Research Administration Joint Review and Improvement Programme
Overview and Current Activities
Overview
The Research Administration Joint Review and Improvement Programme is designed to
- improve research-related policies and support across all areas of the University
- make research administration at Oxford as effective and efficient as possible
- and ensure that the best level of service is provided to Oxford researchers
The Programme is convened by Research Services but a key feature is the involvement of, and collaboration with, service partners in Departments, Divisions, Research Facilitators, the Finance Division (especially Research Accounts), Isis Innovation and other parts of UAS. This reflects the fact that research management and administration, and research support more generally, is a shared endeavour at Oxford, happening in many parts of the University and through a number of groups.
The individual projects and activities under the programme range in nature and scale from issue-specific topics to major, enterprise-wide initiatives (such as the X5 Project).
The Research Support Consultation Group, a group made up of Departmental, Divisional, Research Accounts and Research Services colleagues, plays a key role in the Programme, namely
- identifying issues or suggesting areas that should be tackled as part of the Programme
- providing advice and feedback on initiatives that are being progressed or have been implemented
Minutes of the meetings of the Research Support Consultation Group are also available.
If you are interested in getting involved with these activities, or have any feedback or suggestions for areas of review and improvement, then do please get in touch with us.
Contact: Stephen Conway
Current Activities
The current priorities under the Review and Improvement Programme include:
- streamlining the funding application process, especially for standard schemes/funders, ensuring that resources can be focussed on support activities that add greatest value
- enhancing the information available to researchers and administrators on key funding bodies and their schemes and facilitating activities that assist researchers to be successful in securing research funding (e.g. scheme briefings, interview preparation, coordinating major bids)
- reviewing and improving the award set-up process (especially the efficiency and timeliness of the process)
- delivering online research information reports to Departments and improving the flow of information from Research Services about cases in progress (see also the Business Intelligence Programme)
- leading the development of sector-wide model agreements to streamline the negotiation and execution of contracts
- increasing the use, wherever possible, of Oxford standard or Oxford-endorsed research-related agreements and exploring options for increased devolved responsibility to departments for signing selected types of agreements to streamline approvals and focus specialist resources on higher-risk, more complex matters
See Completed Activities for a summary of some of the activities completed under the Programme.
Contact: Stephen Conway.