Research Information Management Support & Synthesis
The survey was hosted by JISC infoNet and ran from 6 January 2010 to 13 February 2010.
It was divided into several sections covering:
Systems
Plans
Strategy
Organisation and Financing of Research Information Management
The final analysis was carried out on 42 submissions.
Research activity is a fundamental activity within the UK HE sector and for many institutions is a major revenue income stream. In common with all other areas of endeavour, research is becoming increasingly dependent on information systems to manage the complex information flows that it creates. It is probable that in the medium term future there will be an increased need for institutions to be able to demonstrate how their research funds were utilised and the value for money they provided. Well designed, fully utilised information systems will be key in cost effectively managing the increased information and reporting load.
While there are numerous examples of good practice and sophisticated system interaction, it is a widely held belief in the Higher Education sector that information systems to support Research Management have grown piecemeal in most institutions. These systems are now struggling to meet the increased demands being placed upon them by statutory and internal reporting requirements.
As one part of a string of initiatives by JISC and JISC infoNet this project seeks to develop a better understanding of the processes of Research Information Management systems within institutions and the processes for building a business case for justifying the development of such systems. To achieve this, the project has gathered information from an on-line survey of institutions. This document provides an initial analysis of the survey results and will form a major part of a more extensive web resource covering the survey and a series of more detailed case studies.
