Research Management: Europe and Beyond

By Jan Andersen, Kristel Toom, Susi Poli and Pamela F. Miller

Research Management: Europe and Beyond addresses the myriad responsibilities related to research management and administration. The book incorporates narratives from those working in the field to provide insight into the profession. The book also offers a unique perspective on the topic by incorporating global perspectives to address the growing interdisciplinary nature of research collaboration.

The book outlines practical advice for those in the research management and administration profession at all levels of experience. It is also a useful tool that research institutions and research groups can use to assist in planning and streamlining their research support.

• Offers a deeper understanding of the research management and administrative landscape through single and collective definitions and experiences
• Provides an overview of the research environment and explores the international research arena
• Discusses some of the most complex issues in research management and administration by covering topics such as ethics, innovation, research impact, organizational structures, and processes for the project life cycle

• Language: English
• Publisher: Academic Press
• Release date: Nov 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9780128052082

Jan Andersen

Jan Andersen is Chief Executive Officer and Team Coordinator Research Support at the Danish Technical University. During his time working in research strategy and research planning, he has been involved in building up four very successful research support units. His focus is on the balance between the research level, strategic policy level and the administrative level. In this capacity, he advised the Rector of the Danish Technical University, Rectors and Deans of the University of Copenhagen and the former Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University. From 2003-2005, he headed the establishment of the University of Copenhagen’s research information system CURIS (PURE). He was member of the Advisory Board of LINK2US and BILAT projects, and was Head of the Nordic Association of University Administrators Working Group for Research Administrators and Industrial Liaison Officers. He is an expert on the EU framework programs and his specialty is long-term research planning, hereunder the participation in Horizon 2020 and the preparation for the forthcoming EU Framework Program. He was the Chairman for EARMA from 2010-2013 and is currently an EARMA board member. Since 2013, Jan Andersen was Chair of the COST BESTPRAC Targeted Network, a COST initiative aiming to advance the state of the art in excellent administration of transnational research projects.

Book preview

Research Management

Europe and Beyond

Jan Andersen

Team Coordinator, Senior Executive Officer, Technical University of Denmark

Kristel Toom

Research Coordinator, School of Humanities, Tallinn University, Estonia

Susi Poli

Doctoral candidate, University College London, Institute of Education London – Department of Education Practice and Society, United Kingdom

New Higher Education and Research Professional – Brand Manager Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna – Research and Third Mission Division, Italy

Pamela F. Miller, Ph.D.

Interim Executive Director, Sponsored Projects Office, University of California at Berkeley, United States

Table of Contents

Cover image

Title page

Copyright

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1. Who Are Today’s Research Managers?: Roles, Professional Development, and Evolution of the Profession

Introduction

Understanding Who We Are

Strengthening the Knowledge

Widening the Perspective and Inspiring the Community

Chapter 2. The European Research Environment

Introduction

The European Research Landscape

From Framework Programme 1 to Horizon 2020

The Decision Process of a Framework Programme

European Research Agenda Stakeholders

Lobbying in Brussels

Chapter 3. The Global Research Environment

International Contributors

Topic 1: What Is Your Role as a Research Manager?

Topic 2: How Does the Issue of Gender Impact Your Role as a Research Manager?

Topic 3: How Has the Research Environment in Your Country Changed Over the Last 30 Years?

Topic 4: Is Research Policy in Your Country Impacted by Regional Variations in History, Values, and Economy?

Topic 5: How Is Governmental Funding for Research Carried Out in Your Country?

Topic 6: What Are the Primary National Research Organizations in Your Country?

Topic 7: What Role Has Funding From the Private Sector Historically Played in Supporting Research Within Your Country?

Topic 8: What Efforts Exist (Government or Private) to Promote Cross-National Research?

Topic 9: What Is the Labor Market Like for Researchers in Your Country?

Topic 10: What Types of Programs Are Available to Prepare the Researchers of the Future?

Topic 11: How Is Research and Development Used as a Driver for Economic Growth and Competiveness in Your Country?

