University of Massachusetts Faculty Get Lessons in Planning
The Customer
Bruce McCandless, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research, University of Massachusetts,
Amherst, MA 
(download)
The Challenge
Find a way to train faculty on how to create successful proposals.
The Solution
Bruce McCandless, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst was looking for a way to help communicate the essential elements of developing successful faculty proposals. Other project management tools were too focused on just tracking projects for his purposes.
Says McCandless, "In my training
classes to faculty about how to develop a successful proposal, I always
mention Project KickStart.
It is the only software I've seen that helps you PLAN a project, rather than
just help you keep track of it."
For faculty research projects, it's critical that you get all of the details,
including all of the potential obstacles, down on paper. Using Project Kickstart
helps you provide not only a detailed plan and schedule but shows that you've
also thought through the potential roadblocks. That kind of foresight makes funders
much more comfortable with a decision to move forward with one research project
over another.
The Benefits
For the faculty of the University of Massachusetts, Project Kickstart provides valuable functionality:
- Focus on planning
- Built-in guidance on obstacles
- Simplified reporting and communication tools