FAS Temporary Research Administration Consulting (FASTRAC)

AUGUST 2022: THE FASTRAC TEAM IS UNABLE TO CONSIDER ANY NEW ASSIGNMENT REQUESTS AT THIS TIME.  THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WHEN FASTRAC SERVICES BECOME AVAILABLE AGAIN.

The FASTRAC program was launched in response to departmental requests for highly-trained research administration professionals in order to alleviate workload and mitigate compliance risk.  FASTRAC is a no-cost service that offers short-term research administration assistance to FAS and SEAS departments and centers by:

  • filling short-term research administration vacancies
  • providing extra support during heavy proposal submission deadlines
  • aiding the development of large-scale collaborative proposals
  • consulting and manpower for special pre- and/or post-award research administration projects
  • on-boarding, mentoring, and coaching new research administrators

Common examples of sponsored research activities performed by the FASTRAC Team include: 

  • Preparation and internal submission of grant and fellowship proposals  
  • Sponsored account reconciliation and grant close-out activities 
  • Preparation and internal submission of post-award prior approval requests in GMAS 
  • Preparation and submission, in consultation with the PI, of financial and progress reports
  • Review and approval of sponsored transactions in Buy2Pay and Concur 
  • Preparation and submission of sponsored journal entries in Oracle
  • Sponsored funds projections using PI Dashboard, HART, and related systems 
  • Preparation and submission of faculty supplemental salary requests in SPECTRA
  • Assistance with eCRT quarterly and annual effort certifications 

Assignments are temporary and typically last no longer than three months. FAS departments with non-sponsored financial and administrative needs should contact the Administrative Systems Assistance Program (ASAP) in the FAS Office of Finance.

Please contact Jennifer Lech at jennifer_lech@harvard.edu to discuss your department's need for FASTRAC services.  You may also complete our new FASTRAC request form by clicking here.