Conclusions

Chapter 4. Organizational Structures

Introduction

Looking at the Theory—Organizational Structures Found in the Literature

Looking at the Practice—Exploring Research Division in Different European Union Countries: A Sample of Case Studies

Looking at Further Case Studies—Connecting Theory and Practice

Reshaping the Research Division—Case Studies of Restructuring the Research Division

Conclusions

Chapter 5. Research Strategy

Introduction

The Overall Framework for Developing Strategies in Research

Research Strategy Context

How to Develop a Strategy

Cases of Research Strategies

General Remarks and Conclusion

Chapter 6. Preaward—Project Preparation

Introduction

Project Life Cycle

Project Idea

Raising Awareness

Application

Evaluation

Project Handover

Rejection and Recycling of Projects

Conclusion

Chapter 7. Postaward

Introduction

Contract Negotiation

Establishing the Project

Dissemination and Communication of the Project Results and Outcome

Project Closing

Audit

Closing Remarks

Chapter 8. Knowledge Exchange

Technology Transfer

Technology Transfer Operations

Market Research

Innovation Cycle

Commercialization Route—Spin-Out or License?

Patents as a Metric

Patent Offices and Databases

European Innovation Voucher Schemes

Technology Transfer Office—Roles and Staffing

Conclusion

Annex

Chapter 9. Research Infrastructure

Research Infrastructures

What Is the European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures Roadmap?

Research Infrastructure in Europe 2020 Strategy

European Research Infrastructure Consortium

Funding Challenges for Research Infrastructure

Chapter 10. Indicators

Measuring Research Funding

Measuring Research Publications—Bibliometrics

Research Funding

Patents

PhD Defenses

Rankings

Benchmarking

Collecting Research Performance Data

Evaluation and Assessment of Research

Chapter 11. Dealing With Researchers and the Academic Community

Introduction

Chapter 12. Shaping Next Generation Researchers

Introduction

Postgraduate Education

Graduate Schools

Supervising Doctoral Students

PRIDE Survey

Future Reading

Chapter 13. Ethics and Integrity

Good Research Practice

Research Ethics

Ethics in the European Union Funding Schemes

Research Ethics in the United States

Clinical Research in the European Union

Ethical Review

Open Research Data

Intellectual Property Rights

Chapter 14. Understanding Diversity, Gender Equality, and Cultures in Research Management and Administration

Introduction

Setting the Context

Understanding Diversity

Investigating the Gender Dimension in European Research

Enhancing the Knowledge of Diversity and Cultures—Investing in Cross-Cultural Capability

Looking at Best Practices and Case Studies

Chapter 15. Transferable Skills

Introduction

Communication Skills

Teamwork and Collaboration

Diplomacy

Humor

Postscript

References

Index

Copyright

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Foreword

A profession is often defined as being a set of skills with a shared set of values. Research administration is a new profession, building on technical skills from many different fields, facilitating research policy, research strategy, research funding, and research management.

The ethos of the profession is carried by the integrity necessary when standing in the center of gravity between the researcher, your institution, and the research funder; it is carried by the attention to details necessary for the successful application and the successful project; it is carried by the ability to see things in new perspectives every day, absorb rejections and celebrate successes, make things happen.

We, the three main authors of this book, have different backgrounds, perspectives, and approached to research management and administration, just as it is in real life in our offices. This book therefore, has been an adventurous journey in the meaning of its duration and of the people involved in it. At the time of departure, indeed, the three authors were Jan, Kristel, and Susi, but they quickly realized that they were in need of somebody able to bring in the more international perspective and insight too into the field. It was the time of taking Pam on board. Chris was the last passenger taken on board of this journey but however, not less important than all the others. His contribution was worthwhile particularly at the end of the journey, when the time came to make the book more homogenous and to do the best at hand to please the readership. However, the contribution from many other passengers was invaluable to the writing and publication of this book, from the colleagues research managers who have given their time to write their stories as case studies complementing the single section of the chapters, to EARMA as the professional association of research managers and administrators in Europe, that has sponsored the publication of this book and its authors. EARMA’s contribution has been outstanding in supporting the authors and in branding the book with its authorship and full support.

Others passengers of the journey have been those who have enriched this book with their feedback and however that have given part of their time to comment drafts of chapters. They are individually acknowledged for their contribution to each chapter; they are therefore part of the broad story and of the understanding of what research management is and what is expected to become in times to come, since it is mostly thank to their contributions that this book will be able to convey a multivoice message. However, this book, as anticipated in Chapter 1, does not intend to be exhaustive but just the spark to navigate concepts, issues, and trends impacting in today’s research management.

