One of the most important roles of CARA is advocacy with the Federal funders. There are many scenarios where we have engaged in consultation with various agencies. The Federal funders are continually launching new programs, policies, systems, etc and we are often asked to provide advice, comment, help refine, etc.
Recent activities where CARA has been advocating on behalf of our membership: CCV, Open Access Policy, Data planning policy, Indirect costs of research, New CIHR programs, SSHRC success rates, Metrics, etc.
We are very fortunate to have good relations with our Federal funding agency colleagues and have been fairly successful in changing the nature of the advocacy relationship from a reactive (historical) to a more proactive engagement we now enjoy.
We are constantly polling our members after major grant submissions and providing feedback to the Federal funders to ensure systems and processes are as efficient as possible.
We cannot miss this opportunity of thanking our members, for telling us what is working well and what needs to be changed, and the Federal funders for listening to us and making changes to accommodate! Together we make a responsive and efficient research administration community!