Our aim is to develop practical tools and resources in RM for early-career Research Managers (ECRM) with a focus on pre- and post- award Grant Management (GM). This will increase knowledge and capacity whilst strengthening the cultural understanding and collaborations between the UK and African universities. Access to this toolkit will build the capacity of ECRMs, who often enter the RM sphere without previous knowledge of GM.
The toolkit will provide ECRMs with guidance on the support required by researchers when they apply for national and international grants. It will include online resources, guidelines, practical tools and learning offerings (such as workshops, webinars and/or podcasts) around the pre- and post-award processes. Although some basic principles apply, processes and practices differ based on various contextual, institutional and regional differences. The aim is, however, to develop best practice resources that can be applied universally, taking these contexts into consideration.
The benefit of this joint project is that it will provide an opportunity for benchmarking and best practice development through the sharing of knowledge, expertise and experiences within this area in Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the UK. It will also develop a sharing platform to which a growing community of practice can contribute new resources both during and beyond the lifetime of the project, creating a sustainable resource for the sector. As resources will be drawn from both the UK and Africa it will help ECRMs involved in the development of international research collaborations to understand and be able to adapt to the different contexts more effectively.
Although the TReMOR team will be producing a toolkit with the specific aim to build the capacity of early career research managers, the process to develop this will provide the opportunity for the team to reflect on their own skills, departmental set ups and work processes. The ambition is to increase understanding, improve own practices, to effectively support research development and project delivery in their home institutes as well as develop strong and equitable long term collaborations with each other and the other IRMSDP participants.
Since these best practice resources will be publicly available, the hope is to reach a wide community of research management colleagues. Team TReMOR therefore has a vision to cause a stir with this toolkit and to bring about a positive shift in the training and support of early career research managers, as well as greater understanding and collaboration between UK and African institutions to benefit of all.