The Research Foundation (RF) is a private, not for profit educational corporation that supports the advancement of education, research and discovery at the State University of New York (SUNY).

The RF provides SUNY with the following professional programs and services:

Sponsored Programs Administration

Sponsored programs are externally funded activities in which a formal written grant, contract, or cooperative agreement is received by the RF. Sponsors - including federal and state governments, corporations and foundations - fund programs to conduct research, training and public service. In fiscal year 2007, the RF managed over $781 million in sponsored funding in support of more than 7,400 campus-based programs.

The RF gives SUNY researchers the resources and flexibility they need to pursue their research goals. Sponsored programs operate on very short time frames (usually only one year to complete the project) and require:

• Compliance with federal and state regulations and sponsor terms and conditions
• Prefunding of expenditures prior to sponsor reimbursement
• Flexibility to employ people within the project start and end dates
• Timely purchase of supplies and equipment and reimbursement of travel costs 
• Ability to subcontract to third parties to conduct a portion of the program
• Timely billing of sponsors for payment, including drawing down from federal letters of credit
• Timely submission of sponsor required financial reports.

Technology Transfer

Technology transfer is the process of identifying and protecting intellectual property, and marketing and creating partnerships with industry to further research and commercialize discoveries for the public good. In fiscal year 2007, the RF managed 284 new invention disclosures, filed 193 patent applications, executed 45 licensing and option agreements and generated $10.8 million in royalties from licensing SUNY inventions. The RF also  received 33 U.S. patents, raising the total number of patents issued to the RF to more than 750.

The RF provides the flexibility and expertise needed to guide inventions through the technology transfer process, which includes:

• Creating targeted marketing programs using trade shows and personal solicitations
• Entering into agreements such as  confidentiality agreements, license agreements and option agreements
• Engaging legal expertise needed to navigate through the patent process 
• Facilitating payment of the costs involved with patenting an invention.

Affiliated Corporations

Affiliated corporations help SUNY campuses achieve their education, research and public service missions by addressing a wide range of needs, such as managing the world-famous Brookhaven National Laboratory, providing incubator space for emerging technologies, fostering collaboration and accelerating the growth of research opportunities at SUNY. The RF has 16 affiliated corporations across New York State.

The RF establishes affiliated corporations for a variety of reasons:

• Pursue funding that is not otherwise available to the RF, the University or to its members 
• Provide flexibility to manage a program independently 
• Maintain campus control, through the corporation’s board, over the purposes of the corporation and its mission
• Expand University partnerships and minimize risk.

Agency Fund Administration

The RF provides human resources/payroll and purchasing/payables administration services to campus-related organizations such as clinical practice plans (to manage the funds brought in by University clinical faculty at University hospitals, outpatient facilities and affiliated health care facilities) or campus based foundations (separate organizations that support the fundraising efforts of the campus). Agency expenditures totaled $137.8 million in fiscal year
2007, an increase of $8.1 million over last year.
 

2007 Highlights

The RF is working to enhance transparency simplify processes to further improve efficiency and effectiveness, assure compliance with a widening array of laws, regulations, policies and guidelines, and promote greater collaboration both within and outside the SUNY system.

Transparency

The RF is providing timely, reliable and meaningful disclosures about its financial performance and operating processes.

The RF updated its external Web site, to include the following information:

• A profile of sponsored program expenditures by campus and by sponsor
• Report of Independent Auditors on Compliance with Requirements Applicable to Each Major Program and on Internal Control over Compliance in Accordance with OMB Circular A-133 (A-133 reports and certifications)
• Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (IRS Form 990)
• Annual Reports, which include the Audited Financial Statements
• The RF’s annual budget, known as the Financial Plan

The RF has annual audits of the financial statements and its handling of federal funds (A133 audit) consistently resulting in clean opinions. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) applied SAS 112 criteria,  which make standards used for audits of nonprofit organizations more consistent with those in place for audits of public companies, to the RF's fiscal year 2007 A-122 audit.

In addition, two sponsoring agencies, Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), performed routine program audits to examine the RF's administrative and financial managment of awards. Both audits resulted in clean opinions. No reportable deficiencies or weaknesses were found and no corrective actions were required.

Simplicity

Nationally recognized for providing superior and cost effective services, the RF continues to leverage technology and streamline processes to improve productivity.

• The upgrade of the RF’s Oracle Applications to version 11i was implemented on time and underbudget. Several improvements have been realized, including increased system availability, reduced nightly processing time, enhanced usability and enhanced security.
• As a result of the Oracle Upgrade project, the RF’s Web site is better integrated with the business applications. An important improvement is single sign-on to both the portal and the applications, which facilitates easy access to the information  and data needed by principal investigators, campus operations managers, and RF administrators.
• The RF successfully rolled out its electronic process for depositing cash receipts to eight campuses that handle their own deposits. By leveraging technology and consolidating the number of banks, remote deposit will improve efficiency and the effectiveness of the RF's cash deposit process.

Compliance 

The RF has a proven track record of quickly adapting to meet the demands of an increasingly complex and rapidly changing regulatory environment.

• The RF developed an education and communication program to ensure compliance with complex federal laws hoverning exports and licensed software that screens an array of federal government lists to help campuses assess potential export control situations.
• The RF implemented an Ethics Hotline, 800-670-7225, to receive allegations of fraud, waste and abuse. Allegations are referred to Internal Audit and the Office of General Counsel and investigated in accordance with existing policy.
• The RF maintained full compliance with RF policy and federal regulations requiring annual affirmative action plans for campuses having 50 or more employees and contracts of $50,000 or more.
• The RF developed materials to help campuses comply with NYS requirements that contractors provide planned employment information.

Collaboration

As a private corporation, the RF is able to build business-government-university partnerships that address a variety of needs across New York State.

• The RF acknowledged the achievements of 30 SUNY professors during the Recognition Dinner Honoring Research & Scholarship held on May 2, 2007.
• The RF showcased 40-plus faculty innovations at the BIO 2007 Annual International Convention as part of a unified effort to develop commercialization opportunities.
• The RF established two affiliated corporations to promote collaboration with business, government and university partners.
• State University of New York China Representative Office was formed to foster and develop new academic
  and research collaborations between SUNY and Chinese universities.
• The University at Albany Bioscience Development Center (UABDC) was formed to provide facilities to advance the educational and research mission of SUNY and the University at Albany and enhance their ability to attract public and private funds.