About this Resource

Managing Research Projects

Managing Research Projects

Providers of Development Opportunities

[c]

Institutions

All universities with Research Council-funded researchers are now in receipt of ‘Roberts’ money. ‘Roberts’ payments can be used by institutions to provide training and development opportunities for researchers in one or more of the five areas outlined in sections C-G of the Research Councils’ Joint Skills Statement (2001), which can be found at Vitae's site.

The five areas, C-G, are:

  • Research Management
  • Personal Effectiveness
  • Communication Skills
  • Networking and Team Working
  • Career Management

As a result of increased funding, many institutions now have comprehensive programmes of training and development aimed specifically at research staff.

Careers, Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC)

CRAC currently have the contract to run a national programme of training and development opportunities for research staff. Many of these are delivered at the regional level through the Regional Hub network.

CRAC also have an extensive ‘Researcher Development’ website, which provides access to a whole host of tips, guidance and other useful resources of relevance to researchers.

Professional Bodies

Association of Research Managers and Administrators (ARMA)

ARMA is the professional association for research managers and administrators in the UK. They provide a series of training and information events, including an annual Conference, a series of one-day seminars, a structured programme of training courses, and short Study Tours. They also support the exchange of knowledge and best practice through focused Discussion Groups and a number of email lists.
Website: www.arma.ac.uk

Association of Research Centres in the Social Sciences (ARCISS)

ARCISS is a membership organisation for UK research centres based in the Social Sciences. It organises a series of seminars, workshops and conferences.
Website: www.arciss.ac.uk

Higher Education Academy Subject Network

The Subject Network, which is part of the Higher Education Academy (the professional body representing teaching staff in HE), offers a range of courses and event to promote high quality learning and teaching through the development and transfer of good practices in all disciplines. The network consists of 24 subject centres and a single Generic Centre.
Website: www.heacademy.ac.uk

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

The ESRC themselves provide a broad range of workshop, seminars and conferences.
Website: http://www.esrc.ac.uk
 

The Researcher Development Initiative (RDI) is linked closely with other ESRC training activities and resources, such as the National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM). Together with the RDI and the Quantitative Methods Initiative (QMI), ESRC has set up ReStore. This project aims to build a prototype of a service for sustaining online resources; establish a service to sustain online resources in the field of research methods; and lead the development of a long-term strategy for ESRC in sustaining on-line resources.

The development of ‘project management skills’ is an area where there are often requests for support, and TLRP researcher Anne Edwards gave a presentation on Managing Large Projects (PDF Document) at an RDI event in 2006. At a TLRP RCBN event Rosemary Deem (2003 University of Bristol) presented Building a Research Career in which she offered advice and guidance on how to build a successful research career.

professional development