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Parallel sessions 4: Wednesday 18 June, 09:15-10:45

401: Funding for Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities

Frances Burstow, Associate Director, Research Grants Policy, Policy and Resources Directorate, Economic and Social Research Council
Ian Broadbridge, Programme Manager, Arts and Humanities Research Council
Dr Ken Emond, Assistant Secretary, Research Posts and Projects, British Academy

The speakers will outline the subject remit of their respective organisations including strategic priorities and funds available. Details will be provided on the eligibility criteria for applicants, allowed costs, and the application processes. As well as giving a broad overview of the funding themes, the speakers will give details of current funding opportunities, and those which will appear in the near future.

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

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.

404: How research administrators can effectively and sensitively foster ethical, responsible research: experiences of three universities

Dr Michael Owen, Vice-President Research & Graduate Studies, Ontario College of Art & Design
Richard Hudson, Quality Assurance Manager, Research Office, University of Sheffield

The regulatory frameworks governing research continue to expand. One unintended outcome is that research ethics is increasingly perceived as contentious and frustrating; indeed as a block to innovative research. Furthermore, policy makers wrestle with how to effectively foster research integrity.

Many universities focus on compliance and risk. This session considers how universities can proactively, positively and sensitively promote values and behaviours in research practice that encourage responsible research. The speakers will discuss the approaches of institutions in Britain and Canada (strategies, resources, benefits, challenges, role of research offices, outcomes). The direction of the regulatory environment will also be discussed.

405: National and institutional policy perspectives on developing researchers

Dr Iain Cameron, Head of Careers and Diversity, Research Councils UK
Chris Hale, Policy Officer Universities UK
Prof. Laetus O.K. Lategan, Dean: Research and Development, Central University of Technology, Free State

The session will explore a variety of policy and practical issues for institutions, in respect of developing and supporting researchers, both within the UK and internationally. Key themes will include:

  • The demographic challenge - the supply of qualified researchers
  • International mobility and challenges for both emerging and developed research environments
  • Rise of the Tiger Economies
  • Training requirements definition
  • Lisbon and Bologna agendas in the context of the European Research Area
  • Building research capacity and capability, including international comparative perspectives
  • Examples of good practice and innovative approaches to 'whole career' research development for academic researchers, including provision for inter-sectoral mobility and links to knowledge transfer
  • Changing demands on PGR supervisors, with consequences for their training, including:
    • Changing nature of research - basic research versus applied research/blue-skies versus commercial/contract research (and consequences for research supervision)
    • Increasing emphasis on 'value-added' such as broader transferable skills
    • Changing supervisory practice
    • Different formats of research degrees

406: Striving for Excellence: Strategic Planning and Capacity Building in Research

Jane Hobson, Manager, Research Quality, Policy and Planning, Office of Research Services, University of Western Sydney
Mogodisheng Sekhwela, Research & Development Office, University of Botswana
Aldo Stoebel, Head of Internationalisation, University of the Free State

This session will examine the role of strategic planning and strategic management of research in developing and sustaining research excellence and capacity. Case studies will be presented from three very different universities working with a diverse set of policy and strategic challenges. The session will include a panel discussion.

407: Introduction to Knowledge Exchange

Susan Adams, Executive Officer, Allan Wilson Centre, Massey University
Dr Phil Clare, Associate Director, Research Services, University of Oxford

No longer is research undertaken purely for the sake of research; funding bodies are requiring engagement with stakeholder groups from the public to fellow researchers. Continued funding may rely on active knowledge exchange. Yet researchers are sometimes reluctant to converse with, and develop relationships with, stakeholders. This session will outline the current policy drivers for knowledge exchange in the UK and New Zealand, and will consider strategies to ensure effective knowledge exchange with all stakeholder groups.

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.

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