Benefits for the University
The University has made a commitment to improving research management because it recognises the need to invest in world-class research infrastructure and ‘best practice’ administrative support structures to ensure long-term sustainability and maintain competitive advantage. There will be specific benefits in the following areas:
University reputation
The University’s reputation is directly linked to the quality of its research achievement. The University’s aspirations for a research-intensive culture with an increased focus on interdisciplinary engagement, international collaboration and industry partnerships can only be realised through the efforts of researchers. However, the Research Management Program has a significant role to play in positioning the University to be able to meet future challenges and make the most of emerging opportunities, by ensuring that its research administration and management capability can support a culture of research excellence.
Capacity for future growth
Designing efficient end-to-end processes with clearer roles and responsibilities, improved communication and coordination and automated workflows will result in less duplication and an overall reduction in effort.
The benefits to the University are twofold. Firstly, breaking the dependence on inefficient, manual, time-consuming processes will provide research administrators with more time to focus on value-adding activities that improve quality or raise service levels; these improvements have the potential to contribute to a growth in research income. Secondly, the University will be well-placed to support any expansion of research activities in terms of quantity, complexity or additional accountabilities, minimising constraints on future growth in a competitive research environment.
Performance measurement
Over the three year span of the program, there will be progressive capture of comprehensive, accurate research management data. RIMS will become the central, authoritative source for information relating to grants and research outputs, providing the University with greater capacity for transparent, reliable performance measurement. Improved performance measurement capability can be used to recognise and reward achievement or analyse performance trends, providing individual faculties and the University overall with a sound basis for strategic decision-making.
Reporting to government
Government reporting has the potential to be a resource-intensive process, given the size, scale and complexity of the University. The implementation of a central system holding reliable data provides the University with improved compliance capability.
This is a significant benefit given the trend towards increased compliance obligations. The announcement in 2008 of a new research quality and evaluation system – the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative – emphasises the importance of creating and maintaining a comprehensive repository of accurate research management data to minimise the administrative effort in reporting and, ultimately, to maximise the University’s funding allocation.