What is RAAAP?

The acronym RAAAP stands for "Research Administration as a Profession". It was initially an international survey project, but has developed in to a suite of surveys.

What is a Research Administration?

By "research administration" we mean the whole profession of those that support and enable research and innovation, whether they be called administrators, managers, advisors, professionals, whatever.   

What is RMA?

By RMA we either mean "Research Manager and Administrator" - which for us has the same meaning as research administrator; or the profession of "Research Management and Administration" - depending on the context.

What is the difference between Research Administration and RMA?

What is in a name?  There is no internationally agreed upon term for the profession, and while some terms are more common in some geographic regions, even there many individuals identify as something else.  For example the highest concentration of a single term is in the USA where (in the RAAAP-3 survey of 2022, for those n=778 who identify as RMA professionals), 67.5% specifically identify as research administrators, but 15.7% identify as research managers and administrators, and all of the other eight options in the survey were represented.

Why are most RMAs female?

That is a great question.  We have a number of theories, ranging from it being family friendly all the way to it being a role that requires empathy - there are probably a variety of factors.  Worldwide, from the 2022 RAAAP-3 survey (of n=3,535) 78.4% of respondents identify as female.  In almost every region the range is 75-85%. 

Is the RAAAP data free?

Yes, all of the RAAAP materials are provided open access.  This is a community effort by and for RMAs (and other interested in the profession).  Check the Data page for all the links. 

Where is the RAAAP data?

Check the Data page for all the links - the data are all on the figshare repository, you will also be able to find the data by searching "RAAAP figshare" on the internet.

There is so much RAAAP data - where do I start?

Yes, the first three surveys have 12,091 responses from 94 countries over six years.  From the RAAAPA project we have provided some high-level infographics which might answer your queries.  But if you want to delve deeper then you will need to get busy with excel or spss.  We hope to develop some pages to help you get started, but in the interim please do contact the RAAAP Team and we will help if we can!.

Is there any training on how to analyse the RAAAP data?

Yes, the current team of Simon, Melinda, Cristina, and Madhuri have developed a 3-hour workshop that we delivered at the 2023 INORMS conference in Durban.  We also have a (less interactive) 1 hour version that we delivered for CARA on International Research Administrator's Day (25th Sept) in 2023. Please do contact us if you are interested and we may be able to run a session for you.