The scientific endeavour involves not only those working in research performing organisations--but also those in science funding, policy making, and think tank organisations, among others. The workforce in all these entities is composed of researchers, policy decision makers, managers, administrators, technicians, and other supporting staff.…

Newly appointed lecturers joining teaching-focussed environments can encounter significant challenges to sustain a successful research career. Some of these challenges pertain to the existing work culture and the suitability of mentoring. At the same time, success in academia is typically associated with the "academic super-hero" model…

The current study examined retention and voluntary turnover intention trends among university research administrators, as well as motivational factors contributing to both retention and voluntary turnover intentions using a mixed-methods survey. The online survey was administered to research administrators using a national listserv and included…

Research and development needs effective and efficient management as it is the vehicle by which organizations and economies create opportunity, innovation and secure a stream of future products and services. However, research projects face various challenges which may lead to unsatisfactory performance. Various studies have shown that traditional…

In the furtherance of knowledge, researchers and research are supported organizationally, but sometimes organically. Yet the research enterprise needs to be systemically managed. Research managers, however, are still striving to define their functions. Is research management part of the continuum of research itself? Is it an occupation? Is it a…

Little is known about the process of tracking the activity and days-to-productivity of new research faculty in pediatric academic medical centers in the United States. The purpose of this study was to design a quantitative technique for measuring the startup journey and academic productivity of new research faculty at an established research…

An onboarding program is a powerful tool to welcome new employees and support their productivity. Children's Mercy Hospital created a systematic Research Faculty Onboarding Program (RFOP) to engage new research faculty from their first day with the hospital and to shorten the startup time to productivity. Surveys and interviews indicated that…

Employee performance is a critical factor in the success, or failure, of any organization. Therefore, it is paramount that the leadership and/or management team in an organization establishes and implements an approach that can effectively assess and evaluate the performance of its employees in an objective manner. Research administrators are…

Institutional research management (RM) is increasingly seen as a strategic force, not only to raise the research output per academic, but also the quality thereof. RM, therefore, has to attend to researcher development (RD). How RD is achieved, as part of RM, is still viewed as an embryonic field with attendant calls for additional research.…

Alberta Health Services (AHS) was awarded a grant from the Alberta Ministry of Human Services to promote applied mental health research within areas of interest to the Ministry. The grant funded the "Collaborative Research Grant Initiative: Mental Wellness in Seniors and Persons with Disabilities" (CRGI), designed to collaboratively…

New Managerialism (NM) has been used as an analytical framework to help understand the changes within the UK Higher Education Sector. This project sought to extend that work by undertaking a case study of an English university. Using the theory of NM, the study combined organisational description, strategic document review and in-depth interviews…

Located within the recently emerged field of researcher development, this article represents an attempt to make a key theoretical contribution to its knowledge base through a conceptual analysis. It presents as propositional knowledge an original theoretical model of the componential structure of researcher development, as interpreted and defined…

Over the last decade, Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced an increased volume of funding and training activities to support research capacity development. However, there are persistent deficits in the number of active investigators conducting independent research with their own grants. To address this deficit, research institutions need to find an…

Ethical, Legal and Social Implications ("ELSI") research has played an increasingly important role in scientific research. Tens of millions of dollars, many of which are public, are spent funding scientific research projects. Taxpayers are demanding that scientific advancement move forward, hand-in-hand with careful examination of the many ethical…

This article offers mentoring frameworks for higher education that are applicable to research administrators and academic scholars. The author describes theories of adult education, mentoring, and leadership that relate to these populations. In addition to the pertinent literature, support is drawn from the author's scholarship and professional…