NU Core

A New Path for Research

At Northwestern University, the directors and staffs of the school’s research Cores found themselves spending inordinate amounts of time on administrative tasks, rather than assisting their constituencies of researchers. The school was looking for a way to streamline, standardize, and automate the cumbersome business and regulatory processes across these facilities, so employees could focus their time and energy on client projects. Img-end

What We Did

  • Built a web-based software tool that helps users navigate administrative and regulatory processes and is scalable, customizable, and easy to use
  • Modeled interfaces after standard e-commerce sites for a familiar and intuitive user experience
  • Linked the system to Northwestern’s finance and business reporting systems, streamlining the invoice and payment process

Results

  • 34 of Northwestern’s research Cores currently use NU Core, and 10-15 more facilities across the university’s two campuses are preparing to implement it
  • Core directors have more time for client projects since NU Core simplifies tasks like ordering, reservations, and billing, and supplies data for annual reports and funding requests
  • Administrators can better manage compliance standards
  • Researchers can easily reserve instruments and purchase products and services online, and be automatically charged for their orders
  • Other institutions will be able to use this tool, thanks to Northwestern’s desire to open-source the project and share their techniques in the business side of research