Research Support
To facilitate excellence in science, engineering and economic research, NRRI continues to invest in support infrastructure to provide the facilities and support required for our staff to do what they do best – deliver world-leading integrated research solutions that benefit our economy, our communities and the natural world. From organizational development efforts that nurture staff to bring their best selves to work, grant administration support to drive high value funding to external affairs effectively telling NRRI’s stories and operations providing safe, state-of-the-art facilities – all are focused on building tomorrow’s NRRI.
Admin Operations Office
Finance, Human Resources, Administration
What We Do
Employing an integrated, cross-trained team, the NRRI office administration team manages the complex financial portfolio of the Institute to maintain compliance with University standards while keeping researchers and leadership aware of funding status. Aligned with the financial focus is grant support which assists researchers in the grant proposal process and manages post-award activities. The team manages the NRRI employee lifecycle, ranging from talent acquisition and employee management, to policy development and implementation. Other services include event planning and execution, administrative assistance and effort reporting, purchasing and contracting, and visitor/client engagement.
Technical Operations Office
What We Do
NRRI’s Technical Operations delivers facilities management, equipment and project support for NRRI staff and our partners in three distinct ways:
- Strategic planning and execution of improvements to facilities, labs, equipment, and work systems;
- Excellence in project and portfolio management; and
- Operational support for client and partner engagements.
Impact
In collaboration with NRRI researchers and support staff, the Technical Operations team managed investment in NRRI's research facilities and equipment in FY25 as follows:
- $3.5M in total spending
- $2M in new research equipment and installations (including engineering and construction)
- $1.5M in facilities renovations and infrastructure upgrades
QEHST Office
QEHST Office
Quality, Environmental, Health, Safety, & Training (QEHST)
What We Do
The QEHST office supports all parts of the institute—research, operations, and administration—by guiding how we work safely, responsibly, and effectively. We are stewards of two of NRRI’s core values: safety and quality. These values are not checkboxes—they are embedded in how we plan, make decisions, and conduct our daily work.
QEHST is organized into two primary areas:
Environmental Health & Safety (EHS): We work to prevent injuries, manage hazardous materials, ensure regulatory compliance, and maintain a safe and healthy workplace. Our team leads safety training and emergency preparedness efforts, and we develop EHS training programs to ensure employees are equipped to perform their work safely, effectively, and in accordance with NRRI procedures.
Quality & Training: We support organizational excellence through well-defined procedures, verification systems, documentation practices, and quality control tools. We also manage the training recordkeeping and documentation systems that track compliance and support continuous learning.
Impact
At the core of our work is the belief that systems should be designed to support people, not set them up for failure. That means building safeguards, improving workflows, and ensuring employees are trained, informed, and equipped to do their jobs safely and effectively. We help ensure compliance with internal policies and regulatory requirements, not just to check a box, but to uphold high standards across the institute.
The impact of this work extends far beyond procedures and compliance: it helps keep employees safe, ensures our products and data are of the highest quality, and enables successful, efficient research outcomes. When systems work and people feel supported, the result is not only compliance, but also confidence, pride, and a culture where our people and science thrive.
Organizational Development Office
What We Do
Organizational Development at NRRI focuses on improving the organization’s capacity and performance by aligning our people, structure, metrics, and development opportunities with our strategic plan and management processes. We are focused on growing our culture across the institute to respond to, and adapt to, our shifting and expanding research and to societal needs. We are also committed to making sure employee engagement is at the forefront of our focus to grow the institute culture for the future.
Impact
NRRI has five organizational goals: People, Purpose, Portfolio, Partnership and Place (the 5 Ps). We align all organizational activities, including employee and team goals, within the 5 Ps. The core components of Organizational Development (OD) aligns with the 5Ps to bolster the Institute’s effectiveness and excellence by:
In response to the 2023 University of Minnesota Employee Engagement Survey, the OD, Senior Leadership and Employee Engagement teams spent the bulk of FY25 developing and delivering an Employee Engagement Action Plan for the Institute. The theme of the action plan is “Building a Culture of Shared Trust and Impact.”
The two focus areas for the action plan are:
(1) Improving how we review, develop and implement policies and procedures at NRRI, with a focus on better two-way communication, garnering staff input, and building the necessary skills for leadership and staff to effectively give and receive feedback; and,
(2) Championing employee professional development across the Institute, with a focus on building the skills and tools for supervisors and employees to strengthen and grow their career, role and impact at NRRI and beyond.
The Employee Engagement Action Plan demonstrates the Institute’s investment in individual and team development and supports employees in achieving their full potential to drive impactful research across NRRI. With another Employee Engagement survey in fall 2025, we will be able to track our progress.