Navigating the Chapters

Chapter 1 describes the evolution of the profession in research management. This is probably one of the parts of the book, less hands-out and more theory-based, since the theory is expected here to give a contribution in the understanding of where we come from. The theory gives also an insight into issues of professional staff in the HE sector and in its management; into blended and other professionals populating this setting and how these professionals have emerged; into professional associations targeted at research managers and into the framework of professional development that these associations have developed; into the working spaces where research managers can be funded and where they nowadays interact with a number of stakeholders; these only a few among other issues.

Chapter 2 gives an insight into the European framework programs and their evolution. While Chapter 3 collects an international perspective on a range of issues impacting on today’s research management but also on policies and strategies. Contributors to the chapter have been insightful and provocative, so that the chapter can challenge other managers sitting at their desk at the other side of the world.

Chapter 4 raises issue of how research is organized and of how universities across Europe have shaped these structures in accordance with their overarching strategy and less often with their research focus areas. This chapter also describes how processes of restructuring of these organizations have been carried out and the reasons underlying these developments. Later on, Chapter 5 deals with the strategy and planning of research.

Chapter 6 covers the preaward phase, Chapter 7 looks at the postaward, while Chapter 8 looks at the cooperation with entrepreneurial and public sector—innovation and knowledge exchange of today’s research, with a brief glance of intellectual property rights.

In Chapter 9, we look at infrastructures in research. While in Chapter 10 the focus is on the performance indicators that we are expected to know and use in assessing and evaluating research quality and quantity.

Chapter 11 is about understanding researchers and all those in the academic community. It is therefore about the relationship between managers and academics in today’s research and how we can understand each other more and support the development of high quality research. While Chapter 12 concerns how we should shape and support the next generation of researchers in our institutions.

In Chapter 13, we look at ethics and integrity across Europe and with an eye on the United States, where ethical procedures have experienced a rather long tradition. In Chapter 14 the focus is on cultures and diversity in today’s research and research management. Challenges of diversity are burning issues nowadays since they may relate to gender balance in research and in teams but also to cultures and how we should become accustomed to do in preparation for multicultural encounters. Finally, in Chapter 15 then the aim is to cover the range of transferable skills we need to have, know, or even master in today’s research management.

Being a research administrator is often not the first choice for a career, but we are shaping a profession that will make you want to stay, evolve, and become competent.

This book is a European starting point for collecting and formulating some of the key background information for becoming a successful research administrator: It is a taster and an introduction, not the final answer. Please bear over with us for the many things we did not cover, aspects we did not see, details we skipped, and bigger pictures we missed, there is plenty of room for more knowledge and we encourage you to continue the building of the body of knowledge, as we did.

In conclusion, all these chapters make the book as the journey that we, as authors, have experienced ourselves and enthusiastically put together. Hope that you, as readers of this book, can benefit from this journey and can help improve its contents further. Because no journey means anything on its own.

Jan Andersen

Kristel Toom

Susi Poli

Pamela F. Miller

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, we would like to give our special thanks to Christopher John Sturrock, Academic Administrative Officer at the Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen for proofreading and commenting.

Then we would also emphasize the support from the European Association of Research Managers and Administrators, who supported the writing of this book with three travel grants.

Furthermore, we would like to thank all the colleagues and friends who have contributed to this book, with cases, sections, comments, suggestions, support, cake, and necessary hugs: Sean McCarthy, Gavin Thomson, Christine Kastrup, Myhanh Ngyuen, Ida Begtrup Andersen, Linea Brink Andersen, Barbara Spanó, Søren Barlebo, and David Ray Featherston.

Chapter 1

Who Are Today’s Research Managers?

Roles, Professional Development, and Evolution of the Profession

Susi Poli

Abstract

This chapter aims to shed light on today's research managers and administrators (RMAs) by looking at their career trajectories and professional identities, but also at how they have developed their professionalism in the field. In addition, this chapter looks at roles in research management and does it from a range of perspectives, so not only in regard to one country in Europe or to generalist roles. This is done since roles in research management vary extensively among European countries and can be more specialized in some places rather than in others, depending on the system of higher education as well as on the organizational structure for research support. Thus, this chapter aims to be an extensive but not an exhaustive overview of who RMAs are and of what they do in higher education institutions throughout Europe. In the intention, however, this is meant to be the entry point into an understanding of the topic aimed at triggering discussion and at calling for further investigation to come.

