ERC. A "generic" job description for the ERC Administrative Director (AD) has been attached to this section as Attachment 1.

It is important that the roles of Director, Deputy Director, and Administrative Director be clearly distinguished; responsibility for research and administration must be clear. It is essential that there be a good working relationship among these key individuals.

Research : All centers appoint faculty managers of clusters of research projects or thrusts. Some also name an Associate Director for Research, although most Center Directors have retained this leadership role personally. These managers may hire additional technical and secretarial personnel. The majority of faculty and students are appointed through their participating academic departments. (See Chapter 3, "Research Management".)

Industrial Collaboration/Technology Transfer : There is significant diversity among ERCs in staffing this function, and some centers have struggled before finding the "right" approach to technology transfer. It is wise to evaluate optional strategies and to consider your environment carefully. For example, there are different advantages to hiring someone with an industrial, faculty, or business background. Ultimately, this individual must be familiar with the center's research and be able to serve as a liaison between the faculty and industry representatives (including potential members). (See Chapter 5, "Industrial Collaboration and Technology Transfer.")

Education : This management position is usually held by an ERC faculty member. The tasks of the Education Coordinator vary across the centers, but often there is a staff person who fills this role in coordination with the faculty. S/he is responsible for the development and execution of the center's outreach programs, curriculum development, and course modifications. As with the technology transfer function, it is imperative that whoever has this responsibility work closely and well with the ERC faculty. (See Chapter 4, "Education Programs.")

The ERC Main Office (reception, secretarial, administrative assistance): Whether you have a one-person office or a large staff, remember that the individual who answers the phone and greets guests is the face and voice of the center. This first point of contact is tremendously important and the position demands professional judgment and intelligence. The staff responsible for "the front office" usually provide administrative assistance to the Center Director and other management personnel. At same time, they must manage a (sometimes daunting) load of routine tasks. Many centers have experienced problems trying to find and keep good people in these posts. Some centers successfully supplement regular staff with student help. ERC orientation and training are critical for all staff.

Accounting : You must determine the level of trained accounting help required. (See Section 6.4, "Financial Management.") Most centers have found they need a dedicated staff position for daily accounting and payroll operations.

Information Systems : Staffing this function adequately may be pivotal to a smooth-running center over the long haul. As an ERC matures, computer systems save valuable time and enable a small, coordinated ERC team to handle growing demands and constant change. Some centers have added system administrators to their staff. Others rely on faculty, students, or existing staff to learn new technology. Be sure to determine how you will gain access to the expertise needed to design databases, develop downloading routines from central data warehouses, maintain a local area network, and build homepages on the World Wide Web. (See Section 6.7, "Information Management and Communication.")

Communication : There is a great deal of variability among existing centers in staffing this area. This may reflect the fact that many professionals within the ERC are in a position to make creative contributions to center publications. Certainly, all centers must write, edit, and produce general and technical communications. A few centers have dedicated positions devoted to graphics, editorial, and/or multimedia/computer systems support, while others have opted to outsource the actual production of publications. Also see the section on "Information Management and Communication" (6.7) for comments on electronic publishing. Web capability is increasingly important, as NSF reporting and database systems now rely on the web and outside contacts can use the web to become familiar with your ERC. It can be used to provide special access for members to ongoing work and results.

In all support functions, budget and space will limit your staffing plans. Consider the use of temporary vs. permanent employees, student assistants, and outsourcing to university and external services or consultants. You will want to review the ERC's master planning calendar and evaluate peak periods and functional conflicts (e.g., you might find that one person could coordinate annual report production, produce a newsletter, run the industry meetings, and oversee the annual budget preparation process, if only these tasks didn't all peak at the same time).

When university students are employed, the center must determine what constitutes appropriate student involvement that does not interfere with their educational objectives. Nonetheless, student employees have worked out very well for centers. Duties vary from routine office tasks to dissemination of information on the web; technical assistance; coordination of REU and other educational outreach activities; and computer support.

Tip : Time management will be terribly important to any ERC, but especially one with a small staff. Each ERC member must realistically determine whether or not a job may be shared. As AD, you must facilitate this process and be prepared for times when the center needs extra help.

6.5.1.3 Position Titles

Explore your university personnel system(s) before finalizing position descriptions. Don't limit yourself to the most commonly used classifications. Many centers have found that existing university personnel titles and pay scales are outdated and do not fit their needs well. Chances are good that there are alternative titles and options open to you. Review overall center functions/tasks, and then proceed to define specific ERC positions. Determine essential qualifications before you begin to recruit and screen individuals.

Your university already has central Personnel staff who can provide help. They can guide you in the use of employment categories/titles, and can help to ensure that the university complies with laws and regulations regarding recruiting, hiring, conditions of employment, and termination. The university's personnel policies also address regulatory issues such as equal employment opportunity, nondiscrimination, sexual harassment, and drug and alcohol abuse.

Tip: If you are having difficulty with your university's Human Resources or Compensation offices in classifying positions or allowing appropriate salaries because there are few, if any, similar positions on your campus, check with the ADs at existing ERCs. They may be able to provide you with comparable job descriptions or salary ranges in order to help you convince your university of the appropriate levels of compensation to match ERC needs.

