April 13, 2026 at 12:00 PM ET
AI Adoption in Research Administration
At Emerging Research Institutions
Research administration is becoming more complex each year. In the past decade, federal agencies have introduced more than 200 new or revised policies affecting research administration, while philanthropy and private funding add additional compliance expectations. For Emerging Research Institutions (ERIs), these pressures are especially difficult to manage with limited staffing and infrastructure.
In this webinar, we share findings from two workshops supported by the National Science Foundation's GRANTED program (NSF Award) and led by Ithaka S+R in partnership with Montclair State University and Chapman University. Across both convenings, 63 participants from 26 academic and medical institutions explored how AI can reduce administrative burden, support compliance, and strengthen research competitiveness at ERIs.
📅 Event Details
- 📅 Date: Monday, April 13, 2026
- 🕛 Time: 12:00 PM Eastern
- 📍 Location: Virtual
What You'll Learn
- Why This Matters Now: The policy and compliance pressures reshaping research administration.
- Workshop Findings from 26 Institutions: What ERI practitioners reported about readiness, capacity, and adoption barriers.
- Top Implementation Challenges: Data security, trust and reliability, uneven AI literacy, and strategy gaps.
- Promising Use Cases: Risk-based proposal review, compliance support, contract analysis, and workflow triage.
- Practical Next Steps: Governance, workforce development, and phased adoption approaches for resource-constrained institutions.
Why Attend?
- Ground your AI planning in real institutional evidence rather than vendor promises.
- Learn where AI currently adds value without compromising legal and ethical standards.
- Identify practical approaches for improving efficiency while preserving human judgment.
- Leave with actionable ideas that reflect ERI realities, budgets, and staffing constraints.
Who Should Attend?
- Research Administrators and Sponsored Programs Teams.
- Research Development Professionals and Proposal Managers.
- Compliance, Contracts, and Pre-/Post-Award Staff.
- Libraries, IT leaders, and institutional strategy teams supporting research operations.
- ERI leadership focused on research growth, competitiveness, and responsible AI adoption.
About Our Host and Speakers
| Name | Role and Background |
|---|---|
| Tomer du Sautoy | Host. Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Atom Grants; focuses on AI-enabled tools that help research administrators and institutions navigate funding opportunities and grant workflows. |
| Dylan Ruediger, PhD (He/him) | Speaker. Principal, The Research Enterprise at Ithaka S+R; leads evidence-based work on AI adoption, scholarly infrastructure, and institutional strategy in higher education. |
| Ruby MacDougall, PhD (She/her) | Speaker. Senior Analyst, The Research Enterprise at Ithaka S+R; focuses on AI governance, international science and technology policy, and higher education strategy. |
Reserve Your Spot
If your institution is evaluating how to adopt AI in research administration responsibly, this session provides a practical, field-tested roadmap informed by peer institutions and current implementation evidence.
Related publication: DOI: https://doi.org/10.18665/sr.325252