Keywords

Career trajectories; Knowledge in practice; Roles in research management; Working spaces

Chapter Outline

Introduction

Structure of the Chapter

Setting the Context

Understanding Who We Are

Exploring Research Management in Theory and Practice

Evolution of a Profession: Looking at Career Trajectories in Research Management

Exploring Professional Identities

Mapping Roles in Research Management

Developing Knowledge in Practice

How Research Management Has Increased Legitimacy Inside and Outside the Community

Strengthening the Knowledge

A Field of Investigation, Roles, and Working Spaces in Research Management

Research Management as a Newer Field of Investigation

Looking at Roles and Functions Further

Spaces in Today’s Research: Looking at Third Spaces of Collaboration and at Shifting Arenas

Spotting Commonalities and Differences in Organizational Structures in Research Management

Widening the Perspective and Inspiring the Community

Research Management and the Legitimacy of the Profession—An Open Query

Looking at Frameworks of Professional Development and at Studies on Skills and Experiences

Further Issues in the Practice of Professional Development

Best Practices of Professional Development—Engaging RMAs With Research Into Professional Practice, Writing Articles, and Presenting at Conferences

Acknowledgments

Introduction

The chapter begins with an overview of the theory on higher education management (HEM), in relation to the broad category of university managers and how these have been described; and then it considers the development of the body of literature in relation to the function of research management (RM) and how this evolution might take to the recognition of a profession in the long term. Moreover, in this chapter consideration is given to some of the working spaces in which research managers and administrators (RMAs) interact in today’s research, for instance the shifting arena, described by Shelley (2009), and third spaces of collaboration investigated by Whitchurch (2008a, 2008b, 2008c, 2008d, 2009). It seems therefore that reflecting on working spaces is getting topical: these may be linked to new funding schemes or other forms of collaborations. Among these working spaces, there are those inside and outside the institution, virtual spaces, or those only shared with peers, such as professional associations and networks. But there are also working spaces where multiple actors (from professions, academia, and the industry) interact, and so where it is more likely to see the blend of cultures representing today’s research management and consequently a range of organizational behaviors in practice.

The structure of this chapter aims to be an harmonized combination of practice and theory: therefore RM will be explored under a twofold lens, of professional practice arising from everyday issues and theory emerging from the body of literature, wherever existing, arising from books and reports, articles in professional magazines, and also those published on scholarly journals. The style of this chapter, however, is intended to be professional and not academic: even if it is clear that the investigation of a body of literature in relation to research management cannot be done without any methodology and so a light touch of academic skills seem necessary. However, the contribution of the theory in relation to higher education management, first, and to RM, then, is intended as complementary, so as an additional lens to look at RM. Summing up, the contribution from the theory is not meant to be extensive but just consistent with what will be shown in the practice of RM: for this reason, some parts of the handbook will use this theory a bit more depending on topic; and there will be case studies that aim to show how the topic under discussion works in practice.

This sought combination of theory and practice comes as a result of how other handbooks have dealt with professional practice, since this has often been done with no consideration for the theory surrounding these issues. Therefore, if the aim is the understanding of the academic community, we, as research managers and administrators, should go for affirming a strong and consistent voice, as suggested by Lewis (2012). In fact, in his view this can be achieved through a common understanding of each other’s language (e.g., the professional and the academic), but also through the understanding of how the combination of practice and theory can do the relationship between us even better.

In addition to this light touch of theory, especially later in this chapter, the aim is to raise and to spread out cases of professional frameworks and training schemes developed by professional associations, for instance, those launched in Europe, and also those promoted by other bodies, such as the project management institute or VITAE. Through the analysis of these frameworks, we can gain an insight into the set of skills that are more in need in today’s RM, but we could also anticipate skills that are more likely to be in demand in the future of an RM profession.

