Research Management

Co-creating the future of Research Management, bringing our community together to define & support the profession

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Background

Globalisation of research, complexity of funding and increasing transnational collaboration and mobility has been mirrored in the evolution of research management (RM). Virtually every research-active university and organisation now has a RM function, whether nascent or mature. Recognising that investing in research and innovation is, in essence, an investment in a sustainable future, many organisations are creating new modes of research office, who may provide support to individual researchers while representing strategic research programme objectives.

Variation in skillset, functions, capacity, and capabilities of RMs varies greatly, as does the national context in which they operate. However, key stakeholders including most funding bodies. now recognize that RM is developing into a truly global profession, with a growing necessity for skills, shared practices and professional networks. RM extends beyond universities, and its practitioners are found within funding bodies, charities, foundations, government, and industry.

Key Project: RM ROADMAP

RM ROADMAP (Creating Framework Conditions for Research Management to Strengthen the European Research Area) will create a roadmap for the future of research management (RM) in Europe and a community to support the delivery of that roadmap. Coordinated by EARMA, RM ROADMAP will connect existing European networks on a smart community platform which will enable an unprecedented co-creation process of RM in the world.

The RM ROADMAP collaborators believe that investment in the RM community will facilitate and accelerate research results reaching the market and thereby the real economy. The project aims to (1) create and inform a bottom-up consensus on the future of RM in a roadmap, and (2) inform the community about the existing training, networking, funding, and mobility opportunities. RM ROADMAP is supported by a pan-European network of RMs, supporting the establishment of strategic, cross-border partnerships between RMs in industry, Research Funding Organisations, higher education, and research institutions – never seen before at such a scale.

The results of the 1st Co-Creation Session of RM ROADMAP show that the community informs RM ROADMAP of the need for support from government bodies and funding agencies to establish and sustain support research management networks and associations to bring about recognition of the profession. The report from the first Co-Creation Session of the RM ROADMAP: “Understanding the landscape: National Networks and Associations” can be found in the Helix Resources on this page.

Research Management Helix

This Helix is an international Open Innovation community of RM practitioners, specialists, and other stakeholders, as well as relevant policy makers and citizen interest groups. In addition to facilitating opportunities that can further progress the RM domain of practice, the Helix will support RM-Roadmap by accelerating community development and translation of project results into cross-sectoral impact across the European Research Area and beyond.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the granting authority. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101058475.