Dear Clientele,
Sponsored Programs & Regulatory Compliance Services (SPARCS) provides services to facilitate the submission of proposals, negotiation of agreements, and the administration of internally and externally funded projects. SPARCS also provides services involving subagreements supported by funding provided to North Carolina State University. All aspects of the externally sponsored research and scholarship enterprise, including the pre-award management and the non-fiscal post-award management, fall under the leadership of SPARCS personnel.
All administrative bodies at the university with responsibility to oversee grants and contracts or matters of regulatory compliance are responsible for seeking guidance from SPARCS to provide optimal stewardship of external funds, regulated research subjects and other matters. To facilitate this guidance, an Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Administration, who also serves as the Director of the office, leads SPARCS. An Associate and an Assistant Director and a team of EPA professionals provide additional leadership. The directors and EPA professionals hold overall responsibility to negotiate and accept legal terms and conditions for conducting externally sponsored research, as well as for managing compliance with a myriad of federal and state regulations.
External sponsors include federal, state, local governments and private enterprise. These sponsors provide funding via grants, cooperative agreements or contracts wherein deliverables are identified and progress reporting is expected. The office enjoys a robust and close relationship with the development arm of the institution. Both entities foster excellent coordination in determining the best fit between opportunities and sponsorship. Additionally, SPARCS partners with the Office of Technology Transfer to ensure that NC State University remains in the best possible position to execute licensing agreements for intellectual property disclosed and ready for commercial application by our federal, state and industrial partners.
SPARCS also maintains primary regulatory compliance responsibilities, including human and animal subjects, conflicts of interest and commitment management, export controls, facility security matters, and research integrity. Our goal is to provide stellar continuing education necessary to facilitate the understanding of these critical areas of compliance as we endeavor to reduce the overall regulatory burden on the institution's faculty and staff. This goal extends throughout the SPARCS' organization and is illustrated in its motto to Achieve:
This pledge extends to the sponsors who enable research and scholarly productivity, as well as to the faculty and staff who create and transfer the knowledge and scholarship that epitomizes the very core of our great institution.
Sincerely,
Associate Vice Chancellor and Director
Research Administration - SPARCS