As a research administrator, challenges can present themselves in many different forms. These challenges can range from accounting discrepancies to facilities issues, and regulatory burdens. From time to time, research administrators can find themselves at odds with faculty and research teams at their institution. However, research administrators do not need to face challenges with faculty and research teams. Instead, when working in partnership with faculty and research teams, research administrators can find themselves building successful partnerships and increasing research productivity.
Supporting Faculty Members and Research Teams
Being able to effectively navigate research administration will create a more productive environment for faculty and research teams. This navigation is rooted in supporting faculty and research teams. While support can take many different forms, there are three clear areas research administrators should focus on: communication, networking, and teamwork.
Overcoming Challenges in Research Administration
When working with faculty and research teams as a research administrator, communication and other challenges can occur. Oftentimes, challenges in research administration are based on differences in experience, roles, tasks, and priorities. Research administrators can take three simple steps:
- Communicating with faculty members and research teams
- Creating and providing a space for networking events
- Assisting in team-based proposals early-on
Through connecting with faculty, providing a space for networking, and assisting in team-based proposals, research administrators can mitigate several potential challenges before they occur. When these three approaches to addressing potential challenges with faculty and research administrators are applied, researcher administrators will be able to focus more attention on faculty, research teams, and research activities at their institution.
Connecting with Faculty
Connection is the basis of almost all relationships, professional or personal. As such, connecting with faculty is essential to research administrators working with faculty members and research teams. This connection with faculty members and research teams is critical to research administration for each faculty member may have different needs, ranging from animal and human subjects to transferring grants from one institution to another. While the individual needs of each faculty member and research team might differ, research administrators who are the most successful are aware of research activities occurring at their institution early on.
The connection between research administrators and faculty members is essential, it should begin during the hiring of faculty members before they even start on campus. Research administrators should consider even potentially creating their own onboarding for faculty members and research teams to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) to further their connection with new researchers at their institution.
The creation of onboarding documents as a research administrator could allow new faculty members and research teams to become familiar with resources available to them early on, such as the technology transfer office or researchers with like interests. It additionally allows for research administrators to identify any specific needs a research project might have early on and to build a productive relationship with faculty and research teams.
Networking
Faculty members and research teams often do not know individuals beyond their own immediate circles at their institution. This is often a common theme throughout institutions across the country. As research administrators on your campus, you can support and work with faculty and research teams through networking events.
These networking events facilitated by a research administrator can either be internal networking events or external networking events. In internal networking, research administrators identify themes, organize research events, and host information sessions on relevant research topics. An external networking event could be supported by research administrators through hosting collaborative events and formalizing networking groups of other resources, such as research administrators on other campuses. Research administrators are encouraged to have a balanced approach to both internal networking events and external networking events that they facilitate for faculty and research teams.
For networking events to be successful, research administrators should ensure expectations are managed early on. Expectations can be managed by ensuring the take-home message of the event is relevant and clear and by encouraging faculty members and research teams to network with each other. Through clear communication, research administrators can ensure faculty and research teams are on the same page prior to a networking event at their institution.
Team-based Approach
When preparing a proposal for a grant opportunity, think about the possibility of a team-based approach. A team-based approach is especially important early on when a research administrator might be assisting in the proposal of a large-scale grant or complex research project at their institution. Strategically understanding how deep your bench is in terms of faculty, external support, internal support, and research administrators at your campus when preparing your proposals can ensure your research team is set up for success early on.
In leveraging your network across your campus and external stakeholders, you as a research administrator will be able to meet the large majority of the needs of your faculty members, through their need for research and grants, teaching, and scholarship. As a research administrator, you are able to provide faculty and research teams with the resources they need to be successful through communication and networking with internal and external stakeholders. Starting with a team-based proposal ensures all members of the research team will be able to communicate openly and be on the same page the first day of the project before it is even funded.
Success as a Research Administrator
As a research administrator, remember to establish a productive research culture within your organization, connect with and support faculty members, become a champion of faculty success through mentorship and events, and work with both large and small research teams at your organization. Success as a research administrator with faculty and research teams is based on communication, networking, and teamwork often and early on. While other challenges might still exist in institutional research, especially for research administrators, taking this approach to professional relationships with faculty and research teams will mitigate some challenges which could potentially occur in a research environment.
CITI Program’s Tips for Research Administrators: Working with Faculty and Research Teams webinar provides useful information and tips for both new and tenured research administrators.
