EARMA Conference Prague 2023

Who pays for the pre-award work?

Models for resourcing and budgeting pre-award services – comparison of two cases

Format: Fifteen-Minute Discussion Tables

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Leadership

We will introduce two models for the trickly phase of resourcing the experts during the pre-award stage: Centralised and “Faculties as customers” model. We aim to discuss the operational models of these cases and how they affect the work of pre-award teams.

Auditor: Friend or Foe

Auditor: Friend or Foe

Format: Oral 30 Minutes

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Project Management

Auditors are usually seen as The Baddie, The Villian, or The Scoundrel. We're here to set the record straight, about how to work with your auditor, and how to view us more like James Bond, than Ernst Stavro Blofeld!

ISGlobal's Mentoring Program for Junior Scientists

ISGlobal's Mentoring Program for Junior Scientists – Lessons learnt from ten years' experience

Format: Oral 30 Minutes

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Professional Development and Recognition

This session will summarize the lessons learnt and discuss some remaining challenges of ISGlobal’s ten-years experience with a Mentoring Program addressed to postdoctoral researchers and junior faculty.

Innovation in Research Support

Innovation in Research Support: learning from experience with IDI&CA

Format: Oral 30 Minutes

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Project Management

The focus of this presentation lies on a new internal research program, a distinctive milestone that challenged the science and technology managers team at Lisbon Polytechnic, and the routines mainly implemented in legal practices, and administrative and financial proceedings.

Is the more the merrier?

The impact of having more staff in European research support

Format: Oral 30 Minutes

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Organising Support Services & Team Building

At the start of Horizon Europe, the EU Team at Ghent University was expanded. After 2 years, we have evaluated the effect of this expansion on the quantity and quality of Horizon Europe proposals. We share the first outcomes of the pre-award support provided and its effect on our success.

Lessons Learned in Collaboration with US Partners

What European institutions need to know about US government-funded research collaborations

Format: Oral 30 Minutes

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: International

This session centers on both classic and emerging areas of compliance exposure for European institutions participating in US government-funded scientific research collaborations.

Making a research integrity policy operational

Towards simplicity: making a research integrity policy operational to promote a culture of integrity

Format: Oral 30 Minutes

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Policy, Strategy, Evaluation and Foresight

The focus of this abstract, therefore, is on the evolution and maturation process in an institution from informal to formalized approaches. However, the sparse regulatory environment requires one to lean heavily on international best practices in relation to research ethics and integrity management.

Organizing support services in a high profile call

Lessons learned at the University of Helsinki from a recent call for the Finnish Centres of Excellence Programme

Format: Oral 30 Minutes

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Organising Support Services & Team Building

We will provide lessons learned from forming the university guidelines and organizing support services in a recent high profile call. Due to a multitude of factors, experiences point e.g. towards the need of intensified capacity building and paying attention to know-how preservation.

Recognising Professional Project Management in HEU

Recognition of professional project management expertise under Horizon Europe

Format: Oral 30 Minutes

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Project Management

The European Association of Innovation Consultants (EAIC) considers the recognisation of the impact of professional project management (PMGT) essential and raises awareness about the need for proper consideration of project management for the Horizon Europe Framework Programme.

Risk management assessment in the RM profession

Strategies and clues to detect, understand and handle risks in the Research Management field

Format: Oral 30 Minutes

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Project Management

From structural to unpredictable, from regulatory to practical ones, up to financial instabilities, risks are physiological, inevitable and exciting aspects of a project. Several strategies can be put in place to assess the actual possibility of a risky-event and foreseen mitigation measures.

So you want a research impact officer?

Insights from Trinity College Dublin’s 2.5-year pilot in the Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Institute.

Format: Oral 30 Minutes

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Organising Support Services & Team Building

As the need to demonstrate societal impact takes hold in our research culture, HEIs and RPOs are increasingly hiring “research impact officers”. But what do they actually do? Which skills or competencies should they have? Does your organisation even need one?

