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Parallel sessions

Management and organisation of research support

The parallel sessions detailed below have been identified as falling under the theme "Management and organisation of research support". Most sessions have this as their primary theme, but for some it is a secondary theme. Please review the description of each session for further information about what it will cover.

For other sessions, see also:

203: Working with Industry

Colin Cooper, Assistant Director of Research, University of Liverpool
Dr Alison Hodge, Univesity Partnerships Director, QinetiQ

This session will provide views from a university and an industrial perspective:

  1. One of the fundamental activities of a contemporary university is to engage in collaboration with external bodies where both parties can use the generation of new knowledge to further their own core activities. This presentation will review how universities collaborate with Industry focusing on relationships, contractual arrangements and what makes for a successful collaboration.
  2. The UK Government wants universities to work more extensively with business and industry. However, the take-up is still not as high as perhaps wished for. Why? This presentation will explore some of the issues that influence business and industry in why and how they wish to interact with the academic sector. Topics to be considered can include the impact of full economic costs, the value of intellectual property both background and foreground, commercial and other sensitivities, freedom to publish and the availability of appropriate resources. Does industry expect too much or are we satisfied?

305: Mentoring, or "how was it for you?" (panel discussion)

Simon Kerridge, Assistant Director (Research), Academic Services, University of Sunderland
Dr Mark Hochman, Director, Research and Innovation Services, University of South Australia
Lita Denny, Head of Research Operations, University of Manchester

This panel session is designed to give a practical insight into setting up a mentoring relationship, reflecting on experiences in different countries of the mentoring process itself, from both a mentor and a mentee perspective. Each member of the panel will give a short presentation to highlight some key points, and then the discussion will be opened up to the audience. The session will be of interest to those involved in a mentoring relationship and those interested in becoming involved.

402: Research Facilitation - different models, different contexts

Prof Chris Marlin, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Flinders University
Dr Andrew Fairweather-Tall, Humanities Division Research Co-ordinator, University of Oxford
Dr Chris Ballinger, Research Facilitator, Social Sciences Division, University of Oxford

  • Target Audience: Anyone with responsibility for research management, whether centrally within a university, or in research centres or departments (of particular relevance to new and emerging research organisations in any location)
  • UK/International: Not geographically specific
  • Experience Level: Any

This session explores the role of research facilitators, who encourage and support researchers in seeking external research funding. The nature, background and role of these research facilitators may vary, depending on the model used by a particular institution, influenced by its context (size, research strategy, national context, etc.). There are nonetheless some common issues for such models, including:

  • the backgrounds of research facilitators (have they been active researchers? are they administrators? do they come from industry?);
  • whether research facilitators work alone or as part of a team;
  • the training and development needs of these facilitators and how these vary from other staff;
  • different models of facilitation (e.g., working with individuals or helping to form teams);
  • the relationship between research facilitation models and institutional research strategy; and
  • the respective roles of the research facilitators and a central Research Office in a university.

403: Comparative case studies of the management and organisation of research support

Tim Quigg, Associate Chair for Administration and Finance, Department of Computer Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Kathy Heinze, General Manager, Contract Administration, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
David Langley, Director of Research and Enterprise Development, University of Bristol

This session will provide three examples of the review and re-organisation of research support offices. The three examples are University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the CSIRO, and Imperial College London, and will illustrate the isues and the different approaches that can be taken.

408: Internal Marketing for Research Administrators

John O'Dowd, Senior Grants Manager, Research & Enterprise, University of Glasgow
William F Schweri, Director of Federal Relations, University of Kentucky

This session will examine how research administrators can evolve an internal marketing strategy that understands and takes account of diverse customer needs and ambitions, whilst addressing behaviours that tend to prioritise individual interests above cooperative behaviour within Higher Education Institutions. It will explore how to perform a Marketing Audit across a diverse customer base; to discover and value the institution's diversity and strengths, and address the weaknesses in your research community, by understanding the 'political economies' within which it operates; and to understand diverse operating environments. The role of internal marketing in defining and communicating a unifying internal economy will be discussed.

503: Joint University/Hospital Research Support Offices

John Westensee, Director of Research Support, Aarhus University Hospital
Mary Perkins, Research and Development Manager, United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust

Researchers in the medical sector in a given city or region, whether employed by a university or a hospital or even by both, very often cooperate across institutional boundaries. This also affects the kind of service they expect from the Research Support Office. It should be seamless and no matter where the researcher is based, they should receive the same level of support. Consequently, there might be a case for setting up joint hospital/university research support offices. This session will consider ways of cooperation explored in a UK survey on approaches to joint structures in the UK. Experiences from Denmark will cover issues like background for cooperation, structure of support organisation, decision-making structures, development over time, strengths, weaknesses and future development.

505: Career Development Options for Administrators

Guy Gregory, Personnel and Staff Development Director, University of Bristol
Sandra Nordahl CRA, Manager, Sponsored Research Administration, San Diego State University Research Foundation

The provision of effective support to the academic community in a cost effective way is a challenge in a modern university. Often traditional structures, roles and culture present a barrier. This session will consist of two parts. The first will explore how Bristol University is looking to overcome these barriers by releasing the energy, enthusiasm and professionalism within "communities" of support staff. The second will reflect upon experience from the United States of the Body of Knowledge as a personal growth tool and a resource for new administrators. Experience of the US Certified Research Administrator (CRA) programme will also be discussed.

602: Good Practice in Contract Development, Negotiation and Pricing

Dr Phil Clare, Associate Director, Research Services, University of Oxford

This session will look at key issues in the development, negotiating and acceptance of contracts for research and the protection of the university's interests. As well as examining common concerns such as publishing rights, pricing and payment arrangements, indemnities and warranties, confidentiality, intellectual property and termination arrangements, participants will discuss ways to identify 'make or break' issues and to decide when to negotiate on the detail of a contract, and when to advise a client of concerns which should be addressed in any future agreement between the parties. The right balance between in-depth negotiation, model agreements and standard processes will be considered.

Whilst many of the themes of the session will be of relevance in all jurisdictions, specific examples used in the session will draw on English law.

603: The challenges of running a Research Institute or Centre

Nigel Bilsbrough, Finance and Resources Manager, Centre for Research in Social Policy, Loughborough University
Mark Smith, Research Institute Manager, Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, Keele University

  • Target Audience: Research administrators based in research institutes/centres; faculty and central administrators in universities with significant research centres
  • UK/International: Not geographically specific
  • Experience Level: Any

It is increasingly common for universities to set up research institutes or centres as focal points for research activity, especially multi- or inter-disciplinary research. Such research institutes may be considered as academic departments in their own right, or may be more 'virtual' groupings crossing a number of departments. There are also many non-university research institutes, often in competition with universities for public research funding.

Research Administrators responsible for running such institutes face a range of challenges beyond those associated with day-to-day support of funded research projects. As well as routine departmental administration, from staff management to premises matters, these may include local policy interpretation and development, the challenges of overseeing the employment arrangements of a significant body of research staff, and the financial oversight of a varied portfolio of funded research.

The session will include presentations from two speakers responsible for running research institutes in different disciplinary areas, and will offer plenty of opportunity for participants to share their experiences and to identify examples of good practice.

See also: