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SRAI is truly international. From the sheer number of international members in our community to the annual meeting, where a significant number of speaking proposals are delivered by the international section members, delegates from all over the world are attending to learn from, and network with, peers. Even in our Board of Directors, the international representation is strong.

SRAI encourages international engagement and is very inclusive. Another way that SRAI shows its international engagement is in the support of, and collaboration with, sister societies around the world. Where RMA is an established profession in the US, it is still only young in the rest of the world. These days Societies for Research Administrators and Managers develop all over the world, and SRAI is very supportive to enhance the professional standing of this field worldwide.

One international society that has enjoyed tapping into the knowledge pool of North American colleagues is DARMA - the Danish Association of Research Managers and Administrators.

DARMA was officially established in 2008 by John Westensee and has around 250 members today. The purpose of DARMA is to support Danish research through the professionalization of research administration and research management in Denmark. Thus, DARMA is very small and very young compared to SRAI, but with only 5.7 million citizens in Denmark, we are also a much smaller country. Anyway, there is no doubt that John, a long-standing member of SRAI, was inspired by SRAI when forming DARMA more than 10 years ago. The link between the two societies was further strengthened when John Westensee was elected to be the first international President of SRAI and served from 2014-2016.

Working internationally usually shows us that no matter where we are based, we are often faced with a lot of the same obstacles, therefore we can learn from each other. For that same reason, DARMA's homepage (link www.darma.dk) is primarily written in English to support a non-Danish speaking audience. DARMA is also open for non-DARMA-members in what we call topical networks, where colleagues can discuss common interests. These groups are formed ad-hoc and our life as long as there is a member interest. Some has been short-lived and others more durable.

The Danish RMAs typically work very closely with the researchers supporting the entire life cycle, from political lobbying and proposal writing to finalizing and audit of the project. The Danish working environment is typically not very hierarchal and combined does this mean that the Danish RMA's has a good link into the management of the Danish research institutions and the Ministry of Science. So, if you want to reach out to the Danish research community – DARMA could be your entrance – someone always know someone who can help. And we would be happy to do so – so feel free to reach out.