Structure of the Chapter

The chapter is therefore divided into three parts: the beginner part is targeted at early stage career research managers and administrators, that is, individuals who do not have a long-term experience in managing research; the second part addresses issues that can be placed at an intermediate level of experience and what RMAs are expected to know at that particular time of career; this part is projected toward the understating of issues that lie beyond the practical sphere of everyday practice in research management. Lastly, the third part aims to challenge the most advanced RMAs, by raising theoretical issues or trying to predict what is going on to be research and its management in the future.

The three parts have a common structure and deal with issues from a practical and, wherever needed, from a more theoretical perspective. In addition, the three parts are enriched by case studies that show how others have dealt with the same set of issues from their own landscape of research management. These cases are intended to show steps of realization of something new, and possibly successful, with no presumption to repeat that successful experience in a different social and cultural context straight away. However, the three chapters are aimed to add something new and inspiring to everybody’s knowledge; it is just when we look at experiences far from our familiar setting that we all can be more challenged to open new doors of understanding, reflection, and thinking.

Setting the Context

Nowadays, within the frame of a diversified and highly changeable higher education (HE) sector, research is characterized by high degree of complexity, and this mirrors both the complexity of the whole system and that of the funding landscape in Europe and internationally. Different HE systems are in place in different countries, and despite a few commonalities, the degree of harmonization is limited; among these similarities, there is the effort made by the Bologna process to ensure more comparable, compatible, and coherent systems of higher education in Europe, including the constitution of the European Research Area and procedures of quality assurance. Among differences: HR contracts and systems of incentivization and pay raise, status of managers and administrators (e.g., as civil servants), organizational structures, and definitions of units in universities (faculties or schools meaning differently in different countries), etc.

Within this picture, Andersen (2015) sees this research landscape as a consequence of the rise in complexity of the funding research environment: he points out how this complexity has had an impact on the current role of RMAs but also how this has previously impacted on its evolution (Andersen, 2014, 2011). It is a matter of fact that financial resources have become keys not only throughout Europe but also internationally and that universities and research institutions cannot miss the competition: only by being competition driven and so exploit their full potential in research and in the search of any type of resources (e.g., business or fundraising), they can show to be top level institutions, support their local communities, gain additional resources, and develop themselves and their countries more.

This should be true even for those higher education institutions (HEIs) that are placed in HE systems still counting on funds from the state–central level, which come to be allocated by formula; even because competition in the sector is nowadays a widespread and growing trend, which is not primarily/essentially about financial resources but about all what is needed to attract any further resources. It involves, among others, competing for the most talented students but also for the best faculty members and overall scientists to hire; enhancing the reputation, by working on branding and marketing and so by improving own targets in rankings; maximizing the intake of funding schemes, possibly internationally, and differentiating as much as possible so to make more sustainable any plans of investment; but also it is about fundraising and society-driven initiatives, to show the interlinkages between resources and the mission of HE and research institutions and so confirm that HEIs are still worthwhile assets to invest money in; and then about establishing international agreements and research collaborations, possibly with outstanding institutions, that perhaps summarizes most of the previous points and gives evidence of how the one’s brand has been developing in today’s research.

Other authors have described the degree of complexity within today’s HE and research landscape: the whole higher education worldwide has been described as changeable and extremely turbulent, since driven by multiple environmental pressures (Becher and Trowler, 2001a, 2001b; Whitchurch and Gordon, 2010), leading to a time of maximum uncertainty (Jameson, 2012). Among these changes: an increase in the competition for the most talented students, international offshore university campuses, the launch of private and for-profit universities for instance in the United Kingdom, mergers and a never-ending number of attempts of restructuring universities, and then cuts in funding for research but also for staff.

Looking at a research-focused environment, Adams (2013) has described this time as the fourth age of research and pointed out how this age is characterized by:

• international collaborations versus domestic ones;

• elite universities and research centers that more frequently establish partnerships and mutual agreements among themselves;

• mobility of research staff as one of the key drivers for states to continue to be at the highest level scientifically and economically.

More specifically in regard to article by Adams describing "the fourth age of research published on Nature in May 2013, the author describes growth of this emerging age and tells how research has progressed to the current fourth age" through two prior stages: a first stage was about valorizing an individual contribution to research, whilst the second was more about putting the institutional sphere ahead. By contrast, the current phase, this fourth age research, valorizes the national setting more than the individual or the institutional. This fourth age is therefore characterized by international collaborations as the mainstream of today’s research. Moreover, the paper points out how mobility is getting key not only for researchers but for nations and universities too, so researchers are asked to go/be out and about; and nations to bring them back to remain at the highest level scientifically and as a result to enrich their research landscapes.

