THE MANY ROLES OF THEPROFESSIONAL RESEARCH MANAGERS

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AARHUS UNIVERSITET

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AARHUS UNIVERSITET

Data were collected through an online questionnaire sent to all Research Managers at the eight Danish

universities (approx. 250). The organization of Research Managers at Danish universities differs from one

university to another with both central units, decentralized units and various combinations of these. Statistic

tests were run on the differences in the respondents’ perception of roles. Various visual displays and analyses

were made of the qualitative statements in relation to the fundraiser’s organizational positions. The difference

between the centrally located and the decentrally placed Research Managers was analysed in relation to

the type and grading of their different roles as well as their work motivation Qualitative analyses were done

with focus of some of the elements that influence the choice of career, organization and management of

the profession.

There are many different definitions of roles. One set of roles defined thorough the work with innovation

and preject is defined by Darsø (2003, 2007) and given in a summarized form in the table below:

The quantitative analyses showed surprisingly small differences, whereas the qualitative analyses painted

a more diverse picture of the roles of the Research Managers as well as of their self-motivation.

The research field

The understanding of the term ‘Research Managers’ at Danish universities is immature even among Research

Managers themselves. The term is equivocal and covers a relatively broad range of roles and approaches to

the work related to servicing researchers and their increased portfolio of research grants. Such roles include

expert roles within economy, legal advice, administrative procedures and application matters. A large part

of the work relates to softer roles with a focus on the process-oriented and the relational aspects in regards

to feedback and guidance of researchers and their project ideas including disseminational focusses such as

teaching, matchmaking and knowledge sharing.

Who are the Research Managers?

Because the Professional Research Managers are such a diverse group there is no distinct motivational

profile. However, the greater part of the answers given in the survey were given within a motivational profile

where leadership that focusses on establishing the frames for the work is required as well as a protecting

leadership which gives the opportunity to work in depth with assignments. Furthermore, elements such

as facilitation of the meaningful vision, professional feedback and goal-oriented feedback are deemed

important in the answers in the survey relating to motivation drivers. Some motivational profiles require

ambitious goals as well as a reward system that acknowledges the individual performance, and here clear

and progressive carrier pathways are an important tool for the motivation of Research Managers. At the

same time the Research Managers requiring more task-oriented feedback and the opportunity to engage

in social relations also need to be embraced. Additionally, the social relations both to the researchers and

to colleagues at the same level or in other parts of the organization have proven very important for all

respondents in the survey.

Organisation of Research Managers

Only few statistically significant differences between central and decentral Research Managers & Administrators

have been shown. However, the qualitative analysis shows that there are different weighting of the linguistic

statements in relation to e.g. why you became a Research Manager and what your work motivation is.

While ‘coincidence’ is the main explanation why you became a Research Manager among the central Research

Managers, ‘career’ and ‘personal development’ are the primary explanations for the decentral Research

Managers. At the department level there is still a certain connection to the scientific environment which

has proven important to the career choice of the decentral Research Managers. While organization as such

has not proven an important variable, the social relations have been brought forth, and it is especially this

aspect that needs to be addressed no matter the given organization.

The organization of the Danish Professional Research Managers has proven to be a very diverse palette of

structure, size and approach to the work with research management. The development of research support

offices has embraced a distinct degree of local adaptation and a large degree of diversity; on the outside the

units are more alike, but on the inside they are unique and adapted to the local university and its specific

profile and needs.

According to theory (e.g. Darsø, 2003, 2007; Kelley, 2006 ) it is not possible for one person to embrace the

whole spectrum of roles, but to a certain degree parts of the spectrum. It remains a group effort, though,

to cover the whole palette of roles to ensure the full potential of an idea. However, you are not locked to

a certain role as a Research Manager, and shifts between roles are possible depending on the context.

The ideal course of role change is illustrated in the figure. If the difference between decentral and central

Research Managers is applicable, the decentral Research Managers will primarily play the roles of the

gardener and the conceptualizer while the central Research Managers will play the roles of the challenger

and the conceptualizer. The role as jester is presumed to work in both places but especially the ability to ask

the stupid or naïve questions is difficult to use in practice for Research Managers in close proximity to the

individual researchers/research groups. This is partly due to the fact that – all things being equal – they have

a larger prior knowledge of the field in question as they are already part of the group – and these questions

are in general not asked easily within the group.

One of the challenges is to understand how the changes between roles take place. Can the individual Research

Manager easily change roles according to context – and how much individual plasticity would this require? Can

more Research Managers work closely together thereby covering more roles? Here group process dynamics

become an important element. How do the various employees work together in the course of the preject phase,

and particularly in the transition to the project phase? There are no clear answers to this yet. A large part depends

on the context as well as on the soft and interpersonal skills of the involved individuals. Research Managers always

work in teams, but such teams are often ad hoc teams loosely defined according to the specific case. This is not

to say that all of the roles must be involved in all prejects and projects at all times, or that a person cannot have

several different roles. In today’s knowledge society an individual person’s knowledge is not enough; group

level is therefore the most important level when working with innovation processes as research management.

