Many scientists find themselves spending more time managing money than using it, but UF may have found a solution.
UF’s new grant-management system, myinvestiGator, launched about four months ago. Since then, about 1,400 members of UF’s faculty and staff have used the program to manage about $700 million in research grants. For many of them, myinvestiGator is the answer to easing budgeting headaches and saving time.
“We really wanted to make it faculty focused, and it had been found to be a high-priority need,” said Stephanie Gray, director of the UF Division of Sponsored Research. “They wanted online banking but for grants.”
MindTree, a recent addition to the Gainesville area, helped implement the system, with a design that needed no training to use. The partnership marked the first time UF has worked with an outside company to develop internal software.
“It’s very hard to create something easy to use for everybody,” said Jason Williams, senior user experience designer at MindTree. “You don’t know how tech-savvy the users will be, so you have to find a happy medium.”
Gray said a task force was put together in 2010 to develop programs that would make the financial aspects of research more efficient. MyinvestiGator was delayed due to an overhaul of the human resources system. The pace and lack of programmers available at the time drove the task force to look at alternatives to internal development, Gray said. Two companies submitted demos of ideas in August.
As users give feedback, Gray said the company will be working with UF to ensure the system continues to grow and expand effectively.