After analyzing data on research articles from the past three decades, Adams has found that papers with authors from the home country, so domestic output, have declined and also that there has been a rise in papers published by researchers placed not only in one but in different countries; this shows how international collaborations have fostered multicultural output and papers too. Only in emerging economies (e.g., Brazil, China, India, and also Poland), this tendency has been reversed and domestic output is on the rise. For established economies placed in Western Europe, domestic output has increased by only 50% with the only exception of the Netherlands where it has been doubled.

This description of the evolution of ages in research sheds light on how today’s investments in science has changed, for instance returning own researchers after years of studies/career spent abroad or focusing on international output rather than on domestic; but also on who is investing more and owns research output or, by contrast, who only exploits it. Further findings highlight that the United States is the most frequent partner in others research, even though still less internationally collaborative than Western Europe (Adams, 2013:2). The paper looks at the causes underlying this growth in international collaborations and shows how bilateral partnerships seem to impact more than other factors: it is also shown in this paper that citation impact is normally higher when research groups collaborate and much higher when coauthorship is international; one more reason lies in papers internationally collaborative that are likely to be cited more often than only domestic ones.

Overall, the paper highlights a growing divide between international and domestic research, and overall it stresses the benefits that arise from collaboration in research internationally. In addition, it points out that excellence seeks excellence, so elite national universities are also leading international collaborators … for example, the most frequent international partners of the University of Cambridge, UK; are the Max Planck Institutes in Germany, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, both in Cambridge; the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena; the University of California, Berkeley; and the universities of Toronto, Heidelberg and Tokyo. Harvard’s frequent international partners are Imperial College London, University College London, the Max Planck Institutes, the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and the universities of Cambridge, Toronto and Geneva (Adams, 2013:4). These findings show therefore that there are preferred partnerships in research and so show what universities collaborate more and with whom. The last point of this paper focuses on the importance of mobility among researchers but also among university staff, including RMAs; in the end, it recommends nations aspiring to remain at the highest level scientifically to bring all these staff back. So international mobility, with focus on incentives and travel opportunities, is a must for nations, universities, and research institutions and cannot be only seen as one of the options available in research but should be valorized further.

Understanding Who We Are

Exploring Research Management in Theory and Practice

As earlier said, this chapter aims to explore research management as one of the functions composing HEM; for this reason, an insight into the whole theory dealing with HEM will be the entry point. The knowledge of this framework may certainty help in focusing on the core of the RM function: it cannot be forgotten that RMAs are part of the university workforce and that relationships with other university managers matter. In fact, just in regard to these relationship and the whole picture of HE, RMAs have often been seen as the others within the university workforce, and the reason is that they have been regarded as the employees who are neither part of the senior management team nor of the research staff, with their working spaces that may be seen as inhabited by ambiguity, and with possibilities for boundary crossing and fluidity of identity (Allen-Collinson, 2009).

Overall, university managers have been described as the "invisible workforce with no voice and no place within the university, and this is because they are unrecognized and unacknowledged. The degree of invisibility is such that when someone points out the existence of other professional staff on campus, academic faculty and academic administrators tend to misunderstand, confusing them with the equivalent of clerical support staff or with low- to mid-level bureaucrats" (Rhoades, 2010:41). In addition, they have been termed with definitions and also negative labeling spanning from assistant to support staff, from nonacademic staff to peripheral workers (Allen-Collinson, 2009). This latter definition refers to university employees who play secondary jobs or those to be intended as peripheral to academic staff, including supportive and advisory roles. And if this definition may describe functions held by professional staff in past years, it should be nowadays revised since these staff play a wide range of key roles, such as student services, research management, marketing and fundraising, and research commercialization, among others. As a result, these are less likely to be peripheral functions and these staff peripheral workers; on the contrary some of these roles, even in RM, have become core in universities.