The early phases of an innovation process do not resemble what is normally defined as a project. What makes

these early phases so difficult to handle is the lack of language dealing with such early innovation processes.

The prefix “pre” means “before”; that is, the preject comes before the project (Darsø, 2007). The preject is

goal seeking and divergent, whereas the project by definition is goal-directed and convergent. The preject

is non-linear and demands “chaos time”, whereas the project by definition is linear and time limited. Finally,

the preject is process-driven and requires an extended and open decision space, while the project is result-

driven and requires quick decisions. There is thus a great difference between the process and the type of

management needed between a preject and a project. The preject is hard to force into a project template

because it is about an entirely different type of process, a very open, information seeking process, where a

group of people probe a field for new possibilities. Therefore, people working in research management with

prejects have fundamentally different roles and motivations than people working in project administration

in general.

References: Darsø, Lotte (2007): Is there a formula for innovation? Translated 2007 from the article by Lotte Darsø (2003): ”En formel for innovation”, Børsen Management Handbooks. Kelley (2006): The ten faces of innovation – strategies for heightening creativity. London – Profile Books.

ROLES ROLES & SHIFT IN ROLES IMPLICATIONS

PREJECT

Preject-definition

Time Time

Time

ProcessP lanning

Product/Implementation

‘The Lens’ where promisingpotential research ideas andinnovations are identified.Where knowledge connects.

Preject-Project Model/’The Fish’

Goal seeking

Preject

phase

Goal-directed

Project

phase

Team-building

Start-up

CrystallizationDifferent roles and their displacement in time

during the phase of a preject

The gardener The jester

Preject phase

The challenger

The conceptualizer

The gardener works to develop the groups’ relational competences. Is aware of the well-being of the participants, responsible for establishing and maintaining a group climate of high energy and mutual trust.

The jester helps the group explore what they do not know. Is responsible for stimulating the group to propose ideas and ask questions; the stupid, the crazy, the impossible, the burning, and the hypothetical questions.

The conceptualizer helps the group to describe and illustrate information and knowledge in different ways. Aid in clarifying concepts and agreements/disagreements in the group where different perspectives are enrichening for the work.

The challenger assists the group in building up a solid knowledge base by challenging all the knowledge and information available. This is done by screening the already established knowledge within the group and initiating questions to both new and established knowledge.

40

30

20

10

<10

Decentral ResearchManager

10-24 25-49 50-99 100-200

%

No. of Research Proposals per RM per year

Central ResearchManager

No. of faculties 6

4823

291

No. of scientificemployees

External researchfunding/year(in mio. Euro)

Central ResearchSupport Unit?

Decentral ResearchSupport?

45 in the preawardnetwork. Low numbers

as more are working withnon-EU funding

13 @ the EU Office

TheDanishUniversities8

4

3957

214

37 @ intern list

16 @ the ResearchSupport Office

1

3124

198

90 in the Research Adm.Network which includes

Fundraising

5 @ theResearch Office

In practise9 @ Fundraising &

Project management

5

1903

78

21 @ Faculty levelsVarying Organisation

No

4

1919

72

32 @ FundraisingNetwork

2 @ Fundraising ResearchServices and Secretariat forRUC Research Committee

3

532

11,6

8

6 @ Research &Learning Support

1

131

3,3

No

9 @ the ResearchSupport Office

1

671

12,5

1

The exploration of the Professional Research Manager at universities is a research field about which very little knowledge exists. What is a

professional Research Manager? What are their roles and how are they motivated? Discussions of the general work, motivation and roles

of Research Managers formed the basis for quantitative and qualitative analyses conducted in Denmark in 2015. This poster highlights the

results of the survey and looks at the different roles and their importance to the organization and understanding of Research Managers. - By Anya B. Vinstrup, Research Support Office, Aarhus University, Denmark

ABSTRACT

Data & Background

Level of position

Increased fundsGet money, resourcesProactiveThorough knowledge, knowhowand experience

Assist in creating a unified proposalGather the threadsCapture the essense of an idea and focus itContribute in the whole processHelp, support, coordinate, structure, qualify, facilitateProblem solver - Ask questionsCreate value - Optimise chancesSee opportunities and angle project ideasDevelop projects - Build bridgesSkilled craftsman

Link - disseminatorOffer advise well in advanceMatch researcher, idea and callFacilitate, identify, locate, inspire,hold the researcher by the handNetwork, investigate and outreach work, updatedKnowledge of researchers and researchenvironments as well as the funding landscape

Ease work load and processAid, guide, attentive supporting,educative, translator, comforter,service minded, motivational, coaching, councilSmoothen the roadBe a fresh pair of evesSuper UserProposal

Fundinglandscapesand calls

Project ResearcherThe ResearchManager