About Us

The National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP) is organized and operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes in accordance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.  NORDP is organized to develop and operate programs to facilitate research excellence and enable interdisciplinary research and collaborative partnerships designed to reduce the administrative and institutional barriers affecting scientific and scholarly research projects at non-profit research institutions nationwide.

NORDP was established in 2010 as part of a grassroots movement to build a community of Research Development professionals driven to enhance the research enterprise at their institutions. The organization grew from an informal network of individuals engaged in research development activities at universities and research institutions across the country and is over 300 members strong, and includes members from 7 other countries.  The central goals of NORDP are to serve research development professionals and their institutions by providing a formal organization to: support professional development, enhance institutional research competitiveness, and catalyze new research and institutional collaborations.

Extramural research funding has become increasingly competitive and difficult to obtain over the last decade.  Institutional research development resources leveraged to gain access to the formative stages of new funding program development, connect investigators and develop strategic alliances, and provide targeted notification of funding opportunities, are critical to institutions’ success in this highly competitive environment.  NORDP members pursue effective practices and best approaches to support the efforts of researchers to develop strategic research activities in response to the extramural funding landscape, catalyze new collaborations and partnerships, and inform funding agencies about exciting ongoing and emerging research efforts at their institutions.

• Research Development Defined
• Research Development on Wikipedia
• NORDP Brochure
• NORDP Officers & Board of Directors
• NORDP Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and Policies

“I have been a member of SRA International and the Canadian Association of University Research Administrators (CAURA) since 2004, and, although these organizations usually provide “enough” research development content in their conferences and exchanges, I always wished I could find a better fit. So I was pleasantly surprised to discover NORDP last year in Montreal, an organization that actually focuses on research development.

Over the past few years, I have developed professional links with other RD professionals in my own institution and across universities in Canada, and these groups have proven to be most helpful at a professional and human level because of the deep understanding of our common challenges and dynamics. The exchanges I have seen so far in the NORDP listserv confirm my first impressions through the willingness to share information and the collegial spirit of your notes.”

Viviana A. Fernandez
Research Facilitator
University of Ottawa

“I recently was engaged in a discussion with our management team and I was able to get a change in the name of my department from 'Grants Development' to 'Research Development'. . . together with a clarification of all that entails. The NORDP Wikipedia entry played a key role in this, as it describes exactly what I do here for a living. NORDP is clearly playing a fundamental role in establishing this profession. Thanks!!”

Michael Nunn, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Research Development
Salk Institute for Biological Studies