Value in the International Space: Examining the Challenges and Barriers on Research Administration International Research Teams
In a series of articles, we will present the newest in research administration from the Journal of Research Administration. To read the full JRA, please see here.
Author: Angela White-Jones, PhD, University of Central Florida
Introduction
Research administrators are increasingly making significant contributions to development and delivery of complex research projects across the globe. While many research administrators contribute immense value when managing a research project in their home country, the introduction of partnering individuals or teams from other countries provides an additional wealth of opportunities and challenges in achieving efficacy and effectiveness. A number of studies have discussed international research administrators and the research administration as a profession (Kirkland, 2009), support between community and university research partnerships (Tremblay, 2015), demographics (Kerridge & Scott, 2018), or research partnerships between the community and universities (Bivens et al., 2015). However, few have explored the role that research administration can have in developing and assuring valuable research internationally, particularly within multi-national teams.
On a broader scale, working to manage and administer international research projects requires complete adherence to research integrity. Conflicts or neglecting to disclose relationships with other foreign countries may jeopardize future funding for organizations, depending on conflict of interest policies and agreements. This has been particularly true among organizations in the United States; efforts have been made to combat undue misappropriation of grants and awards as well as intellectual property and research by foreign and domestic stakeholders (Balser et al., 2018).
The primary aim of this study was to understand the challenges of such collaborative efforts to research administrators within international research teams. The author reviewed existing literature on international collaborations as a framework to develop and administer an online international survey instrument for research administrators and managers. The aim of the survey was to identify the characteristics of their multi-national collaborative team experience in an effort to add to the existing knowledge base.
The specific objectives of this work were to understand how the role of research administration can add value to international research throughout a project lifecycle including set-up (pre-award), project management, and delivery (post-award). It sought to identify any challenges faced by research administrators when working with multi-national teams, and to suggest how these challenges may be overcome (e.g., via training, a common approach and process, appreciating cultural norms, etc.) to increase efficiency, effectiveness, and project success including recommendations, best practices, and deliverable production.
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