The R01 Launchpad helps you build robust, scalable research systems to launch your R01 and catapult you into a future of collaborative, high-impact science!

Over 6 months, you’ll work one-on-one with Dr. Betsy Rolland, an NIH R01-funded investigator, certified professional coach, and expert in Team Science, to develop the personal, administrative, and logistical support systems you need to run a successful research project.

We will focus on the organizational side of leading research projects that you never learned in grad school:

• How to be an inspiring, compassionate, inclusive leader

• How to prioritize your work, center your agenda, and reclaim your time and energy

• How to lead and manage people

• How to build research support systems that make your work easier and leave you more time to do the science you love

We will design and build systems that help you spend your time doing the science you proposed instead of being a project coordinator.

We will integrate expert advice in how to build an efficient, effective research team with coaching to identify and resolve any roadblocks holding you back from leading a successful project.

You will have an expert in your corner, focused exclusively on your success.

Robust, scalable research systems that can carry you forward into increasingly complex, multi-investigator grants, preparing you and your team for new opportunities.

A personal vision of success that sets you up to create a more sustainable research career, where you are focused on the things that matter most to you and eliminating the administrative churn that can weigh you down.

You’ll also develop a blueprint for creating an inclusive team culture that unleashes the creativity and innovation of you and your team.

Your mentors are probably really successful scientists… but they aren’t necessarily experts in the most efficient and effective ways to run a research project. The systems they use may not work for you and the way you want to lead and manage your team.

Mentors can also sometimes experience a conflict between what’s best for you and what’s best for the institution. I am 100% on your side and will help you figure out your priorities and your agenda.

The ideal time to start is when you have a near-final indication from the funding agency that your project is about to be funded!

And... anytime between then and now is the ideal time. Even if you’re a year into the project, but you don’t feel like you’re operating as effectively as you’d like, you will still benefit from working together.

Research projects share common challenges, but you may also be experiencing unique challenges stemming from:

• Your institutional context

• Your specific research area

• Your experiences with leadership and management

We will work together to identify your goals, then map out a 6-month plan that works for you and your project, focusing on the key areas of leading and managing an R01-level project that are most critical for YOUR success.

• Transforming a grant proposal into a practical, realistic project plan

• Leadership skills

• Strategies and practices for effective team building

• Hiring, managing, and mentoring people

• Budget management and working with your finance team

• Information, data, project management, and communication system development

• Authorship and publication planning

• Decision-making and conflict management strategies

• Your mission and vision for a successful research program

• Managing your time and energy

• Planning for a sustainable research program

We will meet one-on-one every 2 weeks to work through all these questions and more, blending expert advice and coaching to help you build the systems that work for you and your research.

While this sounds like a lot - and it is - everything we will be doing is work you need to do in support of your project anyway… but you’ll be doing it with an experienced guide and in a focused, proactive way.

Absolutely!

Launching a successful research project is a big undertaking, and there will be assignments you’ll do between meetings.

But this isn’t busy work - it’s the actual system building and personal development work you’ll need to do anyway, just with expert guidance and support.

I also hold monthly office hours, open to all R01 Launchpad clients, where we can discuss anything that comes up and learn from one another. Building a research program can be hard, lonely work, made easier when you have a community of like-minded scientists, experiencing the same challenges and celebrating one another’s successes!

I will also conduct a Collaboration Planning session with your team when the group is ready.

A program like this isn’t cheap, and it isn’t meant to be. If you are ready to invest in your future as a successful collaborative scientist, operating with more ease and less stress, this is the program for you!

For the Jan/Feb 2025 launch, the 6-month program costs $4,000, with a 10% discount for paying in full upfront.

You may be able to use your grant, start-up, or professional development funds to pay for the R01 Launchpad -- check with your finance team!

I am opening just 5 spots starting in Jan/Feb 2025. If you’re interested in joining the R01 Launchpad, please complete the interest form! After reviewing the form, I’ll set up a time for us to discuss your goals for the program.

You can also message me or email me at ottercoaching@gmail.com for more info!