2019 Research Administrators’ Seminar

Research Office staff from around Australia attended an annual Research Administrators’ Seminar, held in Canberra on 29 October 2019. This event is targeted at Research Office staff who are relatively new to ARC processes. This year around 140 research office staff—from 37 universities and representatives from other organisations including the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), Telethon Kids Institute and The Garvan Institute—attended day one of the seminar. 

As in previous years, the seminar was organised in association with the Australasian Research Management Society (ARMS) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)— with ARMS hosting a reception at the conclusion of the day and the NHMRC hosting their day on 30 October 2019. 

Day 1 of the seminar featured:

• welcome by the ARC Executive General Manager, Dr Tony Willis, and the NHMRC Chief Executive Officer, Professor Anne Kelso AO
• address from Dr Ross McLennan, ARMS President 
• updates on ARC National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP) activities and policies, Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) and Evaluation and Impact (EI) assessments
• a joint ARC/NHMRC presentation on initiatives in research integrity
• an update on the ARC’s Research Management System (RMS) enhancements, including demonstrations on research outputs and post-award notifications and dashboard.

Panel sessions, which included experienced research office staff who shared their perspectives, also covered the NCGP grant life-cycle, pre-award processes, capacity building and post-award issues. 

Overall, these seminars provide research office staff with the opportunity to network and to engage directly with ARC staff. In turn, ARC staff value the opportunity for interaction with research office staff and other stakeholders.

Feedback following the seminar indicated that attendees found the event informative, interactive and beneficial for their research office roles. The feedback will be used to inform future ARC activities, including workshops and webinars.

Image: 2019 Research Administrators' Seminar.
Credit: ARC.