Strengthening R&I cooperation between AU and EU

Strengthening the R&I cooperation between the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) – the new innovation agenda and the role of research managers

Format: Oral 30 Minutes

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: International

Strengthening the research and innovation (R&I) cooperation between the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) needs to be a persistent driving force for both regional blocks, as it lays the foundation of consistent development.

Tackling interdisciplinarity in research support

Breaking down silos: interdisciplinarity as a strategy for research support

Format: Oral 30 Minutes

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Impact

Many researchers perceive interdisciplinarity in research projects as a challenge. Ghent University is developing a strategy to turn these hurdles into opportunities for EU funding. In this session, we will share valuable lessons learned and show the first successes our approach has yielded.

US Funding 101: Making it easier for everyone

Ensuring that institutional compliance meets federal and philanthropic needs through the lifetime of the grant.

Format: Oral 30 Minutes

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: International

An overview of some of the challenges we faced when taking over a US funding portfolio and how we have become more efficient in managing US applications, grant management and close out.

Unlocking the gems of wisdom in RMA

What should professional associations stand for and what we have learnt so far? Unlocking the gems of wisdom in professional associations worldwide

Format: Oral 30 Minutes

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: EARMA and professional associations

The role of research management and administration has rapidly evolved over the past several decades due to a variety of factors, for example to a vibrant eco-system of the profession or to a multicultural community, even within international professional associations such as NCURA and EARMA.

Worst practices in developing an impact culture

Format: Oral 30 Minutes

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Impact

People tend to shout their good practices from the rooftops. But just as important as knowing what works is knowing what does not. In this session we will come together to discuss all the mistakes we made in our efforts to bring about a societal impact culture in the institute we work for.

Critical research management for complex problems

Lessons learned in establishing a major programme aimed at addressing complex global challenges

Format: Oral 60 Minutes

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Policy, Strategy, Evaluation and Foresight

Addressing increasingly urgent, complex global challenges requires the effective establishment and successful delivery of new, large-scale research collaborations that operate in new ways. Research management, its recognition, and funding play central roles in enabling this to happen.

RMAs – New role or new professional recognition?

From mere clerks and impostors to truly agents of change

Format: Oral 60 Minutes

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Professional Development and Recognition

Traditionally RMAs have been considered a second class profile in the academic world. Support staff has, and still is, confronted with the higher rank conferred to researchers and academics within the institutional apparatus and the more prominent role played in society.

The Lump Sum is in limbo - How to survive this

The RMA toolbox for lump sum grants in Horizon Europe

Format: Oral 60 Minutes

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Project Management

Horizon Europe expanded its use of the Lump Sum model, perceived as a more effective & simpler method of financial management. A closer look unravels critical discrepancies and issues that RMAs must be aware of. This session addresses the critical questions stemming from the lump sum model.

The unique case of EIC Pathfinder & EIC Transition

The unique case of EIC Pathfinder & EIC Transition research grants

Format: Oral 60 Minutes

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Proposal Development

EIC Pathfinder & EIC Transition are excellent grants, but they only apply to a select research audience, with very unique requirements. There are common pitfalls & challenges about these grants. We’ll provide key insights & tools for RMAs to screen applicants & help throughout the proposal process.

Delivering Excellence in Public Engagement

Showcasing how to embed Education and Public Engagement into the fabric of a research centre

Format: Pecha Kucha

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Open Science & Responsible Research & Innovation

Drawing on insights from international performance reviews and its own extensive experience, the award-winning Education and Public Engagement (EPE) team at the Science Foundation Ireland ADAPT Research Centre shares its top tips for achieving excellence in EPE.

Disciplining the Transdisciplinary

The challenges of integrating project management systems to an existing trans-disciplinary research project

Format: Pecha Kucha

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Project Management

I will provide an overview of my time working on the UKPRP funded TRUUD project, which has been operational for over two years. I outline the challenges of taking over the project management of an working project and the measures taken to ensure the project meets the funder’s requirements.

ERA Chair Actions@UC - challenge accepted

One experience from a research management team located in central Portugal: support in the ERA chairs action 2022

Format: Pecha Kucha

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Organising Support Services & Team Building

In this presentation, we will focus on the approach developed at the University of Coimbra to engage in the ERA chair calls. ERA Chair Actions' aim is to attract in a sustainable manner outstanding scientists and innovators to universities or research organizations in Widening countries.

