RACC-CRA Exam Information and Guideline
RACC Certified Research Administrator - 2025
Below are complete topics detail with latest syllabus and course outline, that will help you good knowledge about exam objectives and topics that you have to prepare. These contents are covered in questions and answers pool of exam.
The Certified Research Administrator® Examination is a computer-based examination composed of a maximum of 250 multiple-choice, objective questions with a total testing time of four (4) hours. The content for the examination is described in the Body of Knowledge on the next page.
The questions for the examination are obtained from individuals with expertise in research administration and are reviewed for construction, accuracy, and appropriateness by the RACC.
RACC, with the advice and assistance of the Professional Testing Corporation, prepares the examination.
The Certified Research Administrator® Examination will be weighted in approximately the following manner:
I. Project Development and Administration 30%
II. Legal Requirements and Sponsor Interface 30%
III. Financial Management 25%
IV. General Management 15%
The Research Administrators Certification Council (RACC) promotes the concept of voluntary certification
by examination for all research and sponsored programs administrators. After passing this examination,
an individual earns the Certified Administrator® (CRA®) designation. Certification is just one part of a
process called “credentialing”. It focuses specifically on the individual and is one indication of current
competence in this specialized field. Certification in research and sponsored programs administration is
highly valued and provides formal recognition of basic knowledge in this field.
The Certified Research Administrator (CRA) credential means that you demonstrate a level of knowledge of all aspects of research administration. It is obtained by qualifying for and taking the CRA exam, which is administered by an independent certifying body, the Research Administrators Certification Council (RACC) http://www.cra-cert.org/(link is external). The CRA exam is rigorous, and it must be taken at a designated site and it is administered through Professional Testing Corporation. In a four-hour period, test-takers must answer 250 questions that cover the full spectrum of research administration.
- COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION
- Research Development
- Communication
- Manage internal funding programs
- Manage limited submissions process
- Facilitate faculty contact with program officers
- Read professional newsletters/updates
- Read professional listserv postings
- Read internal organization documents
- Serve as liaison among various constituencies
- Serve on an external or internal proposal review panel
- Write/distribute a newsletter
- Find Funding
- Work with development officers
- Identify and distribute funding opportunities
- Manage electronic funding opportunity systems
- Create an electronic funding alert profile
- Obtain sample successful proposals
- Identify potential collaborator opportunities
- Proposal Development
- Obtain collaborator/sub-recipient proposal documentation
- Read/review sponsor/application guidelines
- Meet with project director/investigator for proposal development
- Determine project director/investigator eligibility
- Provide guidance and explanations of proposal requirements to project director/investigator/staff
- Prepare a proposal budget
- Write proposals
- Assist project director/investigator with writing proposals
- Generate administrative components of a proposal
- Assist project director/investigator/staff with preparation of proposals
- Respond to questions from proposal applicants
- Complete agency forms and packages for electronic submissions
- Complete agency forms and packages for paper copy submissions
- Proposal Review
- Justify sub-awardee cost
- Review a proposal budget
- Edit proposals
- Request missing application materials
- Ensure proposals meet grant application requirements
- Conduct review of a proposal
- Prepare internal proposal routing forms
- Provide institutional assurances, representations, and certifications for proposals
- Adjust application budget based on current salary cap
- Verify facilities and administrative rate and associated base/exclusions for grantee
- Follow up on missing information needed by sponsors
- Proposal Submission
- Approve a proposal for submission
- Obtain necessary institutional approvals for submissions
- Act as authorized institutional signatory for proposal submissions
- Submit proposals electronically
- Submit paper copies of proposals
- Prepare overnight and other packages for delivery
- Compile institutional proposal data and enter into database
- Enter proposal data into financial
- Provide overall management of application process, including timelines and internal/external deadlines necessary for successful submission
- Manage internal proposal record throughout the submission process
- Compliance
- Provide guidance on definition of human subjects research and possible exemptions
- Facilitate pre- and/or post-award site visits
- Alert investigators to potential regulatory non-compliance
- Monitor award reports and other deliverables
- Collect time/effort reports and review for accuracy prior to certification
- Monitor award progress
- Administer clinical trial agreements
- File invention statements
- Verify that awardee is not debarred/suspended
- Monitor research-related travel
- Subrecipient Monitoring
- Create sub-award agreement
- Negotiate sub-awards
- Monitor sub-recipients
- Respond to sub-recipient questions
- Account Management
- Request/establish an advance account
- Enter award data into financial system
- Establish an award account
- Manage award close out process
- Research Ethics and Compliance
- IRB
- Verify Institutional Review Board training
- Attend Institutional Review Board meetings
- Prepare Institutional Review Board reports
- Maintain Institutional Review Board records
- IACUC
