Research administrators are always facing a deadline, and the more last-minute revisions one makes, the better an automated process sounds. There is a wide range of Research Administration System options available, but what is a research administration system and what are the benefits of implementing one?
What Is a Research Administration System?
Essentially, a research administration system platform is a tool to manage research grants, pre-award contracts, post-award, and publication phases. The research administration system seamlessly links to other systems to streamline the process through the grants and contracts life cycle. It offers more transparency and reduces the need for repetitive manual data entry.
A lot of departments are paper-based. The research administration didn’t have a digital option until the late 1990s. So, it shouldn’t be all that surprising to learn that there are still plenty of departments living in the past. Taking the system digital might be daunting, but it is more time efficient.
The system works by linking and integrating different parts of a research ecosystem. It covers research and analysis, reporting and managing information, but all through a single interface. With all of this important information in a central location, the single interface drives reputation, collaboration, research performance, and funding.
The Benefits of Implementing the System
If you are thinking about taking your research administration system digital, there are plenty of benefits. The first is that you can log in from absolutely anywhere, as long as you have internet connectivity. You don’t need to be on-site to review or sign documents. There is no need for physical documents at all – everything can live online.
Additionally, you can easily review the stages proposals are in and who should take the lead on the next action. Another important feature is that more than one person can review a proposal simultaneously, so you don’t need to race around trying to track people down or send a hundred emails to get a response.
A digital research administration system can be revolutionary for your research program. Many organisations use the system to manage grants, and it can manage both stages of the process. Integrated budgeting tools allow you to document expenses, propose a budget, adjust and manage it, incorporate changes, and process approvals with ease. It all leads to an improvement in the management processes.
With data at the tips of your fingers, you can easily make all of the important decisions promptly. You can provide answers quickly when someone needs to know what funds went where or which project is at what stage.
There are varying sizes of these tools, and the right option for you will depend on the needs and size of your institution. For educational institutions, finding a way to streamline the research administration helps maximise research funds. And opting for software that does the hard work will relieve a lot of pressure from the team and provide more efficiency to reduce the amount of time and effort necessary for these tasks.