Research Administration at MIT

Getting Help

Research administration at MIT is a cohesive group of administrative units within the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) that provide services, systems and support to the MIT community to advance research throughout the lifecycle of “idea to impact.” Led by Anne White, associate vice president for research administration, these units comprise experts in their professional fields who work to provide best-in-class service to researchers across the Institute and develop innovative organizational and systems-based solutions that support MIT’s business needs, strengthen compliance, and enable the success of Institute-wide initiatives.

Research Administration Units

  • Research Administration Services (RAS) provides comprehensive proposal and award management services for all sponsored programs at MIT, from proposal review and submission, to award negotiation and set-up, subaward management, and project closeout. 
  • The Office of Strategic Alliances and Technology Transfer (OSATT) offers specialized support for researchers and administrators working with industry:
    • Corporate Relations facilitates collaboration between industry and MIT faculty, researchers, students, programs, and start-ups through the Industrial Liaison Program and the MIT Startup Exchange. 
    • OSATT Core serves as a primary point of contact for engagement with industry and other non-federal sponsors to develop and launch research collaborations at MIT.
    • The Technology Licensing Office (TLO) manages MIT’s intellectual assets, including commercializing of new technologies and innovations developed in the course of research at MIT.
  • Research Development provides strategic support and guidance to faculty who are seeking sponsored funding with the aim of enhancing proposal competitiveness and enabling research and scholarship.
  • Research Systems and Support offers training and support to the research administration community; provides research administration data reporting services; and develops and maintains online systems and tools required for all phases of research administration and compliance.
  • Cost Analysis is responsible for providing advice, guidance, and training to the Institute’s senior leadership and the MIT community on costing issues, acting as MIT’s primary point of contact with its cognizant federal agency, the Office of Naval Research (ONR), directing development, submission, audit support, and negotiation of MIT’s Facilities and Administrative (F&A), Employee Benefits (EB), and Research Vacation Accrual (VA) rates.

Partnerships Across MIT

The central research administration units in OVPR work with each other, DLCI administrators, and other offices at MIT to provide a seamless research experience tailored to each individual project, while simultaneously supporting large-scale initiatives at MIT.

  • Within DLCIs, administrators provide crucial day-to-day research support in a variety of roles, comprising areas such as project management, budgeting, and award administration. 

  • Other offices at MIT outside of OVPR play complementary roles in research administration:  

    • Office of the Vice President for Finance: VPF’s Sponsored Accounting team manages all post-award financial administration, which includes billing, closeouts, and financial reporting and compliance.
    • Office of Foundation Relations (OFR): Part of the Office of Resource Development, OFR engages with private foundations to build relationships that may result in either gift agreements or sponsored research agreements.