International research management: benchmarking programme
Summary
The environment in which universities conduct research has changed radically in the past two decades. A significantly higher proportion of research work is project based, and conducted through external grants and contracts. At the same time much more work is competitively won and the legal environment for research has become more complex. These trends are international, and reflect a wider recognition amongst governments of the role that research and innovation can play in developing national prosperity.
One effect of these developments has been the increasing need for universities to centrally 'manage' and support areas of research that would previously have been regarded as the responsibility of individual academics. Both universities and governments have found the question of how to secure best value from academic researchers - whether by maximising their research output or ensuring that it is utilised for wider benefit - to be a complex one. It is clear that processes are still in a state of evolution and likely, therefore, that much is to be gained by sharing experiences and good practice.
The benchmarking exercise reported in this document sought to facilitate this process amongst 15 universities from nine countries: Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.
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