Enterprise eRA Architecture • System of Record Coexistence
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Enterprise Research Administration
ENTERPRISE RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION • Pre- & Post-Award Lifecycle Governance

The Unified Research Administration Platform for Leading Academic Institutions.

Unifying sponsor opportunity intake, pre-award compliance validation, deterministic budgeting, and post-award financial reconciliation — coexisting seamlessly with your existing financial system of record.

Launch Pre-Flight Audit Matrix
100%
Deterministic Financial Math
0.0%
Pre-Flight Submission Errors
2 CFR 200
Uniform Guidance Aligned
Zero Disruption
Core ERP Truth Preserved
ResearchSphere Command Center • Active Session: Dr. K. Schumacher (PI) • Office of Sponsored Programs
ERP Financials: Synchronized
PROP-2026-0814 NIH R01 • NINDS Extramural Research
✍ Institutional Routing in Progress (Step 3 of 5)

Mechanisms of Neurovascular Regulation and Blood-Brain Barrier Repair in Ischemic Stroke

Lead PI: Dr. Kenneth Schumacher • Department: Biomedical Engineering • Budget: $2,485,210 (5-Year MTDC)

Salary Cap Compliance
Exec Level II ($225,700)
F&A Rate Matching
54.5% MTDC On-Campus
Other Support Effort
0 Over-Commitments
90-Day Pre-Award Spending Request (2 CFR 200.458)
Advance account pre-authorized • Departmental financial risk acknowledgment signed
Active in ERP
Routing Status DocuSign Secured
1. PI Regulatory Assurance (Signed)
2. Chair Resource Endorsement (Signed)
3 3. College Dean / ADR (In Review)
4 4. Central OSP Pre-Flight Gate
5 5. Institutional AOR Authorization
2 CFR 200 Post-Award Defense
15 automated audit rules screening transactions against budget periods and unallowable categories.
✓ 686 Expenses Screened • 0 Disallowances
The Enterprise Dilemma

Why Research Administration Suffers from Fragmentation.

Universities run on mission-critical financial ERP systems of record that have taken millions of dollars and decades to establish. Yet research administration remains bogged down by disconnected processes.

1

The Shadow Spreadsheet Risk

Faculty and departmental administrators build complex proposal budgets in disconnected spreadsheets. Formula breaks, outdated fringe rates, and misapplied salary caps introduce massive compliance exposure.

2

The Post-Award Handoff Black Hole

When an award arrives, staff spend 2 to 4 weeks manually re-entering award data, milestones, companion projects, and budget periods into the ERP, delaying project start dates and research spending.

3

The False Rip-and-Replace Trap

Legacy software vendors insist the only solution is replacing your entire enterprise financial system. ResearchSphere disproves this by serving as the unified research intelligence layer that coexists with your ERP.

Unified Architecture

Four Core Pillars. One Cohesive Research Ecosystem.

From the first opportunity intake to final award closeout, ResearchSphere connects your investigators, central office, and financial systems into a unified workflow.

Pillar 1

Opportunity Intake & Pre-Award Workspace

Live search across federal databases (Grants.gov, NIH RePORTER, NSF Award Search, SAM.gov). Automated sponsor announcement parsing extracts budget limits, mandatory attachments, and eligibility criteria into human-verified compliance checklists before proposal development begins.

  • Direct sponsor alignment (NIH FORMS-I, NSF PAPPG, DoD CDMRP)
  • Administrative sections auto-populated with strict ERP data provenance
  • Automated Current & Pending (Other Support) over-commitment check (>12 person-months)
Pillar 2

Deterministic Budgeting & Rate Integrity

Eliminates formula drift by pulling institutional F&A rate agreements, fringe benefit schedules, and federal salary caps directly from your core rate tables. Budgets match your financial system down to the exact penny.

  • Statutory NIH Executive Level II Salary Cap enforcement ($225,700)
  • Multi-period escalation with automatic MTDC base exclusion rules
  • Instant pre-submission reconciliation with ERP financial calculation engines
Pillar 3

Digital Routing & Legally Binding Governance

Eliminate routing bottlenecks with automated institutional approval chains. Embedded DocuSign workflows capture investigator assurances, chair endorsements, cost-sharing approvals, and AOR authorizations with zero paper delays.

