Research Management Initiative – Enhancing the strategic capacity of Europe’s public RPOs and RFOs
02INTRODUCTION
Action 17 contains the Research Management Initiative, which is about enhancing the strategic capacity of Europe’s public research performing and funding organisations (RPOs and RFOs), in line with the European Commission's European Skills Agenda (30 June 2020) and the Council Conclusions on the new ERA (1 Dec. 2020). Research management refers to the operation (research), while science management refers to the result of the operation (science).
Challenges to Europe’s research management capacity are, amongst others: the uneven distribution of research management communities and expertise across the ERA; a strong need for creating sustained pan-European research management training and for solid networks of early career managers; smaller institutions often need support staff to combine different roles, including a constantly evolving need for new skills; a lack of recognition of the profession of research managers or research support staff, as compared to other policy sectors.
Following above mentioned challenges, the specific objectives of the European Research Management Initiative are:
- Upskilling: improve training and skills development of research management staff (e.g. training and career development programmes and curricula covering the various dimensions of research management, improving accessibility of joint virtual and non-virtual training programmes);
- Recognition: contribute to professionalisation of the continuously evolving, multi-faceted role of the research management profession across the ERA, in coordination with Action 4 (e.g. defining skills and competences of research managers in the various dimensions of research management, contributing to recognition of new career pathways, quality control of training programmes and curricula for research managers);
- Networking: support networking of research managers and best practice exchange via cross-border networks in the various dimensions of research management (support for networks of research managers, focussing in particular on early career stage research managers);
- Capacity building: reinforce research management capacity across the entire ERA, notably supporting organisations in regions of lower R&I intensity (support for cross-border staff exchange for research managers (for instance through the ERA Talents action under widening)).
The Research Management Initiative will build on existing support for some of the research management dimensions, such as initiatives for open science, data management, ethics, infrastructures, research funding. The Commission intends to coordinate the existing EU research management project portfolio, where feasible and providing added value.
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