Funding Required to Capitalise on Game-Changing Potential of Research Managers

Government bodies and funding agencies must support the continent’s research management community if they want to accelerate innovation and economic growth.

The finding was published in a report issued by the Horizon Europe-funded RM Roadmap project, which has been specifically designed to evaluate the needs of the professionals engaged in this integral part of research and innovation.

Following a three-month-long consultation process that involved about 120 national ambassadors from 40 countries across the European Research Area, the report also highlighted the lack of a continental-wide framework governing the research management profession and reduced motivation among research managers due to a lack of investment in resources.‍

Nik Claesen, Managing Director of EARMA and the coordinator of the RM Roadmap project, believes that funding is required if Europe wants to capitalise on its innovation potential.

“Our community informs us that there is a need for support from government bodies and funding agencies to establish and support research management networks and associations to bring about recognition of the profession.”

“At the moment, many research management professionals are operating across Europe without clear career pathways, professional development opportunities and national associations or networks to advocate on their behalf.”

“This is in addition to a lack of standardised definitions around what it means to be a research management professional and a limited understanding around the significance of their role, which is what RM Roadmap is seeking to address.”

“The disparate nature of research management communities across Europe demonstrates a pressing need to support these professionals through investment in formal national representative organisations.”

“It is through these national representative bodies that research managers can push for increased availability of research management training, raise awareness of the profession and put forward innovative policy ideas.”

Echoing Nic Claesen, Crowdhelix CEO, Michael Browne, believes that liberating research management professionals can help unlock Europe’s innovation potential.

“Research management professionals are ideally positioned to work across disciplines, borders and institutions. Individually, their networks transcend academia, business, policy and society”.

“If we can provide research management professionals with a common set of tools, structures and practices they can unleash Europe’s innovation potential by helping to bring stakeholders and organisations together”.

“I truly believe that cross-border cooperation and knowledge exchange among highly ambitious and motivated research management professionals has the potential to be a game changer in this respect”.

“At Crowdhelix, we’re seeking to help mobilise the research management community through our Research Management Helix”.

“We want it to become a place where research management professionals can circulate ideas, training events and results from projects like RM Roadmap”.

RM Roadmap and Crowdhelix will collaboratively launch results from the project’s first co-creation session on Monday, February 26. You can register to attend the launch here.

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