Public Administration ETDs

Publication Date

9-18-1974

Abstract

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study investigates a number of the internal factors associated with the success or failure of individual departments at the University of New Mexico in generating new contracts and grants in support of research, training, and service projects. Five hypotheses were tested:

1. Departments with the largest research commitments are the most successful in generating new research contracts.

2. A department can increase the number of successful proposals by submitting a larger number of proposals.

3. Departments that most closely match the amount budgeted in their successful proposals with the amount actually awarded are the most successful in generating new contracts.

4. Departments whose chairmen have the greatest number of active research contracts are the most successful in generating new contracts.

5. Departments with the lowest ratio of contracts in force to principal investigators are the most successful in generating new research contracts.

METHODS

Because of wide disparities among the various departments at UNM conducting sponsored activities, it was decided to limit the study to academic departments with a sufficiently high level of contract activity to yield adequate data for analysis, and limited internal organizational support for seeking outside funds and administering sponsored activities. A weighted ranking system was devised to yield a test population of 10 departments, based on a composite analysis of their contract/grant activities in the base year 1969-70. Data concerning these departments were drawn from the base year and from two succeeding "test" years, 1970-71 and 1971-72. In addition, a cursory examination of funding agency patterns during that time period was conducted, to identify some of the major external fluctuations that might affect the results. Variables required to test the hypothesis were paired in a series of scattergrams, and a regression line was calculated for each by the least squares technique, to determine if a relationship existed. In addition, the amount of variance encountered for each pair of variables was calculated.

RESULTS

The test of the hypotheses yielded the following results for the 10 test departments during the three-year time-frame of the study:

1. Departments with the largest research commitments (as measured in terms of dollar amount of expenditures on active contracts) are the most successful in generating new research contracts (as measured by amount of new funding).

2. Departments with the largest number of research contracts are less successful in generating new research contracts (as measured by the ratio of proposals funded to total proposals submitted), but tend to have a larger number of new contracts funded.

3. A department can increase the number of successful proposals by submitting a larger number of proposals, but in so doing reduces its ratio of successful proposals to unsuccessful proposals.

4. Departments that most closely match the amount budgeted in their successful proposals with the amount actually awarded are the most successful in generating new contracts. (This relationship appeared to be the most positive of those identified.)

5. The number of active contracts held by departmental chairman has no relationship with departmental proposal success.

6. Departments in which research activity is concentrated with a large number of individuals are less successful in generating new contracts than departments where the reverse is true.

Degree Name

Public Administration

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

School of Public Administration

First Committee Member (Chair)

Albert H. Rosenthal

Second Committee Member

Donald Winston Smithburg

Third Committee Member

Gerald Joseph Boyle

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

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