Just to make the picture comprehensive, further definitions picture these staff as "new professionals" (the UK Dearing Report, 1997), managerial professionals (Rhoades, 2010; Slaughter & Rhoades, 2004), or simply HE professionals (Middlehurst, 2010). Among further definitions, support professionals, "other professionals" (Gordon, 2010a, 2010b), and also new higher education professionals (Whitchurch, 2010a, 2010b). The first of these definitions, "support professionals, seems to give an updated picture and so be in line with the mission of their function: for instance, in RM this supportive professional plays his/her role working in collaboration with the academic side and this stands for the mission of the function (Kirkland & Ajai-Ajagbe, 2013). On the contrary, the second definition of other professional" seems to bring a negative connotation, trying to picture the other side of university staff as visible but unhelpful.

However, further definitions look at RMAs closer and one of these comes from studies carried out by Whitchurch: she refers to these new professionals working with academics as "third spaces professionals" (Whitchurch, 2013), namely the professional group able to perform challenging and highly skilled functions that lie in between academic and professional domains, for instance partnering in research management or bid writing. These professionals are those more likely to rely on legitimacy arising from their academic credentials (e.g., master’s but also PhD degrees) and this makes their interaction with academics more effective; in fact, they are seen as fully aligned in their understanding of research issues. Definitions of professional managers include: hybrid, multiprofessionals, but also blended and this latter in order to stress the blend of their background more often made of experience in academia and management. According to Whitchurch (2006:16–25), these blended professionals are the ones with an ability to work in ambiguous space between professional and academic domains as well as the ones actively using a mixed background to advantage (Whitchurch, 2008b:23). However, since this definition of blended professionals shows to be rather loose, we are going to explore it further later in the chapter.

Other staff have been termed "super administrators," and this is to point out how a number of those individuals in administrative functions hold academic qualifications (Dobson and Conway, quoted in Allen-Collinson, 2009; Schuetzenmeister, 2010; Shelley, 2009; Whitchurch, 2008b), which might be equal or even higher—for instance, they may have doctoral degrees—than those held by some academics. This definition stresses an increase in their professionalization and this may relate to the loss of a number of university functions from academics (Slaughter & Rhoades, 2004).

Evolution of a Profession: Looking at Career Trajectories in Research Management

In past years, the function of research administrator in Europe was mainly carried out by librarians; later on, this turned into a person with the capability to deal with financial matters, so somebody capable to deal with budgets and accounting techniques, but also aware of institutional practice and procedures, so a role closer to that of a financial administrator. Andersen (2011) suggests that most of these RMAs shaped their role by themselves, by equipping themselves with further skills and finding their own way to manage projects, despite not having had specialist training on it. Their background varied, and they were librarians but also administration or financial officers within their institutions: it was therefore likely those to come from a variety of university functions—and others may be added to the list—and in this way they brought in their expertise to widening the support to research. From that first and generalized professional profile, today’s RMAs generally hold more specialized roles and their research support offices are more often made up of individuals with skills covering all stages of the RM process, ranging from ethics to IP and from pre- to postaward. Nowadays, it is less likely to find as many generalist roles (e.g., research manager or project manager) as in past years, and therefore specialized roles are getting the norm. Thus, it may be interesting to look at and compare yesterday’s nonspecialized roles, their range of functions that were run altogether with today’s high specialism in role description, in tasks, and in the set of responsibilities of those within emerging multiskill and more frequently multiculture teams of RMAs.

However, the case studies that follow aim to shed light on a limited cohort of these career trajectories taking into research management to encourage reflection.

Case Study 1 at Bergen University (N)—Anja Hegen

I am a biologist by training and was very happy with my life as a postdoc, but of course there were doubts: A career in academia is very demanding and positions are often only given for a few months. With my daughter on the way, I therefore decided to look for another job, where I could use my skills and have enough time for a family. I met a research manager by chance at a course and asked her about her job—what I heard was very interesting and I also discovered a newly created Master of Business Administration in Higher Education Management at Oldenburg University, where I could study flexible modules besides my job. Our research manager then told me that she would leave, so I decided to apply for her position. It is normally very unusual to get a job in our university administration without any experience, but I guess they were in desperate need of more advisers, so they hired me. I am still very happy with my work, as I get to meet different researchers and learn from them and no 2  days are the same.

