Research Operational Excellence

The Operational Excellence (OPEX) Team strengthens both people and processes within Notre Dame Research Administration & Compliance (NDRAC). Our purpose is to build clarity and capability across the organization so staff can serve stakeholders with consistency, quality, and confidence.

Our Guiding Principles

We support a long-term view of organizational health. Our work is guided by four enduring goals:

1. Process Consistency and Reliability – Establishing clear, documented, and dependable ways of working that reduce risk and create predictable outcomes.

2. Cross-Functional Alignment – Ensuring teams operate in sync through shared goals, defined roles, and smooth handoffs that reduce friction and errors.

3. Versatile, Engaged Staff – Building skills, leadership capacity, and psychological safety so staff are confident, adaptable, and empowered to improve their work.

4. Organizational Learning and Improvement – Embedding feedback loops, metrics, and reflective practices that allow the organization to continually learn and mature.

To move these goals forward, we focus on five core objectives:

• Documentation & Playbooks – Creating clear standards, templates, and governance practices that make institutional knowledge accessible, repeatable, and sustainable.

• Business Process Mapping – Making work visible through process design and cross-functional mapping to identify improvement opportunities and strengthen collaboration.

• People & Capability Development – Providing training, facilitation, and structured learning experiences that build shared language, change capability, and professional growth.

• ServiceNow & Research Administration Systems – Leveraging technology platforms as reliable, well-governed sources of truth that streamline workflows and improve access to information.

• Assessment & Metrics – Defining what matters, measuring progress, and using insights to guide decisions and reinforce accountability.

The eRA Project

Over the next several years, a primary focus of the OPEX Team is supporting the selection and implementation of a modern, integrated electronic research administration (eRA) system (You can learn more at: research.nd.edu/era). This transition represents a significant shift in how work is structured, accessed, and supported across all research administration and compliance workstreams. The OPEX Team is leading process mapping, documentation, change management, and readiness efforts to ensure the new system is implemented thoughtfully and adopted successfully. Our role is to align people, processes, and technology so that the transition strengthens how NDRAC serves the research community.

Operational Excellence is not simply about efficiency. It is about building a culture where work is transparent, collaboration is intentional, systems are reliable, and improvement is continuous. By strengthening both our infrastructure and our people, we help NDRAC adapt with purpose in an increasingly complex research environment.

Meet the Team

1. 

   Carolina Avendano

   Director of Research Effectiveness & Analytics

2. 

   Colleen Butcher

   Associate Director of Strategic Initiatives

3. 

   Liz Rulli

   Associate Vice President for Research

4. 

   Joey Summers

   Research Operations Solutions Manager

Talk to Us

We want to hear from you! These are the services we provide:

• Assistance reviewing your current process documentation for clarity and efficiency

• Assistance creating process briefs, process maps, guidelines, checklists, and job aids

• Support on how to create knowledge articles for your team that can be published in ServiceNow

• Assistance in organizing, maintaining, and structuring your internal documentation for easy access in ServiceNow

Contact us at ndr-opex@nd.edu and we’ll follow up to learn more and help you move forward.