The Research Development (RD) certificate is designed for specialists who work with researchers to improve the number, size and quality of their grant proposals, and who participate in the development of strategies and practices to enhance and expand the institution’s research agenda. The certificate’s aims are to:
- support new and ongoing initiatives that will grow the institution’s position in sponsored research
- provide strategic direction and expert support for the institutional research enterprise
- develop investigator capacity to submit more and better individual proposals
- improve the success rate of proposals submitted by the institution, especially those targeted to larger, more complex grant programs.
Ultimately, holders of this certificate should be equipped to play a proactive role in fostering the professional development of researchers and expanding the institution’s overall portfolio of funded research. Participants in this certificate program can serve in a variety of roles in their institution, whether central or in a college/ department/ center/institute location, and may combine direct research development work with other research administration functions. Certificate holders might be part of a central academic affairs function or part of/complementary to research administration. Some certificate seekers may participate in strategic planning or institutional initiatives related to complex, large-scale collaborative projects while others may work with individual researchers. Research development is an ongoing process that will continue to change and respond to the larger research environment, funding opportunities and emerging issues.