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Parallel sessions 5: Wednesday 18 June, 13:45-15:00

501: Funding for Biomedical Sciences - Research Councils

Dr David Cox, University Relationships Manager, Medical Research Council
Dr Adam Staines, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

The speakers will outline the subject remit of their respective Research Councils 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.

502: The auditor and the audited: reflections on quality assurance processes employed by Research Councils in the UK

Gareth MacDonald, RCUK Head of Assurance, Research Councils UK
UK university speaker to be confirmed

This session will give an overview of the UK Research Councils' current quality assurance processes (Funding Assurance Programme, formerly known as "Dipstick Testing") from the perspective of the Research Councils and an institution which has been visited. It will cover the accommodation of the recent implementation of "full economic costs" (fEC) requirements for Research Council funding in the UK. The session has been designed to accommodate an international audience.

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.

504: International Governance of Research Integrity: a comparative view

Dr Glyn Davies, Director of Policy and Resources and Deputy Chief Executive, Economic and Social Research Council
Dr Tina Boesz, Inspector General, National Science Foundation
Prof Ben Martin, Professor of Science and Technology Policy Studies, SPRU, University of Sussex

This session will include three presentations examining approaches to investigation of cases of research misconduct, drawing on examples from the UK, EU and USA.

In recent years, UK universities have established a range of internal codes designed to promote research integrity and prevent research misconduct. However, more recently there has been a school of thought that a body independent of universities, should be established to oversee matters relating to research integrity and to review the increase in reported cases of misconduct. The first presentation will examine this debate.

The second presentation will describe the US focus on responsible conduct of research and what steps are taken when plagiarism and data fabrication/falsification are suspected. Case study examples will be used to illustrate the process and the findings. A description of the goals and preliminary recommendations of a project being undertaken by the Global Science Forum of OECD, exploring how to investigate allegations of misconduct in international research collaborations, will also be presented.

Participants will also have the opportunity to hear of a recent case of serious research misconduct spanning the EU and the US and the particular issues and challenges that the investigation and its reporting posed to research integrity with reference to the US and the developing situation in the UK.

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.

506: Supporting Global Partnerships: the Research Manager's Role

Dr John Kirkland, Deputy Secretary General (Development), Association of Commonwealth Universities
Ann Anderson, Controller and Associate Vice President, University of Washington
Lawrie Robertson, Director of Finance and Administration, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington
Additional speakers to be confirmed

This session will look at the administrative infrastructure challenges for research managers in supporting global partnerships with a particular focus on research collaboration with developing country institutions. The session will aim to bring together views from research administrators in the US, EU and a developing country and also include a donor perspective to highlight the issues, describe initiatives being undertaken and suggest potential good practice.

507: Mobilising the Knowledge Base: working across boundaries and institutions in urban regeneration

Oisin MacNamara, Director, Research, Regional and European Affairs, Northumbria University
Alex Williams, Associate Dean for Enterprise, School of Art & Design, University of Salford

This session will present a case study of a £3.2 million multi-institutional, multi-regional and interdisciplinary project, which mobilises academic expertise across a consortium to work with practitioners on key urban regeneration challenges. The dual aim is to enhance the impact of research carried out by the universities and also to build a long term strategic alliance between the four core university partners. This will lead to the development of a distinctive form of knowledge transfer, which is both teaching and research driven, in order to meet the needs of organisations and professionals in business and the community.

508: The Researcher as a Research Manager - a hybrid professional?

Richard Bond, Head of R&D, Research, Business & Innovation, University of the West of England
Dr Jo Cresswell, Research Manager, Academic Radiation Oncology, University of Manchester

Increasing numbers of staff with research experience are being recruited as research managers and administrators (in UK universities at least). This session will examine the role that experienced researchers can and do play in supporting research and enhancing research quality, with examples from two UK institutions. It will explore whether this trend constitutes the emergence of a new hybrid professional, or someone caught between two stools - neither a professional administrator nor an academic. What are the prospects for the development of these roles, what career paths are open to those in them, and how can we best harness their abilities?

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