Fundamentals in World Class Research Administration

Just this week I have completed a certificate titled Fundamentals in World Class Research Administration. The certificate ran for 6 months and was an intensive course in all aspects of research administration from pre-award to post-award and beyond. I have been working in the field of research administration for the past 6 years, mainly in the field of research performance monitoring, and this course was essentially a complete series of master classes in all aspects of research administration. Topics covered included the national framework for research in higher education, the management and administration of research, the role of research administration in the university context, generating research business, increasing quality and reputation at local and state levels, contracts and intellectual property, research students and research marketing, financial management internal controls and risk mitigation, research ethics and integrity, benchmarking in research, and researching into industry and innovation.

I believe that research administration is emerging as a fascinating and lucrativecareer path which has been largely overlooked in the past. I don't believe there is another course out there at the moment quite like this one - and it is not only a unique course but it is aimed at a unique profession. There are not many other offices out there that have such a huge diversity of talent and tasks as a research administration office. In the same physical space you have solicitors, contracts specialists, systems specialists, business analysts, database professionals, data analysts, policy specialists, customer service officers, ISO quality specialists, IP experts, project managers and commercialization specialists - sometimes these are the same people doing different specialized roles - and, these aren't even the people doing the research, they are the ones helping the research happen.

I very much enjoyed completing the Fundamentals in World Class Research Administration certificate not just because it reinforced a lot of research administration knowledge and deepened my understanding of the field it also tied the disparate sections of the research office together revealing it as a formidable ally to any research organisation seeking to be competitive in the current research and innovation environment.

I think that anyone who is in the field of research administration and completes this course has added a really valuable tool to their resume and would become a valuable asset to any research office in Australia - or indeed the world.

VC Awards for Staff Excellence

On Friday 6 November the University held its annual VC awards for staff excellence - the awards recognise outstanding contributions by staff across the University. This year our ERA team was awarded the "Working Across Boundaries" award which recognises bringing ideas, people and resources together across administrative and academic units.

Details on this year's recipients can be found here:

http://www.unisa.edu.au/cha/staffinfo/HonBoard/HBProfStaff.asp#2009

Information about the awards can be found here:

http://www.unisa.edu.au/cha/staffinfo/VCprofstaffexcellence.asp

ARMS 2009, Christchurch, NZ

From the 16-18 of September 2009 I attended the Australasian Research Management Society (ARMS) Conference in Christchurch, New Zealand. The conference was titled The Evolution of Research Management which was inspired by the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary his book On the Origin of Species.

There were three themes for the conference which were:

• Supporting the Researcher: from gatekeepers to champions
• Evaluating Research: the conditions that unleash excellence
• Through the Veil: looking to future systems for successful research

Before the conference began there was also a choice of a full day workshop. I chose to attend the workshop – Introduction to Research Management.

The workshop consisted of four modules:

• an overview of the national research context
• funding opportunities
• lifecycle of a research grant
• ethics and accountability frameworks governing the conduct of research

One take-home point (among many) from the conference was the importance of stakeholders and stakeholder engagement in supporting research and researchers. Research managers and administrators are important as facilitators and translators between the researchers and external stakeholders. They manage expectations and help ensure stakeholders understand the relevance of research. The research manager is a key player in securing and retaining resources for research. Institutions such, as universities, that have excellent research management and develop excellent research managers and administrators have the potential to compete against other institutions that have not developed these qualities and rely only on their reputation.

Christchurch

Christchurch is a beautiful city - it is a sister city to Adelaide in South Australia and is called the Garden City. In a day and a half I managed to squeeze in: a climb to the top of the cathedral spire; a trip on the tourist tram around the city; the museum, the botanic gardens, a gondola ride up Mt Cavendish and some really great meals, including the Dux de Lux and the Tap Room.

The ARMS 2009 website can be found here: http://www.arms2009.org/index.htm