RM-ROADMAP: Mapping the future of Research Management

Europe’s leading organisations that represent research managers have welcomed the award of €1.5m from the Horizon Europe programme, to fund an unprecedented co-creation process that aims to define the future of the profession.

The RM-ROADMAP project will be led by the European Association Of Research Managers and Administrators (EARMA), in collaboration with key network organisations, institutes and research-active companies in Hungary, Cyprus, Ireland, Portugal, Netherlands and Belgium.

Nik Claesen, EARMA Managing Director, said:

“Since EARMA was established in the mid-90s, we’ve made huge progress on professional development for research managers, but the community remains fragmented and recognition varies across Europe. The role of research management has undergone dramatic changes, in response to the ever-changing demands of the social and political context of public-funded research. Research managers are now an integral and vital part of the research ecosystem, and take many forms, including policy advisers, project managers, financial support, data stewards, business developers and knowledge brokers. With the launch of the €95bn Horizon Europe programme, I believe now is the right time to connect our existing European networks, and create the roadmap for the future of research management in Europe. Later in the year we begin recruiting volunteers to co-create this roadmap by forming an ambassador network, and also build an intelligent platform to support our community on this exciting journey.”

Michael Browne, Crowdhelix added:

“We’re delighted to be part of this really important project that will define the future of how we support research, including the new “EU Missions” addressing crucial challenges such as climate adaptation, ocean and soil health. Through our own efforts to forge links between an international network of excellent researchers and innovative companies, we have come to appreciate that research managers are a vital part of delivering research impact, strategic planning and bridging between leadership groups in complex university and research organisations.”

The RM-ROADMAP project will:

• Define the vision and overarching strategy for the future of Research Management

• Provide unprecedented intelligence for policy makers about research support, enabling efficient and targeted improvements

• Establish grassroots thought-leadership and a stakeholder community across Europe to provide future input and contribute to deepening the European Research Area

• Leverage existing networks and create new connections, to multiply the impact of thematic or national initiatives and to spread awareness of training and development opportunities

• Realise synergies between organisational resources, national funding, EU research funding and EU structural funds

• Ultimately, provide higher quality support to research programmes, with greater efficiency at a system level

RM-ROADMAP has a total budget of EUR 1.5 million and will run for three years from 1 Sept 2022. The consortium implementing the project comprises 8 European organisations:

• European Association of Research Managers and Administrators (EARMA), Belgium

• Hetfa Kutatointezet, Hungary

• Universidade Nova De Lisboa, Portugal

• European Association Of Knowledge Transfer Professionals (ASTP), the Netherlands

• Crowdhelix, Ireland

• The Cyprus Institute, Cyprus

• Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Belgium

• Una Europa, Belgium

RM-ROADMAP project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme under grant agreement number 101058475.

For more on this story contact:

Borana Taraj (EARMA Senior Community and Project Manager): borana.taraj@earma.org

Richard Twohig (Communications, Crowdhelix): richard.twohig@crowdhelix.com