To better assist Mason’s expanding research activities and provide enhanced support to faculty, the Research Administration Management Portal (RAMP) project will soon introduce a handful of new, easy-to-use tools. In the coming months, new “modules” will assist with managing research involving human subjects, streamlining payroll reporting, overseeing animal care, and adhering to export regulations.
During the next phase, the Institutional Review Board (IRB) module supporting human subjects research will be implemented. The IRB’s onboarding phase began in October 2023 and is anticipated to go live this July. RAMP IRB will replace IRBNet, which Mason has used since 2013. This new module will allow for improved functionality and usability over the current system, and integration with the other RAMP modules. RAMP IRB will improve collaboration between principal investigators, IRB staff, and committee members through all IRB activities from new protocols to amendments.
The RAMP Payroll Certification (Effort Reporting) implementation will begin onboarding in April 2024. This module will streamline the effort and labor reporting process on sponsored projects, allowing for a standard workflow for payroll certifications routing through the electronic system for review and approval. RAMP Payroll Certification will replace the manual process currently in place for payroll certification allowing for greater efficiency, ease of access, improved functionality, and better reporting capabilities.
Future RAMP implementations include Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and Export Control, with a phased roll out through March 2025. The Research Reporting Project continues in conjunction with the full RAMP implementation, with additional reports being made available throughout the duration of the project.
In addition, the current RAMP modules for Grants, Agreements, and Conflict of Interest (COI) will be upgraded to the newest Version 10.5, allowing end users to experience the most updated features of the system. Of note, the RAMP Safety module has already implemented on Version 10.5 and will not require the upgrade.
The overall timeline for the RAMP Project is below:
The RAMP Team will continue to share information regarding the project with the Mason Community through the RAMP website. Email questions to ramp@gmu.edu.