Research Managment Benchmarking Programme

Anecdotal evidence suggests that university research management processes are still in a state of evolution - and it is likely therefore, that much is to be gained by sharing experiences and good practice.

The ACU’s seeks to facilitate this process amongst universities by using a benchmarking process unique to the ACU, and designed specifically for use in university management processes.  Discussions are based on two events (over two years), and in each case, rely on considerable preparatory work by the participants in recording their current processes and practice.  This ensures that discussion can be focussed on key issues.  Each session will produce a series of good practice statements, against which participants and the wider higher education community can evaluate their current provision

On this page

• The ACU (Research Management) Statements of Good Practice
• The 2010 - 2012 Research Management Benchmarking Programme
• The 2004-2005 Research Management Benchmarking Programme
• Other Research Managment Benchmarking exercises

The ACU (Research Management) Statements of Good Practice

• ACU Good Practice Statements: 1 Developing a University Strategy
• ACU Good Practice Statements: 2 Retention and Support for Research Staff
• ACU Good Practice Statements: 3 External promotion of University Research Capacity
• ACU Good Practice Statements: 4 Submission and authorisation of Externally Funded Work
• ACU Good Practice Statements: 5 Project Management and Control
• ACU Good Practice Statements: 6 Commercialisation and Exploitation of Research
• ACU Good Practice Statements: 7 Dissemination to Wider Society

The 2010 - 2012 Research Management Benchmarking Programme

The ACU has established a benchmarking ‘club’ through which universities can come together to compare their research management provision with each other confidentially. Results will be used to compare overall performance, and to highlight relative areas of strength and weakness within the institution and, where appropriate, to highlight the case for further funding at institutional or national level as well as provide an opportunity for sharing good practice. 

It is anticipated that the programme will use well established benchmarking techniques, developed by the ACU for specific use in universities, and build on the successful Research Management Benchmarking Programme conducted by ACU with fifteen universities from nine countries in 2004-05 adding a further quantitative dimension to this. This will involve the gathering of both quantitative and qualitative data on all aspects of the research management through questionnaires and at least one annual face to face seminar. Data will be analysed by ACU and regular reports will be produced and distributed to members on a confidential basis.

This programme runs from late 2010 through a series of meetings culminating at the 2012 INORMS conference. The timetable of activities is as follows:

The 2004-2005 Research Management Benchmarking Programme

The ACU's international research management benchmarking programme, funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), brought together senior staff from 15 HEI's in Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, the UK and the US in a detailed examination of RM practice generating 87 good practice statements relating to pre-award and post-award activities.  The benchmarking exercise reported in this document sought to facilitate this process amongst 15 universities from nine countries. The exercise utilised a benchmarking process, unique to the Association of Commonwealth Universities and designed specifically for use in university management processes. Discussions were based on two events, which took place in September 2004 and April 2005, but in each case relied on considerable preparatory work by the participants in recording their current processes and practice. This ensured that discussion could be focused on key issues. Each session produced a series of good practice statements, against which participants and the wider higher education community could evaluate their current provision.

Overall, the project confirmed our initial hypothesis that research management structures were continuing to evolve at a rapid pace. This was driven largely by developments in the external environment for research, but increasingly also by specific initiatives from governments, which in most participating countries explicitly recognised the importance of university research for wider economic and social needs.

The report can be found at: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/Pubs/RDreports/2006/rd11_06/