  • Native DocuSign eSignature integration for PIs, Chairs, Deans, and AORs
  • Subrecipient commitment tracking and FCOI compliance verification
  • Institutional agreement playbook review for Data Use and Material Transfers (DUA/MTA)
Pillar 4

Automated Award Handoff & Audit Defense

Upon sponsor award notice, proposals convert directly into active ERP awards, companion projects, and budget periods without manual re-keying. 15 automated 2 CFR 200 rules screen ongoing expenditures to ensure single-audit readiness.

  • One-click award generation and project creation in the financial system of record
  • 2 CFR 200 expense review screening actual charges against award end dates and thresholds
  • 100% effort certification distribution and payroll reconciliation
Interactive Evaluation

Experience the Pre-Flight Compliance Matrix.

Select a major federal sponsor opportunity below to simulate how ResearchSphere automatically audits guidelines, enforces salary caps, and orchestrates institutional sign-off.

Click "Run Institutional Pre-Flight Audit" above to evaluate the selected federal opportunity against institutional compliance rules.
Tailored Workspaces

Built for Every Stakeholder Across the Research Enterprise.

From executive leadership monitoring multi-million dollar portfolios to investigators preparing competitive narratives, ResearchSphere provides purpose-built interfaces.

Executive Oversight & Growth

Macro Portfolio Visibility & Single-Audit Defense

Provide university leaders with real-time portfolio trajectories, active award commitments, indirect cost recovery forecasting, and audit risk monitoring across every academic unit.

  • Institutional pipeline forecasting and sponsor distribution analytics
  • Proactive Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200) single-audit risk defense
  • Retention and recruitment enablement through modern research tooling
Institutional Health Snapshot
Active Sponsored Volume
$248.6M
Blended F&A Recovery
54.2% MTDC
Audit Disallowance Rate
< 0.01%
Enterprise Integrity

Protecting Decades of Core ERP Investment.

Your enterprise financial system of record remains the authoritative source of truth. ResearchSphere does not replicate, replace, or disrupt your core financial ledgers, chart of accounts, or project costing engines.

✓

Direct ERP System of Record Coexistence

Operates harmoniously alongside your enterprise financials. Proposals, budgets, and awards synchronize seamlessly without manual re-keying.

✓

Departmental Security & Scoped Governance

Granular role-based security models ensure investigators see only their authorized proposals and awards, while central administrators maintain enterprise-wide oversight.

✓

Zero Technical Debt & Rapid Deployment

Eliminates multi-year ERP migration risks. Deploy in weeks, not years, with zero disruption to active campus operations.

Institutional Architecture Overview

The Bi-Directional Research Intelligence Layer

External Sponsor Interfaces Live Synchronized
Grants.gov • NIH RePORTER • NSF FastLane/Research.gov • SAM.gov • eBRAP
ResearchSphere Platform Layer Unified Governance
Opportunity Intake • Proposal Workspace • Budget Builder • DocuSign Routing • Audit Defense
Core Institutional ERP (System of Record) Untouched Truth
Grants Financials • Project Costing • General Ledger • Payroll & Effort Ledgers
Quantifiable Impact

Institutional ROI & Efficiency Modeling.

Estimate the annual administrative time saved, proposal error reduction, and audit risk mitigation based on your institution's sponsored research volume.

~315 proposals/yr
$75M
$15M (Emerging Research) $100M (R2 University) $250M (R1 University) $500M+ (Major Academic Medical)
Administrative Time Saved
5,198 hrs
Across PI, OSP & Department
Submission Rejection Rate
0.0%
Zero pre-flight deadline errors
Post-Award Setup Time
< 48 hrs
Down from 21-35 days
Audit Defense Value
$1,065k/yr
Cost transfer & disallowance defense
Answers for Leadership

Frequently Asked Questions.

Key questions addressed for Vice Presidents of Research, Chief Information Officers, and Sponsored Programs Directors.

Confidential Leadership Consultations

Modernize Your Research Administration Enterprise.

Join leading research universities and medical institutes evaluating ResearchSphere to eliminate pre-flight submission risks, streamline award handoffs, and protect institutional ERP investments.

Contact Leadership Team Directly