6.5.1.4 Before You Hire

You may want to consider alternative appointment strategies. For instance, under what circumstances should tenured faculty be funded by the ERC? Will the center need to have the department hire new faculty? Some centers do not pay participating faculty salaries; rather, continued department support of faculty lines is viewed as the appropriate "contribution" in return for student support and other benefits that come with center involvement. Additionally, much of the funding that comes to the ERC is "soft" (not backed by continuing state allocations or private endowments.) Most institutions require "hard" financial backing for tenured positions. NSF will ask each center to examine the progress of young faculty towards tenure. (See also Chapter 3, "Research Management.")

Your center may have the option to appoint non-faculty staff directly within the ERC, or else to process appointment documents through participating academic departments. Which approach will better enhance cross-disciplinary cooperation within your institution? This issue also calls for an evaluation of several operational and resource concerns. You need to decide where students will pick up their checks, how much assistance you can expect from support staff in participating departments, and the availability of special university services (e.g., staff to work with individuals experiencing visa difficulties, etc.).

Be clear about conflict resolution procedures. The AD will receive requests and advice from all of the key players (internal and external to the ERC). Competing opinions and needs are inevitable. Personnel conflicts will arise when clear job definitions are not established. This may be especially difficult if there is not a clear understanding about who supervises staff and how problems will be resolved. Typically the AD will negotiate these situations, referring problems to the Center Director (and any committees or governing bodies), as appropriate.

You should recognize the important role the AD can play, through hiring decisions, in supporting the careers of women, minorities, and the disabled. NSF encourages diversity in the administrative staff of ERCs as well as the faculty. On many campuses, ERCs can serve as role models in how to do this well.

6.5.2 Special Challenges Facing Cross-Disciplinary Centers

Efficiency must be a special priority. Center processes must expedite collaboration across participating units. If, for example, it takes longer to hire someone, to get something purchased, or to process a grant, faculty will shy away from involvement with the ERC. Yet additional authorizations may be required and can easily lead to bureaucratic delays. Organization and planning are critical!

It is important to hire and consistently train all staff to enhance and facilitate activities in the participating academic departments. Relations with participating departments need to be nurtured carefully.

NSF site review teams will ask to meet privately with students and industry representatives during external site reviews. It will reflect poorly on the ERC if these individuals don't have a clear idea of what the center does and what their role is with the ERC. The center needs to find ways to build a clear identity with students and others without violating individual loyalties to existing organizations. It can be, of course, a powerful mechanism for getting diverse groups together (students with industry, researchers from diverse disciplines, etc.).

Establishing your center's identity as a unique entity on campus is important. Problems can arise, however, when both the home department and the center vie for individual loyalties, resources, or recognition. The ERC must build a separate identity, without competing with participating departments.

How will your ERC involve participating department personnel directly in center affairs? This may entail cooperative agreements for staff assistance; fund transfers between the ERC and participating units; shared accounting; etc. Coordinating with other department staff has several advantages: it gives home units control over some funds and activities; it documents and gives credit to participating faculty with their department heads; and it may save money by avoiding the need to expand accounting and support staff.

Tip: Keep an updated list of the payroll, contract and grants, academic coordinator, fiscal officer, department chair, dean and vice president for each participating department.

6.5.3 Evaluating and Rewarding ERC Personnel

Make time to thank staff and recognize them. While we all do it, we rarely do it often enough. There are many ways to recognize and support outstanding ERC personnel. Some examples:

• Develop a consistent performance evaluation process.
• Provide staff development and training (including time management; dealing with
• change; and computer skills).
• Experiment with team building/quality circles, etc.
• Attend professional meetings.
• Recognize staff at formal ERC meetings and events.
• Nominate outstanding employees for university awards.
• Develop flex-time policies.
• Support some social activities.
• Provide special rewards programs for internal system improvements.

Tip: Include allocations for both staff development and computer upgrades in your management budget. Be sure to stay within university guidelines in rewarding or paying center staff; don't develop your own pay scales outside these guidelines.

6.5.4 Personnel Records and Reports

It is essential that an accurate and up-to-date record of all ERC personnel be maintained. Reporting agencies set guidelines on the type of personnel reports required (e.g., federal grants require effort reports on the number of hours devoted to the project). Check the requirements for the tables in the NSF Annual Report and the NSF Indicators Report carefully. A suggested database guide has been provided as Attachment 2.

Tip : Consistency in how the information is gathered and managed is imperative. It is recommended that only one or two people be allowed to change data. Some information will be confidential, so file sharing must be carefully considered.

Sponsors, including the federal government, require a wide variety of personnel statistics. It will be important for you to distinguish/track the following in your records:

• headcount (the number of individuals) vs. FTE counts;
• paid (salaried) vs. otherwise supported personnel;
• directly supported students vs. those indirectly involved (as in taking ERC-influenced courses) to provide the total number of students "impacted" by the ERC;
• historical information (e.g., personnel over time);
• ERC student detail;
• ERC faculty detail (e.g., core faculty vs. participating faculty; visiting faculty); gender/racial/ethnic classifications and other personal data
• ERC program affiliations and program changes over time;
• time and effort reporting, for any personnel paid on federal funds
• alumni information, including address after leaving the ERC; and
• employment history for ERC graduates.

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