The first edition of the Research Lifecycle Programme newsletter

The Research Lifecycle Programme kicked off during the second week of January, starting with stream 3 of the programme which is looking at the way we administer research functions. This part of the work is supported by PA Consulting.

During January, the proposals for streams 1 & 2 (e-Research Infrastructure and Research Data Management) were reviewed and the work was awarded to PA Consulting towards the end of January. Work on streams 1 & 2 started during the second week of February.

The Administration of Research stream has had a very busy six weeks. 7 workshops were held, attended by 62 people, and interviews with 19 senior stakeholders. Two more workshops are happening this week.

The workshops first attempted to describe the current state of the workshop focus and a look forward as how we want things to change in the future, and have had three different foci:

Research foundations

The first focus was on eco-system of research within the university, looking at the various activities, culture, tools and resources needed for research to be envisaged, supported, gained and grown.

Pre-award

The second focus was on how the administrative functions in the University work in a pre-award context in trying to support researchers. This type of workshop looked at how administrative processes support researchers from idea inception to the stage of getting awarded funds to conduced research. Support for un-funded research was also considered.

The above two types of workshops have concluded and initial outputs have been created. If you are interested in having an early look at these outputs for information and most importantly comment, contact us to arrange for access.

Post-award

The third type of workshops are underway with PA Consulting, who have been working with University colleagues on how the support systems work to manage funding, and what happens throughout the life of a project as it starts and closes.

e-Research Infrastructure and Research Data Management streams

Streams 1 and 2 (e-Research Infrastructure and Research Data Management) started in earnest the second week of February and as such we have little to report as yet.

PA Consulting is in the process of arranging to meet with University colleagues to gather required information before they formulate their response.

Meetings are being arranged for this week and next, and will be followed by workshops mid-March.

Special Interest Groups (SIG) workshops such as HPC, medical requirements, big data, and so on will also be conducted during the next three weeks. Please get in touch with us to provide your input and ensure your interests are covered.

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