Authored by:
Mark Hochman
SRAI Board Member
Co-chair, EPDC
Chair of the Micro-accreditation Task Force (comprising Ms Kim Carter, Mr Devin Kreuger, Ms Sandra Nordahl, Dr Susie Sedwick, Ms Gayle Walters and very ably supported by Ms Ellen Quinn and SRAI headquarters staff)
Greetings to my fellow SRAI members and colleagues in this rich and varied profession of research administration.
I'm sure you've heard it said before that no-one goes to school saying "I want to be a research administrator when I grow up" - we sort of fall into this profession and think, "wow, this is really interesting." Once we are in the profession so much of what we need to know comes from on-the job learning and talking to other people.
In view of this, SRAI has embarked on a large, and very exciting project to introduce a micro-credentialing program which will provide for digital badging and qualifications for those in research administration. A micro-accreditation task force has identified seven broad topic areas covering Sponsored Project Lifecycle; Context, Rules and Regulations; Compliance; Management and Operations; Information and Data Management; Knowledge Transfer and Clinical Research. Each broad topic contains several separate sub-topics or modules of learning - about 30 in total. Currently SRAI members are developing 14 of these modules with the aim of having these available online in 2019, with the remainder to developed through 2020.
These modules will allow for a standard approach to communicating the knowledge required for effective research administrators. They are aimed at those new to the profession (1-3 years) and those wishing to update their knowledge in specific topics. The project draws on the expertise of almost 100 SRAI members through the task force, module developers and reference groups assisting the module developers.
There is no doubt that this will be a transformative project for research administration and we will keep you updated through the Catalyst and other media. Watch this space!
If you would like to volunteer or need any further information, please contact Gina Cuevas at sraeducation@srainternational.org.
#Education#Leadership#ResearchAdministration