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The Challenges of Research Management: Developing a strategy and funding it Print Email this page

18-19 June 2004, Barcelona, Spain

Organised in collaboration with OECD/IMHE

The Workshop was hosted by the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in the Casa Convalescència conference centre in Barcelona, and brought together 50 participants from across Europe, in a stimulating 50/50 mix of senior representatives from academia (Vice-Rectors of Research) and university administration (Heads of Research Offices, Heads of Administration, etc.). The Workshop Series "Managing the University Community" is case based: discussions are held around four cases representing different European university experiences.

The Barcelona Workshop chaired by Luc Weber, Member of the EUA Board and former rector of the University of Geneva, dealt with various questions related to the new challenges for universities in how to improve their research capacity and (international) competitiveness. Professor Weber launched the Workshop by giving a presentation on the main topic

• Programme
• Introductory Presentation by Luc Weber, Chair

In plenary sessions, participants heard presentations on the strategic and managerial framework necessary to grow critical research mass, based on OECD/IMHE reports. These issues were discussed in more detail in the case presentations which dealt with the questions of prioritising research activities within the framework of an institutional strategy and the effective establishment and management of research offices.

• Presentation by Helen Connell, Connell Skilbeck Ltd.
• Presentation by Ellen Hazelkorn, Dublin Institut of Technology
• Presentation by Josep Santaló, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona
  Slide presentation by Josep Santaló
• Presentation by Maurizio Martelli, University of Genoa
  Slide presentation by Jenny Racah, University of Genoa

Work groups discussed issues relating to prioritisation of research activities and ways in which to motivate individual researchers to support a central institutional research strategy. Other groups discussed the different roles of a research office - the "broker", the "support role" and the public relations aspects - and the strategic and institutional facets to identifying fields of excellence.

• Work Group on "Prioritising Research Activities
• Work Group on "The Different Roles of a Research Office
• Work Group on "Motivating Individual Researchers to Support a Central Strategy"

The plenary sessions of the second day of the Workshop addressed the critical question of how to appropriately cost research, and had a case presentation from RWTH Aachen on the organisational framework, including such complicated issues as the funding of interdisciplinary and innovation driven research. Participants also heard a presentation of the findings of an EUA study on the financing of university based research in European universities, commissioned by DG Research (European Commission).

• Case Study presented by David Westbury, Westbury Consulting
  Slide presentation by David Westbury
• Case Study presented by Regina Oertel, Technical University Aachen
  Slide presentation by Regina Oertel
• Presentation by Bernadette Conraths, EUA Senior Advisor

The substantial increase in third party competitive funding for research has made the questions of full economic costing, of sufficient and effective management support and training crucial to institutions. Participants also expressed a need for the development of a common European terminology and, possibly, guidelines for effective finance management of research. Universities need to be able to understand and compare in both financial and quality terms across Europe to be serious contenders, and beneficiaries, in international competition.

Work groups addressed the costing issue as well as the issues of professional skills needed among research managers and how to ensure training opportunities and the legal/accountancy support badly needed. The other topical discussion concerned the promotion of collaborative research and knowledge transfer issues/entrepreneurship in universities, within a framework of an institutional research strategy.

• Work Group on "Promoting and Funding Collaborative Research"
• Work Group on "The Costing of Research"
• Work Group on the "Professional Skills of Research Managers"

There was general acknowledgement that to reach the ambitious EU goals of Lisbon and Barcelona more funding was needed for research. But increased funding should be accompanied by central leadership as well as professional management.