The Power of Partnerships:

What CFR Can Learn from Existing

AJCU Multi-University Resource-Sharing Collaborations

July 22, 2025

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Award Nos. 2415723, 2415724, and 2415725. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Tri-Alliance Team

Angie Rochat

Principal Investigator (PI)

Assistant Vice Provost for Research

Loyola Marymount University

Angie.Rochat@lmu.edu

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Aida Shadfan

Co-Principal Investigator (CO PI)

Vice President for Finance and Controller

Loyola Marymount University

Aida.Shadfan@lmu.edu

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Mary-Ellen Fortini

Principal Investigator (PI)

Senior Director of Sponsored Projects

Santa Clara University

mfortini@scu.edu

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Camille Coley

Principal Investigator (PI)

Associate Vice Provost & External Partnerships

University of San Francisco

ccoley@usfca.edu

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Who is Good Partner?

Year One:

• Strengthen Post-Award capacity

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• Develop shared training and tools

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• Pilot innovative administrative roles

Why This Matters for CFR

• Demonstrates a strategic and scalable model for administrative innovation
• Sustainability of research infrastructure
• Impactful cross-institutional collaboration
• Aligns with core foundation and corporate values: Innovation, Education, Impact
• Collaborating rather than competing with the small pool of Catholic/Religious Funders

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Alignment with Funder Priorities

1. Education:

• Empowers early-career researchers and staff with joint training and toolkits
• Promotes research-readiness at teaching-focused institutions

2. Research:

• Builds robust post-award infrastructure
• Improves administrative capacity to manage complex awards

3. Innovation:

• Pioneers cross-divisional support roles
• Pilots new models for data collection and sharing
• Creates open-access toolkits for Emerging Research Institutions (ERIs)

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Building Stronger AJCU Relationships

• Reflects Jesuit values of community, shared mission, and social justice
• Fosters trust and transparency across institutions
• Promotes knowledge exchange and professional development of faculty and staff
• Creates collective ownership and strategic alignment through a shared advisory board

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Long-Term Benefits for Faculty, Staff & Students�

Faculty:

• Reduced administrative burden
• Greater access to training and templates
• More time for scholarship and mentorship

Staff:

• Expanded roles and leadership development opportunities
• Increased efficiency through shared practices

Students:

• Enhanced mentoring from engaged, research-active faculty
• Expanded participation in research supported by improved infrastructure

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Model Practices with Broader Relevance

• Cross-institutional peer advisory reviews to identify strengths and gaps
• Centralized resource sharing for scalable efficiencies
• Piloted staff roles bridging pre- and post-award functions
• Institutional buy-in from HR, IT, Legal ensures integrated support

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Lessons Learned in Year One

• Early stakeholder engagement is critical

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• Working Groups, Advisory Board, and Committees must have clear roles and timelines

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• External Evaluators brought in early for baseline data

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• Resource sharing works best with defined governance

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• Transparent data collection fosters institutional alignment

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Organizational Structure to Build Capacity

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LMU Structure & Benefits of the Tri-Alliance

• Sponsored research infrastructure is in separate divisions:
• Pre-Award in Academic Affairs
• Post-Award in Finance
• Corporate and Foundation Philanthropy (CFP) in University Advancement

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• Together, these offices work collaboratively to support identification of funding opportunities, proposal development, budget development, and fiscal management of awards.

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• Through the Tri-Alliance, we are piloting award advocacy support, joint training sessions of policies and processes for seamless faculty support, and ITS enhancements to ensure best practices in sponsored research activities throughout the university.

SCU Structure & Benefits of the Tri-Alliance

SPO is a full grant life cycle sponsored projects office

• incorporates pre-award through post-award (including accounting)
• administers grants that are initiated in Institutional Giving (CFR)
• collaborates with Institutional Giving when gifts include research

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Benefits of the Tri-Alliance

Through the Tri-Alliance, we are creating new positions; enhancing our services to researchers; identifying and filling gaps in our infrastructure, policies, practices, and documentation.

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All these improvements will increase our ability to serve our faculty and others better and raise the profile of Santa Clara University as a research institution.

USF Structure & Benefits of Tri-Alliance

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Capacity Building:

• Enhances post-award infrastructure, reducing administrative barriers for funded faculty
• Provides professional development for research staff and administrators

Collaborative Innovation:

• Accelerates implementation of best-in-class practices through peer review
• Pilots shared administrative roles to maximize expertise and efficiency

Network Expansion:

• Opens pathways to regional and national funder networks
• Creates opportunities for joint proposals and interdisciplinary projects

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Replicable Strategies for Other Institutions

• Toolkit Development: Documenting and packaging templates, policies, and workflows
• Flexible Staffing Models: Role innovations adaptable to campus size and mission
• Inter-Institutional Peer Review: Promotes continuous improvement
• Cross-Functional Integration: Leverages existing infrastructure for maximum impact

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Future Opportunities for Partnership

• Scaling this model to other Jesuit and ERIs
• Collaborating with funders to:
• Expand training offerings
• Deepen engagement with AJCU Institutions
• Pilot industry-researcher partnership facilitation models

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Inspiration for Partnerships

• Adopt and adapt Tri-Alliance practices
• Engage in cross-campus networks
• Advocate for shared capacity-building grants
• Expand professional network to learn and grow

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Contact Us

Rita Barreiro

Tri-Alliance Project Coordinator

Office for Research and Sponsored Projects�Loyola Marymount University�1 LMU Drive�Los Angeles, CA  90045-2659

Rita.Barreiro@lmu.edu

https://academics.lmu.edu/orsp/tri-allianceforpostawardinnovation/