- Attend Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee meetings
- Prepare and maintain Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee reports
- Verify Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee training
- Radiation Safety and Bio Safety
- Prepare and maintain biohazard report
- Attend meetings on biohazards
- Verify biohazard training
- Attend meetings on radiation
- Prepare and maintain radiation reports
- Verify radiation training
- Export Control
- Determine export control applicability
- Coordinate compliance with export control regulations
- Financial Conflict of Interest
- Collect conflict of interest disclosures
- Responsible Conduct of Research
- Conduct responsible conduct of research training/certification and maintain those records
- Sexual Harassment
- Conduct sexual harassment training and maintain those records
- Investigate financial or regulatory non-compliance allegations
- Development corrective action plans for regulatory non-compliance
- Assist in preparing protocols for regulatory committee
- Develop research compliance plan
- Sponsor & Award Terms and Conditions
- Award Negotiation and Acceptance
- Read sponsor policy statements
- Review award terms and documents
- Negotiate award terms
- Review terms and conditions of an award with project director/principal investigator/staff
- Accept and sign awards from sponsor
- Apply or remove restrictions to notice of award
- Coordinate legal review of awards
- Award Management
- Review sub-awards
- Request approval for foreign awards
- Suspend or terminate an award
- Process no cost extension requests
- Submit revised budgets
- Obtain sponsor prior approval for re-budgeting, effort reduction, and/or requisitions (when necessary)
- Prepare request for Application/Agency Program Announcements
- Read sponsoring agency newsletters/updates
- Read federal regulations
- Inform senior administration of new policies/regulations
- Explain internal/external policy changes to project director/investigator/staff
- Intellectual Property & Technology Transfer
- Write a non-disclosure agreement
- Write a material transfer agreement
- Identify and negotiate intellectual property issues in awards
- Collect intellectual property disclosures
- Notify sponsor/funding agency of intellectual property disclosed
- File a patent application
- Negotiate intellectual property licenses
- FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
- Audit & Compliance
- Explain internal controls used to maintain compliance with internal and external rules and regulations
- Alert investigators to potential financial non-compliance
- Prepare for single audit
- Work with auditors
- Develop corrective action plans for financial non-compliance
- Provide copies of audit upon request
- Award Administration & Monitoring
- Cost Sharing
- Verify cost sharing
- Monitor cost share funds
- Request cost share account numbers
- Review cost share plan to meet requirement
- Subrecipient Monitoring
- Conduct a risk analysis of sub-awardees
- Collect sub-recipient financial reports
- Compensation Reporting
- Verify time and effort reports
- Request/enter payroll allocation and corrections
- Manage principal investigator and other key personnel effort on sponsored projects to ensure minimum effort requirements are met
- Financial Reporting
- Review award budgets and enter into system of record
- Request account numbers for new awards
- Monitor financial performance of sponsored projects
- Approve revised budgets
- Respond to investigators’ questions about allowability of costs
- Respond to investigators’ questions about availability of funds
- Re-budget awards
- Reconcile monthly financial statements
- Manage internal discretionary and research spending accounts
- Manage components of a project director/investigator award transfer or relinquishment
- Respond to questions from award recipients
- Billing and reporting
- Draw down sponsor funds
- Prepare financial status reports
- Prepare and submit sponsor financial report
- Prepare invoices
- Approve invoices
- Monitor accounts receivable
- Facilities & Administration
- Prepare facilities and administrative cost rate proposal
- Prepare materials for external preparation of a facilities and administrative rate proposal
- Distribute facilities and administrative cost recovery
- Procurement
- Approve requisitions and journal vouchers
- Coordinate purchase of major equipment
- Monitor requisitions for accuracy and compliance
- Human Resources
- Write job descriptions
- Serve on a search committee
- Interview project staff
- Hire project staff
- In collaboration with Human Resources, process personnel action forms
- Manage research administration staff
- Conduct performance evaluations
- Training & Professional Development
- Develop training materials
- Develop a research administration education curriculum
- Develop a research administration education certificate program
- Plan research related outreach functions
- Participate in professional development activities
- Lead training sessions
- Present at professional development conferences
- Network with colleagues on sponsored program issues
- Serve in a leadership role in a professional organization
- Institutional Service
- Form a committee
- Serve on organizational committees
- Provide award data for institutional needs
- In collaboration with appropriate departments, prepare a space allocation report
- Educate students about the research enterprise
- Serve as an institutional representative to an external organization
- Participate in misconduct investigation
- General Office Management & Procedures
- Answer general procedural questions
- Learn new computer systems and programs
- Manage equipment service contracts
- Attend staff meetings
- Prepare minutes from meetings
- Maintain web pages and social media
- Perform general office duties
- Develop internal routing forms
- Develop internal reports
- Participate in the development of policies and procedure
- Contracted Services
- Contract with outside grant writers
- Hire consultants to assist with proposals