Members of the Regent House are invited to contribute to a review of research administration within the University.
The review will be conducted by a panel chaired by Professor David Cardwell, Head of the Department of Engineering. The panel members will be predominantly from outside the University, with expertise drawn from industry, Research Councils, charity funders and other Higher Education institutions. The Head of the Registrary’s Office will act as Secretary to the review.
The terms of reference for the review are available here. Members of the Regent House are asked to be forward-looking in their responses, focusing on what support is needed to improve the University’s research standing, rather than examining in detail any difficulties arising from the current structure of the Research Operations Office. Respondents are asked to consider the broad question:
What changes, if any, would you make to the research administration to ensure that it provides the most effective support to the University’s research?
Respondents are also asked to focus particularly on the following questions:
- Where would different functions of research administration be best placed (for example, centrally, in Schools and/or Faculties and Departments or a combination of both) and why (for example, to streamline the grants approval process)?
- What areas of expertise would be valuable to research operations at Cambridge (for example, the provision of dedicated support for big grants and the management of different research relationships)?
- If you have had experience of research administration in other institutions, please provide any exemplars of good practice.
These questions seek to identify an administrative structure that will best support the University’s research activity in the medium term. The outcome and recommendations of the review will assist the University in the formulation of a facilitative, flexible research administration where each element adds value.
The Chair welcomes input from Regent House to this important consultation by 12 noon on Wednesday, 25 May 2016 and responses can be provided by e-mail to consultationresponses@admin.cam.ac.uk. Input to the consultation is also being sought from Councils of Schools and Faculty Boards.