By pioneering generative AI for research administration, the University of Idaho leads a collaborative movement to eliminate paperwork bottlenecks, boost compliance, and empower smaller institutions nationwide with cutting-edge solutions.
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The University of Idaho has been awarded a $4.5 million grant to leverage generative artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline administrative processes and drive efficiency in research management. The project represents a transformative step toward reducing administrative burdens.
U of I's project is led by Principal Investigator Sarah Martonick, director of the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP), and is funded through the National Science Foundation's (NSF) GRANTED program. The NSF program aims to enhance the U.S. research enterprise by improving administrative support infrastructure, increasing service capacity, and broadening participation by developing institutions across the national research landscape.
Every grant earned by a university entails a lot of paperwork, ranging from accounting and payment information to human and animal subject procedures. Information from granting agencies must be transferred to the university's computing system, currently done by employees in research management. Martonick wants to create artificial intelligence programs to transfer that information from the granting agency documents to the university system quickly and accurately.
"I believe this project will transform the entire field and allow universities to better meet compliance requirements and improve efficiencies," said Chris Nomura, vice president of U of I's Office of Research and Economic Development. "The new AI tools should allow research administrators, often an overworked field, to reduce their time spent on repetitive, monotonous tasks and free up time for them to spend on more interesting, thoughtful projects."
The award highlights U of I's expertise in artificial intelligence research and represents a unique collaboration between the OSP and the Institute of Interdisciplinary Data Sciences (IIDS). Together, OSP and IIDS will pioneer innovative AI applications that solve complex institutional challenges and support the broader research community.
"Through IIDS, U of I possesses a powerful combination of technical expertise and advanced infrastructure in artificial intelligence," said Luke Sheneman, co-principal investigator and director of IIDS's Research Computing and Data Services unit. "We are uniquely positioned to address these challenges. As a smaller institution, we acutely feel the administrative burdens of research management as we outgrow the current research infrastructure, but we also have the resources to develop innovative AI-driven solutions."
Sheneman's team is already developing large language models and other generative AI approaches to automate and streamline research administration.
The new grant's impacts extend beyond U of I. A central goal is to foster a "community of practice" to share generative AI tools and insights with other institutions. The project focuses on supporting smaller universities, particularly undergraduate and emerging research institutions, which face similar administrative challenges but often lack the resources to address them effectively.
To begin this collaborative effort, U of I is partnering with Southern Utah University as a sub-awardee and plans to expand the initiative to two or three additional institutions by the project's third year.
This project was funded by the National Science Foundation GRANTED program under award 2427549. The total project funding is $4,546,903, of which 100% is the federal share.
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