Case Study 2 at the Polytechnic University of the Marche (I)—Marco Berzano

Looking back to my career path, it makes me smiling. When I graduated I was a biologist with a clear idea to do science, to work in a laboratory, and to spend most of my time mainly abroad. At that time, I could not see myself as research administrator, not at all. I reckon professional experiences and choices I made have all contributed obtaining the position I now hold in the research division at Università Politecnica della Marche (UNIVPM)—Italy, where I am the European research support officer for the whole university. But let us start from the beginning. I graduated with a degree in molecular biology from the Università di Camerino—Italy—after 6 months ERASMUS project at the University of Ulster—Northern Ireland. Once I returned to Camerino, I was encouraged to write an EU proposal to receive funding aiming to develop a novel idea for water quality assessment. I believe that was the turning point of my young career in research management but I was not aware of that. We were granted funding under FP5, and I could start a PhD in environmental microbiology and in parallel working as project manager for the coordinator. That was for sure an unusual mixture of roles which helped me developing useful skills and independency.

Finished my PhD I have moved t o Dublin as postdoctoral Marie Curie fellow for University College, Dublin, working on a multidisciplinary EU funded project under FP6. At the end of the fellowship, I have relocated to London with my family to start a research fellowship at the University of Westminster working on an FP7 EU-funded project. In the middle of the contract, I was offered a permanent position as laboratory analyst at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) in Ireland working at the Centre Veterinary Research Laboratory, Division of Parasitology/Microbiology. It was not an easy decision to leave the academic path, but life in London was not easy with a family and Ireland had treated us well in the past. Hence, we all moved back to Ireland, where I have worked mainly in diagnostic with almost no research activities. The only link with university was a request of supervision for final year projects supporting students. At that time, I had missed doing research and family issues brought me looking for new working solutions back in Italy. Once I had been offered a research contract at UNIVPM, I had requested a career break from DAFM, in order to have the option to go back to my previous job. In Ancona, I have worked in the field of marine molecular biology carrying out research activities, training students, leading workshops, and provide support in the research management of another FP7 EU-funded project. The last jump of my career path happened by chance. I was at the end of my contract in Ancona, ready to pack and move back to Ireland when a competition for a new role at UNIVPM came up during the summer. I had excelled myself ending first and being appointed as administrator in the research division. I now know that I would have not passed the selection of this competition without any of the professional and human experiences I had before, it was a gradual path, not foreseen from the beginning, but it shaped it up eventually.

Case Study 3 at University of Eastern Finland (F)—Jaana Backman

I graduated from the University of Oulu in 1987, majoring in geography. After my graduation, I worked for regional development positions until at the beginning of 1990s when the university searched a new employee. The position was totally new and very fascinating. The University searched employee whose duty was to promote the cooperation between University and enterprises. At that time this was really new approach in Finland. I understood that I could build up something very new in this position. I applied for the job and was elected. Then started my long-term experience of research administration with a very diverse and varied tasks within the scope of research funding and innovation.

More than 20  years can hold a lot of things and tasks. What I am thankful is that during my whole career I have been able to develop something new; create models for cooperation with researchers and enterprises, create, develop, and run the University’s Research and Innovation Services, taking care of strategic development and responsibility for the process of external funding at university level, obtaining competitive funding of my own development projects, to participate in several national arenas as a high level expert (for example ministries and our national professional association) and international arenas of my own profession (for example Nordic NUAS Research and Innovation group and global INORMS), and now, set up and run the university EU office in Brussels.

However, even though I was already exited when applied for the job, I couldn’t imagine how much it contained. When I applied for the position a lifetime ago, I thought that this position was going to be only a one step on my career. But what happened, the diverse and challenging tasks took me over, and I am still here.

Exploring Professional Identities

Whitchurch has investigated professional identities in HEM extensively. She has categorized university managers in a number of ways, looking at how professionals have extended their identities and also colonized new working spaces by going beyond the description of predefined roles (and talked about niche builders, professional managers, and then pathfinders, Whitchurch, 2008a, 2008b, 2008c, 2008d). She has investigated both professional and academic identities and the interplay between these (2012); in addition, Whitchurch has looked at changes in identities of professional administrators and managers, especially in the United Kingdom, by following stages of the evolution of