2004-2005 programme

The 2004-2005 Research Management Benchmarking Programme, funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), brought together senior staff from universities in nine countries for a detailed examination of research management practice.

The programme sought to facilitate this process amongst 15 universities in Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, the UK, and the US. 87 good practice statements relating to pre-award and post-award activities were generated.

Overall, the programme 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 also increasingly by specific initiatives from governments, which in most participating countries explicitly recognised the importance of university research for wider economic and social needs.