The document outlines a comprehensive set of recommended actions to reduce administrative burden across research institutions, addressing areas such as administrative support, compliance with regulations related to animal and human subjects research, financial management, contracts, electronic systems, laboratory safety, personnel training, and technology transfer. Strategies include simplifying and standardizing processes—for example, offering more administrative support for faculty, streamlining protocol forms and review procedures for IACUC and IRB, implementing tiered or risk-based review systems, and expanding administrative authority for handling minor protocol or contract changes. There is a strong emphasis on adopting technology and integrated electronic systems to eliminate duplicative paperwork, improve transparency through dashboards, automate workflows, and create efficiency in financial and compliance reporting.
The document also encourages adopting best practices such as consolidating laboratory inspections, tailoring training requirements, centralizing contract negotiations, utilizing standard agreement templates, and focusing reviews on high-impact or higher-risk activities. Across all recommendations, institutions are urged to balance compliance with practicality, applying flexibility and minimizing “one-size-fits-all” approaches where appropriate—such as by reducing unnecessary training, relaxing duplicative documentation, and limiting oversight to regulatory necessities. Furthermore, the importance of metrics to inform resource allocation and process improvement is highlighted, alongside collaboration both within the institution and with external partners. The overall aim is to enable faculty and staff to focus more on research and less on administrivia by streamlining processes, leveraging technology, and ensuring that compliance activities are truly necessary and appropriately scaled.