RMA transition towards becoming a university

The journey of a research support service transforming itself to meet its organisation’s ambitions

Format: Pecha Kucha

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Organising Support Services & Team Building

Our organisation aims at becoming a full university and to do so we need to meet challenging requirements in terms of externally funded projects. The research support office radically changed its way of working to meet this goal. We want to share what we have learned on the way.

Research managers supporting research managers

Research managers supporting research managers: process and challenges

Format: Pecha Kucha

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Organising Support Services & Team Building

Organising Support Services & Team Building (including, but not restricted to: Organising the full project cycle or any of its parts within or between organisations; distribution of work, benchmarking, attracting and retaining RMA talent)

Smart Research Support

Career and excellenced based stratification of funding portfolios

Format: Pecha Kucha

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Policy, Strategy, Evaluation and Foresight

Information about career level, seniority, scientific productivity and research field allows for a efficient and effective stratifiaction into individual finding scenarios - as they individually illustrate the expected success of a individual for a specific call/instrument.

The alarm signals

How to recognise the doomed ideas in pre-award work

Format: Pecha Kucha

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Proposal Development

The alarm signals of a doomed project preparation are a familiar thing to all pre-award and idea phase experts: sometimes you just know that it’s not going to work. We present the alarm signals collected from various pre-award units and about 100 professionals working in research organisations.

Transposing EU proposal to US format?

None

Format: Pecha Kucha

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Proposal Development

Proposal templates used in the EU for research projects have three sections: excellence, impact, and implementation. US federal agencies have a different approach: the application package consists of several shorter documents. What parts correspond to each other easily or with effort?

How to manage a rapid survey extension to EU scale

EU-wide extension of social contact data collection (CoMix): from management to public health impact

Format: Poster

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Open Science & Responsible Research & Innovation

We discuss financial, ethical, contractual and other management aspects of the CoMix study extension across European countries. Efficient management was crucial as H2020 EpiPose research teams needed to provide timely data-driven policy advice about population’s response to COVID-19 control measures

Implemantation of project standards in WC!

Challenge of implementing Horizon project management standards to widening countries?

Format: Poster

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Project Management

The role of the project manager in a widening country is absolutely crucial, not only in the pre-award phase but also in the post-award phase, when the project team often encounters an unprepared environment and a lack of understanding by the institution of the need to adhere to project standards.

Insights in EU Grant Support @ Radboud University

Strengthening Grant Support for Horizon Europe funding at the Radboud University Nijmegen: challenges, solutions and opportunities

Format: Poster

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Organising Support Services & Team Building

In 2020 the Radboud University Nijmegen (RU) in the Netherlands launched an EU support programme aiming to increase the number and quality of EU collaborative proposals. In this poster we aim to present the challenges, solutions and opportunities we faced in strengthening EU grant Support at the RU.

Institutional change and gender: RESET experience

None

Format: Poster

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Open Science & Responsible Research & Innovation

The poster will provide a synthetic presentation of existing difficulties to promote cultural change in favour of equality in academia taking into consideration experience of the RESET project.

Realising Inclusive Design Through Co-creation

Co-authors: Emma Clarke, Jane Dunne, Anne Kearns, Lorraine Leeson, Elizabeth Mathews, Rachel Moiselle, Shaun O’Boyle, Rehana Omardeen, Frankie Picron, Dimitar Shterionov, Davy Van Landuyt

Format: Poster

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Project Management

Co-creation offers an opportunity to integrate user communities into research but this is often difficult to manage in the context of a research project. This poster illustrates managing impactful co-creation events through working with the deaf and hard of hearing community in the SignON Project.

The Bad and the Ugly: The World of EU Shortnames

Tales from the World of EU Project Short Names and Acronyms

Format: Poster

Category: Operational Lessons Learned

Topic: Proposal Development

A collection of examples with learnings from project naming - unpronounceables, inappropriate meanings and comical translations.