BRAINS: Practical AI tools that cut research admin overhead
Research offices run on speed and accuracy. Boise State University's Division of Research and Economic Development built BRAINS (Bolstering Research Administration with Intelligent Systems) to help teams save time, reduce errors, and simplify contract reviews, proposal prep, and post-award setup.
These AI tools are built for quick adoption by research administrators - no technical background required. As Matt Smith, associate vice president of research enterprise services, put it, "These tools are designed to be implemented easily by research administrators without a technical background."
What managers get
- Faster contract cycles with structured redlines and clear rationales.
- Cleaner award setup with organized requirements in one place.
- Streamlined proposal preparation - less time parsing dense solicitations, more time on strategy and team-building.
Key tools in the BRAINS suite
Agreement Review Companion
- Build AI assistants to compare terms against institutional policies.
- Generate suggested redlines with reasoning and margin comments for counterparties.
- Shortens back-and-forth and improves consistency in reviews.
Demo available: Agreement Review Companion
Award Review Checklist (Non-FAR and FAR)
- Extracts sponsor details, project periods, indirect cost rates, reporting requirements, and applicable FAR clauses.
- Outputs post-award guides your team can follow without chasing details across documents.
- Improves compliance and handoffs between pre- and post-award staff.
Demos available: Award Review Checklist and Award Review Checklist (FAR)
Solicitation Checklist
- Parses funding solicitations (including NASA ROSES) to surface submission requirements, eligibility, budgets, collaboration elements, and evaluation criteria.
- Reduces administrative drag so PIs and managers can focus on prioritization and partnerships.
- Supports quick go/no-go decisions and cleaner proposal packages.
Demo available: Solicitation Checklist. Learn more about NASA ROSES here: NASA ROSES
Access and onboarding
All BRAINS tools are available for purchase through BroncoLearn within the Office of Technology Transfer portal. Boise State staff can take brief online courses and start applying AI to core research admin tasks right away.
- 323-CR Award Review Checklist (Non-FAR)
- 324-CR Solicitation Checklist
- 325-CR Agreement Review Companion - Research Agreements (Non-FAR)
- 329-CR Award Review Checklist (FAR)
Demo videos are available for each course to show exactly how each tool supports your workflows.
Why it matters to management
- Standardizes reviews and checklists across teams to cut rework.
- Improves compliance posture with clear, replicable processes.
- Frees staff from manual parsing so they can focus on sponsor relationships and strategic pursuits.
Support for research growth
The Division of Research and Economic Development supports faculty, staff, and student research through strategy, IP management, stakeholder relationships, and innovation leadership. BRAINS fits that mission by giving administrators practical tools that deliver measurable time savings and fewer errors.
If you're building AI skills across your team, you may also find value in curated programs organized by job role. Explore options here: AI courses by job.
Bottom line: if you manage research operations, BRAINS makes your office faster, cleaner, and easier to run.
Your membership also unlocks:
