Abstract

Untapping the potential of RMAs is crucial for boosting the capacity of R&I to reach higher levels of impact, reach out to society and increase its practical application to multiple sectors, situations and needs. RMAs are enablers, facilitators, translators, bridgers and generators of change within and outside their institutions.

This paper responds to the following questions:
How can we confer the importance that RMAs deserve in the multiple roles and tasks they perform from R&I inception to dissemination, exploitation, uptake, and impact?
What are the determinants for the ‘less important’ role coferred to RMAs?
And, what can we all do to reverse this situation?

We lack a systemic approach to this complex issue and I propose to address these questions by exploring and unfolding what I have called the caleidoscop paradox. Each relevant actor, with power, position, motivation and/or capacity to reverse this situation, lacks a holistic vision and a systematic way to address the many facets of the problem.

The kaleidoscope image reflects a myriad of blurred facets that need to be encompassed: the top-down, bottom-up, middle-round, inside-out functioning, the outsider big picture, the integrating mechanisms from inside and outside, and the panoramic view. Each actor (researcher, decision maker, research support officer, stakeholder,...) sees the problem from their own limited point of view. This usually depends on the level of experience, the role we play in the organisation, the capacity to influence decision-making, motivation,...

To promote the crucial role of RMAs in a holistic way, we need:
To raise awareness of the important role played by this collective. These need to be done both among the RMAs themselves, their academic colleagues, the decision making bodies and society at large. Promoting higher levels of motivation, prestige, and broader future career development paths and prospects will support unveiling the existing potential of RMAs’ creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation.
To improve the efforts for capacity building, exchange of good practice, networking (ex. EARMA, iNORMs… are good examples)
To define the many roles, tasks and possibilities
To promote higher internal and external mobility. Internally between different departments and services; and externally among different types of institutions and sectors, to learn from other experiences and ways of doing things.
To encourage the recognition of blended profiles (research-management) to bring the RMA and research profession to a new level, offering the possibility to the ones with capacity and willingness to combine research tasks with research support agents of change to bridge the gap between research, innovation and impact.