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Research is changing

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It’s becoming more important to organisations,

institutions, even nations.

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China aims to increase its research spending by 72 per cent.

In 1991 it created 10,000 research papers, in 2011 that number was 150,0001.

In fact, China will overtake the US as the world's top producer of research by 20202.

East

1 Thomson Reuters2 The Royal Society's 2011 report Knowledge, Networks and Nations

Just look

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In many domestic markets, funding rules are changing for Higher Education Institutions and research revenue has taken on greater significance.

This is driving greater competition for funds from local and international research organisations.

back yardAnd in your own

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We've gone from a fairly relaxed environment about five years ago to one which is viciously competitive. All research organisations are bidding for funds and we need a very well managed process to submit top quality applications to enhance the chances of success.

The fact is if you submit an application with even a basic error it willbe rejected immediately.

ANDREW GRICED E P U T Y D I R E C T O R O F F I N A N C E A T

T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F S O U T H A M P T O N

R e a d A n d r e w ’ s b l o g s h e r e:

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So, enlightenedresearch

organisations are looking to:

Provide a better service.Attract better people.Be more competitive.Do better research.

Easy, right?Well things are getting (more)……complicated

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It is research after all

Projects are more involved.There’s more collaboration.

There are increasingly complex institutional rules.Snowballing funder and government compliance.

Disparate people in disparate departments.Unconnected systems that operate in silos.

There’s more administration.

Controlled research management practices are crucial for universities with ambitions in this area. Research intensive institutions have historically struggled with the complexity of proper management processes.

I A N T E B B E T T , C I O , M O N A S H U N I V E R S I T Y

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How you manage these variables will make a lot of

difference to the quality & quantity

of your research output

With all the changes in the market, we had to adapt our strategy to try and stay ahead.

P A U L D A M P I E RM I S D I R E C T O R

U N I V E R S I T Y O F C A M B R I D G E

G L E N N S W A F F O R D D I R E C T O R O F R E S E A R C H S E R V I C E S

U N I V E R S I T Y O F O X F O R D

&

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The five-minute guide to choosing and implementing research management technology**(a taster, some key takeaways...)

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CONSIDER THESE TECHNOLOGIES…

That’s the background, but what kind of technology

applications address these challenges?

Modern, integrated research management solutions.

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Marketing & innovation: Customer Relationship

Management (CRM)

Research organisations have many people with different objectives dealing with the same customer.

CRM provides a single platform from which to record customer contacts and activities. This promotes customer intelligence to identify opportunities and provides a more ‘joined-up’ customer experience.

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B O T T O M L I N E

Improve opportunities and awareness of funding

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Pre-award Management

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Using technology, involve the right stakeholders at the right time in the award management process: Is this project the right ‘fit’ for us?

Do we have the right people complete it?

When are they available?

B O T T O M L I N E

Engage on projects that enhance your institution’s reputation

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full Economic Costing (fEC)

Funders increasingly demand accurate reporting of direct and indirect costs. Stakeholders also need to ensure that projects are not completed at a loss.

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B O T T O M L I N E

Transparency across the institution. Trying to forecast and report costs manually is difficult to

do and difficult to do right. fEC software can remove the headache by automatically calculating costs

according to the specific rules of individual funders.

lightingtravel equipment

staff

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Post-award management:

Running the project

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B O T T O M L I N E

Deliver projects on time and on budget

Find the right people: With integration into an HR system, skills can be identified.

Project management: Have the right people, with the right skills, in the right place, at the right time.

Project billing: With integration into finance systems, claim funds at the right time and record costs.

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Finance systems

With the growing importance of research comes the responsibility to

record and provide visibility of strategic financial information like

budget vs spend, projected costs and exchange rates.

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B O T T O M L I N E

Automate administration and have accurate visibility of real-time finances.

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HR and recruitment

systems

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B O T T O M L I N E

Look after and nurture your most important asset

Every effort must be made to attract and retain the best people, and also

record their achievements and skills.

HR technology is designed to do just this and help you make the most of your

people.

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All these technologies can help you redirect

unnecessary administration effort toward

improving research output.

HERE ARE SOME TIPS ON HOW TO IMPLEMENT THEM...

