Ideate

Ideate Combines a Dynamic Web 2.0 User Interface and an Open Standards-Based Architecture to Deliver the Next Generation of Research Systems

Glens Falls, NY – September 28, 2009 – Consilience International LLC announced today that they will debut their new patent-pending research management software, the Ideate Framework™, at the upcoming annual meetings of the Society of Research Administrators (SRA) International and the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA).

As the first new vendor solution in nearly a decade, Ideate represents a meaningful new choice for research management. The Company’s mission is to make the day-to-day management of research as compelling as the pursuit of discovery.

The Ideate Framework includes a suite of applications for managing the lifecycle of proposals, protocols, publications and conflicts-of-interest so organizations can unify and rationalize the end-to-end research lifecycle for all their stakeholders. Ideate applications help busy researchers and administrators navigate the dizzying array of rules that govern their projects. The software dynamically delivers the right mix of rules at the right time to proactively guide administrative compliance.

Ideate is modern software that taps contemporary technology movements, such as Rich Internet Application (RIA) development, Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and Open Source technology, and brings them together as the foundation of its next generation research management system.

Consilience International is led by three business partners. Dave Duggal, the company’s Managing Director, has twenty years of business experience building up small businesses. Prior to founding Consilience, Dave was a Vice President of another research systems vendor, InfoEd, which he grew fivefold during his tenure. William Malyk is the company’s Chief System Architect. Bill is a PhD candidate at the University of Waterloo in Canada. He is responsible for the design and development of the Ideate Framework. Archita Bhatt is the Vice President of Professional Services. Another InfoEd veteran, Archita is an accomplished project manager and software engineer with over ten years experience leading data conversions and system integrations for research organizations around the globe.

Background – The Research Environment

Wide-scale publicly organized research has its roots in the crucible of World War II. The administration of research began with a simple premise: “There is only one proved method of assisting the advancement of pure science – that of picking men [sic] of genius, backing them heavily, and leaving them to direct themselves.” James Bryan Conant, President, Harvard University, Letter to the New York Times, August 13, 1945.

However, over the last six decades, the administrative burden has grown tremendously. Beyond expected academic pressures and project management challenges, researchers are confronted by a vast and ambiguous amalgam of rules – government regulations, sponsor terms, and institutional policies.

While mandated requirements are intended to protect the public trust and safety, they inadvertently hinder research itself. This fact is documented in The Faculty Burden Survey, Final Report, 2005, produced by the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP), which concluded that 15% of a researcher’s total time, and 40% of their precious ‘free research time’ (i.e. time not reserved for instruction or other service) is consumed by the administration requirements of research.

The inherent complexity of research management has posed a barrier to healthy competition for solutions. In the meantime, growing market complexity and heightened stakeholder expectations for modern web-based solutions are creating pressure to replace legacy administrative systems. Consilience was founded to address this business challenge at the root, as one of information architecture, to help research organizations make material advances in their operations.