3Cavaliers 3.1: Collaboration in Action - OVPR & UVAFinance

Collaboration makes the difference!

We all know some of the most successful projects are born through collaboration. Think of the Wright brothers and the birth of modern aviation, Queen and David Bowie coming together to produce the masterpiece that is Under Pressure, and of course, ice cream legends Ben & Jerry.  

At UVA, the collaboration between the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) and UVAFinance on the 3Cavaliers 3.1 funding  model, alongside support from other University departments, is yet another example of what can be accomplished when partners come together to work toward a shared goal.

When OVPR set out to simplify administration of its 3Cavaliers (3C) seed-funding program, they partnered with UVAFinance to develop a solution that would make it easier to track grant funding, awards, and management, without overcomplicating things for administration involved in the process. The aim was to streamline funding processes so more time could be spent supporting the program's mission of advancing interdisciplinary research. 

As conversations evolved from initial planning to technical design, representatives from OVPR and its internal unit OSP (Christa Albanez, Urmila Bajaj, Samantha Bryant, Anjula Joseph), UVAFinance (Michael Phillips, Mike Priddy), and the Workday support team, collaboratively worked through a variety of options to determine how Workday Grants could best support an internal funding program. The team's shared goal wasn't just to create a new process, but to develop one that worked into the University's existing systems while giving OVPR a clearer, more consistent way to manage and report on the growing portfolio of research awards. The team explored how Workday's grant functionality, traditionally used for externally sponsored research, could be adapted to support internal research funding. 

The outcome—the updated 3Cs funding model—now organizes each project under a single Workday Award with one Central Funding Grant and three Cost Share Grants representing participating schools or units. For OVPR, this simplifies the process of identifying funded Principal Investigators, monitoring research projects, and reporting on program investments. For project teams, it simplifies financial administration while maintaining transparency around central funding and school contributions.

3Cavaliers 3.1's success reflects the close collaboration between OVPR and OSP, UVAFinance, and Workday support teams. By combining each department's respective strengths in research management, finance, and system design, the group developed a practical solution that supports both UVA's research mission and its long-term financial stewardship.

For more information on the 3Cavaliers 3.1 funding model, check out our previous 3Cs blog post.