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TIP 1 Get the vision right

Analyse your current situation against what you want to

achieveEngage with internal

stakeholders.

Engage with potential technology. partners

Understand what is possible.

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Research is one of the most scrutinised and regulated

industries. Choose technology that can work with an ever-

changing environment

TIP 2 Choose the right technology & choose flexible technology

UNIT4’s research management solution, including the unique Research Costing and Pricing, along with the company’s experience in the sector, promises the control universities like Monash require to be world leading in the field of research

I A N T E B B E T T , C I O M O N A S H U N I V E R S I T Y

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Give the project the attention it deserves

TIP 3 Be thoroughly prepared

Research is a strategic activity, growing in importance, but it is

also complex.

Put a dedicated project team together and build a comprehensive plan.

Plan everything & track everything

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TIP 4 Get your project team in place

Make sure that responsibilities and deadlines are clear

Accountability compels individuals, teams and partners

to act.

It speeds decision making, and ultimately helps hit deadlines

faster.

U N I T 4 T E C H N O L O G Y T I PA virtual common workspace for all stakeholders will guide the flow of work and ideas to the right person at the right time, optimising collective energy and

exposing bottlenecks before they become problematic

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Win hearts and minds.

Reduce the shock factor.

Build project momentum.

Harness their skills to create something world-class.

TIP 5 Get early buy-in from research staff

Managing change is often the biggest challenge of any technology project; involve individuals from the

departments that will be use the system like academics, human

resource and finance executives.

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TIP 6

Fuse

Integrate your systems for joined- up

working and joined-up thinking.

This is where the most compelling

benefits lie.

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When one system talks to another everything becomes easier. Information can be pulled, with relative ease, for funder reports and audits. Data need only be inputted once, in fact any changes are made just once rather than many times for many systems.

Workflow can cross functions alerting HR, finance, academics and business developers of events that may need their input or approval.

INTERNATIONAL SALES DIRECTOR EDUCATION & RESEARCH, UNIT4

N I C K G I B S O N

All this may sound complicated, but chances are you are doing it already, just without the automation, and with a high degree of effort.

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Better management of customer relationships.

Automated administration for reduced costs.

Rapid and accurate reports for audits and decision making.

Simpler compliance to funder and government rules.

B O T T O M L I N E

You bring control to theresearch management process

Linking processes across functions means:

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TIP 7Remember your strengths

At all times during this process think about how to best bring to the fore your institution’s strengths.

INTERNATIONAL SALES DIRECTOR EDUCATION & RESEARCH, UNIT4

N I C K G I B S O N

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Great administration can create a ‘virtuous circle’ in which a better managed process brings in more revenue, which can be used to improve research and teaching facilities and makes the university more attractive for funders and students. Our chosen technology in itself will not change the world (it's an administrative solution, after all) but it is freeing up the time of our highly skilled staff, who sometimes can.

P A U L D A M P I E RM I S D I R E C T O R

U N I V E R S I T Y O F C A M B R I D G E

G L E N N S W A F F O R D D I R E C T O R O F R E S E A R C H S E R V I C E S

U N I V E R S I T Y O F O X F O R D

&

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You may also be interested in this article by the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge on the challenges of costing and pricing.

During this period of exceptional challenges, and opportunities, we are all still learning, do you have questions or experiences you would

like to share?

That’s some of the tips we believe you should

have top of mind.

Comment, Tweet, LinkedIn, or email us yours…

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“Share” button above

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The Agresso Campus Platform makes perfect strategic sense for modern Higher Education institutions. It automates administration through workflow whilst also providing the right information at the right time to personnel. This enables our experts to have a more strategic focus on finance strategy, world-class research or business development.

DIRECTOR OF FINANCE

UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX

A L L A N S P E N C E R

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FUTURE?What of the

We see a bright outlook for, and are investing

in: Social collaboration Mobile working Enhanced analytics

And we think it will all be delivered via the cloud…

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H AV E A N Y Q U E S T I O N S ? C O M E A N D S AY H E L LO …

UNIT4 will be on Stand 4 at this year’s ARMA Conference from 9th to 11th June 2014.