Glens Falls, NY – February 26, 2010 – Consilience International LLC, developers of the Ideate Software Framework, developers of the Ideate Software Framework, announced today that research systems experts Donald H. Anderson (LinkedIn) and Vamshi Vaddiraja (LinkedIn), have both become full working partners of the company, adding decades of domain experience behind the company’s compelling technology. Both Don and Vamshi left a competitor, InfoEd International Inc, to join Consilience, and reunite with two other former InfoEd senior managers.

Don Anderson is a domain expert with nearly twenty years of experience working in the life sciences industry; with the last fourteen years exclusively focused on specifying and deploying research systems. In his previous position at InfoEd, Don was the Director of Product Development. In that role, Don oversaw company initiatives to better align their software with domain requirements, and personally managed implementations at customer sites. Prior, Don held posts as the Application Development Manager at University of Illinois at Chicago, and as the IRB Manager at University of Wisconsin-Madison. With business and technology-side experience, Don has gained a unique understanding of the research environment, making him an invaluable resource for R&D intensive organizations around the globe.

“I am thrilled to join a team of peers that truly wants to make a difference,” noted Don Anderson, now a partner at Consilience International. “The Ideate Framework allows me to design the type of responsive, flexible, and customizable software applications that everyone in the industry has always been looking for – its technology that enables research operations without constraining them.”

Vamshi Vaddiraja is also a domain expert with fourteen years of experience in research systems. Vamshi spent ten years at InfoEd, achieving positions of increasing responsibility over his tenure, from Developer to Senior Director of Operations, based on his skill and dedication. At InfoEd Vamshi filled a wide variety of roles, from lead developer to development team manager, and from directly supporting customer implementations, to supporting customer relations. Prior to InfoEd, Vamshi was a Senior Programmer with the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Research Services (USDA ARS). Over his career, Vamshi has worked with nearly one hundred research organizations worldwide, and has earned a well deserved reputation for professionalism and integrity.

“This is a unique opportunity to work together with some of the most talented people I know, to build something from the ground up without compromise, even when that means considerably more upfront effort on our part,” stated Vamshi Vaddiraja, now a partner at Consilience International. “I’m pleased to be part of an energized team that is capable of delivering positive change in helping organizations achieve their mission and vision.”

“It is hard to overstate the significance of this moment for our company and its now expanded team of partners,” asserted Dave Duggal, the founder and Managing Director of Consilience International. “Don Anderson and Vamshi Vaddiraja are both exceptional people who are taking positions that were reserved for them. I’m proud to call them partners. The collaboration that is Consilience, is the best experience of my professional career.”

Glens Falls, NY – September 28, 2009 – Consilience International LLC, developers of the Ideate Software Framework, announced today that research systems expert Archita Bhatt (LinkedIn), has become a full Member of the Limited Liability Company and has taken the position of Vice President of Professional Services.

Archita is an accomplished Project Manager and Software Engineer with over ten years experience working in the research management arena for a diverse range of organizations around the globe. Archita started her career at a research university as a technical lead performing data conversions and system integrations. Her last position was with research systems vendor InfoEd, where she swiftly climbed the ranks from Senior Programmer to Director of Implementations. While Archita ascended to increasing levels of responsibility, she remained close to the code and was effective as both a project manager and a technical lead. As a result, Archita’s involvement was required and/or requested for virtually all large-scale implementations, particularly those involving complex post award integrations.

In her new role as Vice President of Professional Services, Archita will lead all projects for Consilience. In addition, Archita will be channeling her expertise into the Ideate Framework itself, using the systems broad capabilities to build tools and wizards that streamline the implementation process for customers – accelerating the time to productive value, minimizing project risk, and reducing the need for intensive consulting services.

“No matter how good your project team is, the rate limiter is ultimately the product itself. Software vendors generally suffer from a lack of empathy. Enterprise software implementations are difficult enough at the cultural level, the software shouldn’t introduce more challenges.,” explained Archita. ” What’s refreshing about Consilience is that they believe the path to better implementations is through better engineering. I’m thrilled to be leading this exciting initiative, it is really the ultimate use of my experience.”

“Having worked with Archita for over five years, I know first-hand what a uniquely capable person she is,” commented Dave Duggal, Consilience International’s founder and Managing Director. “She combines top-notch technical and communication skills with an exceptional work ethic. In addition, her background makes her a perfect fit for this pivotal role. I’m pleased to have her as a business partner.”

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.

Glens Falls, NY – September 28, 2009 – Consilience International LLC, developers of the Ideate Software Framework, announced today that research administration veteran Joe Michael McCallister, PhD has joined the company as a Research Business Advisor lending his deep domain expertise to the company’s development efforts.

Mike has been involved in research and research administration for over 30 years as principal investigator, professional development trainer and research administrator. He is nationally known as a speaker and trainer and has consulted as a research office evaluator. Mike is active in the major research administration professional societies, serving multiple leadership roles, most recently completing a term as President of the Society of Research Administrators (SRA) International. Mike is also well renowned as the keyboardist of the hardest working band in research administration – Soul Source and the No-Cost Extensions.

In his new role as a Research Business Advisor for Consilience , Mike not only provides regulatory and process guidance, but also provides important feedback on usability.

“Like many of us in the industry, I have been through virtually every system out there, including some that are no longer around. Most don’t really like what they have, they are just resigned to it,” noted Dr. McCallister. “What sets Consilience apart is their intense focus on user-experience. They get it. They know that busy researchers and administrators don’t want a data entry system, they want a hand with their work, they want to succeed in a stressful environment.”

“Mike is ideally suited for this role – on a practical level he adds valuable insights based on a thirty plus year career, but more importantly he is a thoughtful and open-minded person with a passion for research,” commented Dave Duggal, Consilience International’s founder and Managing Director. “Mike is the embodiment of our people-centric philosophy. He cares that each field label is clear and that every page is intuitive, and he helps us to be our best.”

I’m pleased to announce the winner of the iPhone Raffle – Dr. Anthony J. Hodgson. The drawing was witnessed by the Grand Harbour hotel manager and one of your esteemed colleagues.

Congratulations Anthony!