Protocol-grant congruency automated at an R1 university.
A research compliance office managing 247 active protocols across IRB, IACUC, and IBC was reconciling grant-protocol alignment manually every week, in spreadsheets. We replaced that process entirely.
247 protocols. 14 manual reconciliation steps. One coordinator.
The research compliance office at this R1 university was managing protocol submissions across three regulatory frameworks using Kuali Research as the primary system.
The problem: Kuali did not talk to CITI Program, Workday, or the grants management system. Every week, the compliance coordinator manually cross-referenced all three to catch congruency failures before they became audit findings.
One audit finding away from a funding freeze.
During discovery, we identified a grant-protocol scope mismatch that had gone undetected for 11 months. Had this surfaced during a federal audit, it would have triggered a corrective action plan and potentially frozen the associated funding.
We also found 47 researchers with CITI certifications that had lapsed or were within 30 days of expiration with no automated alerts in place.
Six platforms. One integration layer. No replacements.
Kuali Research
Protocol management & grant tracking
CITI Program
Training verification API
Workday
Personnel & HR data source
Power BI
Compliance reporting dashboard
Python / n8n
Automation & integration layer
Claude AI
Document analysis & anomaly detection
Automated compliance workflow built in 90 days.
We built the integration layer between all six systems using Python and n8n, with Claude AI handling document analysis for protocol-grant scope comparison.
Week by week.
Discovery & System Mapping
Documented every data flow between Kuali, CITI, Workday, and the legacy IRB system. Identified 14 manual reconciliation steps performed weekly by the compliance coordinator.
Gap Analysis Report
Delivered a written findings report identifying 3 critical congruency failure points, 2 CITI expiration blind spots affecting 47 researchers, and 1 grant-protocol scope mismatch flagged as audit risk.
Integration Build
Built the Python + n8n automation layer connecting Kuali Research to CITI Program's API and Workday personnel data. Automated congruency checks run nightly. Expiration alerts trigger 60, 30, and 7 days before lapse.
Validation & Handoff
Ran parallel validation against 6 months of historical data. Zero false positives. Full documentation delivered. Compliance coordinator trained on the dashboard and alert system.
Measurable outcomes, not vague improvements.
Compliance rate
Up from 67% at engagement start
Manual reconciliation steps
Down from 14 weekly manual processes
Researchers re-certified
Identified via automated CITI expiration audit
Audit risk resolved
Grant-protocol scope mismatch corrected pre-audit
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