U of A consolidating support services to prepare to rapid growth in research activity

The Univ of Alberta (U of A) is amalgamating its three research services offices into a single powerhouse to deal with a rapid build-up in research activity that’s expected to reach $500 million annually within four years. The move is part of an accelerating wave of consolidation throughout the university community as institutions adjust to significantly higher levels of research support and their central role as the primary engine of innovation.

The creation of the Research service Office (RSO) merges the staff and budgets of the research grants and industry liaison offices and the bulk of the research and trust accounting office. The combined budget of $5 million will be augmented by approximately $2 million in indirect costs funding provided by the federal government in its last Budget (R$, December 17/01). University research managers say the new structure will evolve over time and provide a dual function to the research community. It will serve as a centralized support function and provide decentralized services to researchers in the various faculties.

“We’ve seen a doubling of research activity on campus in the past five years and we’re anticipating a further doubling in another five years and there’s a need for an infrastructure support system to support that type of growth,” says Dr Peter Robertson, newly appointed director of the RSO. “This is an exciting time but also a very stressful time for researchers. They’re entering the system and finding a very different environment and expectation of their output is much higher. My driver as an administrator is to relieve stress if we are to retain world class researchers, to give them time to do what they do best.”

The decision to consolidate U of A’s research services was sparked by the arrival of Dr Gary Kachanoski last fall and prompted by several factors. In addition to the explosion in research expenditures, an audit review of research management had just been released, raising several issues in how the university ran its operations. Also, the provincial government had pulled back support for the university in its last budget, relative to the rapid growth it was experiencing. On the federal side, Ottawa was raising the levels of accountability for granting council support, increasing an already onerous amount of paperwork.

Taken together, these factors spelled trouble for a research services system stretched to the limit. Kachanoski analyzed the U of A’s past research performance and its future direction and decided consolidation was an avenue worth serious pursuit.

He also took into account that a centralized service would not adequately serve the institution’s researchers and instituted a strategy that would see the hiring of advisors to assist them on their own turf.

“The model is unique in trying to build concentrated expertise out in the departments. We have large faculties with their own strategy plans and they need staff that are familiar with that but connected back in centrally,” he says. “We met with every faculty, department and research administration group on campus to design an enhanced decentralized model but with a centralized financial centre. It’s a way to respect the diversity within the university.”

The creation of the RSO will occur in three stages. Phase I will see the physical consolidation of the three offices into new facilities by late June or early July, with the summer devoted to preparing for the busy fall granting period. The staff of the RSO will total 58 and the implementation will be managed by the RSO Working Group, headed up by Dr Jim Beaubien, a professional facilitator.

Phase II will last approximately six month and will focus on stabilizing operations, dealing with the fall granting period and developing a longer-term strategy. The final phase is expected to last two years and will see the full implementation of the RSO’s strategic plan, complete with the hiring of advisors and fine tuning the system based on hands-on experience.

“We don’t know precisely if our solutions will be the right ones. The RSO will mold itself over the next two years as it will take time to re-think our strategy and hire the appropriate people,” says Robertson. “We also have to keep providing services in a system that’s already heavily overloaded. We’re already seeing obvious efficiencies as the opening and closing of accounts is easier.”

Key to the RSO strategy is the successful deployment of its research advisors. Once a survey of needs is completed, the RSO will know how many individuals must be hired. The recruitment process can then begin — a process Robertson says is challenging but not impossible in spite of the high demand for people with the skill sets he’s seeking.

“When a university is looking for people there is always a percentage who love to work in the university culture and environment. They find it exciting,” he says. “Our job is to provide the right type of work environment and attract those people.”

A GROWING TREND

A central driver behind the move to consolidate is the increased expectation for universities to do more to ensure that the results of their research result in more technology transfer and commercialization. The federal government is considering requiring universities to make innovation a core part of their mandate, acting on a report produced by the Advisory Council on S&T.

Dr Bruce Clayman, VP research at Simon Fraser Univ, has studied tech transfer and commercialization at the university level. He contends that consolidated research services are critical to managing the assets of research-intensive institutions.

“Consolidation helps with commercialization and institutions that haven’t done it should seriously consider it. It’s a no brainer,” he asserts. “It helps with the efficiency and effectiveness of technology transfer to make it work. What’s missing in many instances is a uniform institutional commitment to make tech transfer work. Institutional cultures account for that and reflect the resources committed to it.”

Clayman notes that consolidation of research services is accelerating across Canada, but notes that it’s nothing new. Similar moves are being made by the Univ of Victoria, and institutions such as SFU, Univ of British Columbia, Univ of Toronto and many Quebec schools have already implemented consolidation strategies unique to their needs and cultures.

“Universities are working on changing the cultures in their institutions to apply the results of research for the good of society and the economy,” he says.

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