The freshly finalized discussion paper of HETFA prepared by Enikő Virágh, Virág Zsár and Zsuzsanna Balázs takes a special look at the profession of Research Managers and Administrators (RMAs). The paper aims to identify those conditions, skills and competences that are necessary for the preparation and implementation of excellent European educational and research projects. It also examines training needs possibly implemented through higher educational programmes which can support the training of future experts working on such projects.
The relevance of the research derives from various aspects, most importantly from the fact that the role of Research Managers and Administrators and/or Funding Advisors is getting more and more important due to the increasing competition in the field of research, innovation and educational funds.
Following an extensive literature review describing the main features, importance, challenges and necessary skills of RMAs, the paper analyses the outcomes of an online survey completed by research managers and administrators from more 31 European countries.
Based on the literature review and the analysis, stakeholders are addressed by a bunch of policy recommendations highlighting the need and the necessary feature of a dedicated educational programme which is supposed to train RMAs and increase the visibility of the profession. Lastly, it also highlights the importance of acknowledging the profession as such throughout Europe to meet funding bodies’ expectations in research, innovation and educational projects.
The study is available HERE!
You can find out more on our activities related to research management HERE