[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”off” specialty=”on” _builder_version=”3.17.6″][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ specialty_columns=”4″][et_pb_row_inner admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column_inner type=”4_4″ saved_specialty_column_type=”2_3″][et_pb_post_title _builder_version=”3.17.6″ featured_placement=”above” locked=”on” \/][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.17.6″]<\/p>\n
Our ambition to be among the top 25 internationally leading research universities presents many challenges for our research teams, including time pressures, often complex administrative processes for project management, and access to stretched infrastructure. The Research Lifecycle Programme<\/a> (RLP) approach was established to help solve these challenges. This \u00a315 million five year programme, which started 4 years ago, provides a purposeful, thought-out maintenance and upgrade to our research infrastructure, replacing the more ad-hoc approach of previous years.<\/p>\n At the core of the RLP\u2019s ability to deliver is the continuous engagement with researchers, and those who support research, to define problems areas, identify opportunities and agree priorities.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Over the past four years we have achieved a lot; but some planned innovations were disrupted by the impact of COVID, with some of the things we wanted to do put on hold. Here we provide an update of activity completed and plans for the future.<\/p>\n The enhanced research services and infrastructure delivered to date<\/strong><\/p>\n The RLP\u2019s \u00a315 million investment is due to be completed in 2023, and there are now only a few projects left to finish. We have had a number of successful outcomes which are now embedded as part of normal University services. These include the launch of tools and platforms such as the Manchester Digital Collections<\/a> \u2013 presenting our library and cultural assets and images to the world, Overleaf<\/a> \u2013 supporting researchers to collaborate on research papers, Qualtrics<\/a> \u2013 allowing researchers, students and staff to create, design and analyse surveys securely and easily and Figshare<\/a> \u2013 our institutional research data repository for storing, managing and publishing data. Our new Pure Awards Management<\/a> provides a more integrated and streamlined research application process covering all the stages which academic and professional staff have to complete pre-submission and as part of this pre-award support. The BlackDackel Research Costing Tool is in soft-launch stage with Research Services to improve research costing accuracy and cost recovery. RLP has also invested almost \u00a35 million into High Performance Computing<\/a>, compute resources and storage both on campus and shared with the N8 consortium (N8 CIR<\/a>), allowing researchers to access the essential compute resources they require. \u00a0<\/p>\n Investing for the future <\/strong><\/p>\n We still have a way to go in ensuring our research support and infrastructure is, and remains, world-leading in a dynamic environment of innovation in digital infrastructure and research methodologies and practices.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The success of the Research Lifecycle Programme (RLP 1) approach and the innovations that this has delivered has demonstrated the need for a second Research Lifecycle Programme (RLP 2) to sustain and maintain investment in enhancing our research support infrastructure. Over the coming weeks, we will be engaging with researchers, and the teams which support research, scoping priorities for tools, processes and infrastructure for the next significant investment. This engagement approach was a fundamental guiding principle of RLP 1 and the scoping activity for RLP 2 will be done in the same spirit. From now until May, the RLP 2 Scoping Project team will host a number of engagement opportunities that our researchers, and colleagues that support research, can get involved in. This will help us understand the various new and emerging research IT needs and the views of researchers and those who support and facilitate research.<\/p>\n Having your say in our investment<\/strong><\/p>\n We want to ensure that our future investment is purposeful and reflects the needs of the research community and the University. Do you have the right tools and resources to do your research right now? What are the barriers and frustrations you experience across the lifecycle of your research, from planning to publishing?<\/p>\n This is your chance to use your voice to shape the future of research support and infrastructure over the next few years. We\u2019re not mind readers (although that would make this a lot easier!), so we need you to give us your feedback and ideas so we can help improve your research environment and your experience conducting research at The University of Manchester.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Please get involved, use your voice and help us to create a research environment which we can all be proud of, and which will support current and future research success.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_post_nav _builder_version=”3.17.6″ prev_text=”Previous” next_text=”Next” in_same_term=”off” locked=”on” \/][et_pb_comments _builder_version=”3.17.6″ custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#ffffff” locked=”on” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Related posts” _builder_version=”3.17.6″ locked=”on”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column_inner][\/et_pb_row_inner][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_sidebar admin_label=”Subscribe” _builder_version=”3.17.6″ area=”et_pb_widget_area_3″ locked=”on” \/][et_pb_sidebar _builder_version=”3.17.6″ area=”sidebar-1″ show_border=”off” locked=”on” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Professor Colette Fagan, Vice-President for Research, and Dr Angus Hearmon, Director of IT, discuss future investment into research support and the importance of researchers’ voice in this. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":3643,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" [et_pb_section bb_built=\"1\" fullwidth=\"off\" specialty=\"on\" _builder_version=\"3.17.6\"][et_pb_column type=\"2_3\" specialty_columns=\"4\"][et_pb_row_inner admin_label=\"Row\"][et_pb_column_inner type=\"4_4\" saved_specialty_column_type=\"2_3\"][et_pb_post_title _builder_version=\"3.17.6\" featured_placement=\"above\" locked=\"on\" \/][et_pb_text _builder_version=\"3.17.6\"]<\/p> When I\u2019m out and about meeting staff I hear much debate about the why, what, when and how of change in our University. I wanted to share my thoughts on this often contentious topic \u2013 and hear your views too.<\/p> Early in 2020 we will launch our University\u2019s new vision and strategic plan \u2013 Our future. In order to fulfil Our future we need to ensure that we are in a financially sustainable position so that we have the funds to invest in the new staff, facilities and infrastructure which will be needed to bring our plans to life.<\/p> Our Financial Statements<\/a> for 2018\/19, which have been published following approval by the Board of Governors, confirm that more than 95% of our \u00a31.1bn income is spent on our core goals - on our staff and our students - to deliver research, education and social responsibility; with the remainder invested in the long term sustainability of our University. You can find a summary<\/a> of the Financial Statements on StaffNet.<\/p> However, this is a testing time for UK universities, due to the many external factors that have an impact on us - current home tuition fees are falling in real terms, whilst our costs (not just pay but non-pay too) are increasing. There are further and even greater tuition fee funding risks outlined in General Election manifestos as well as a range of Brexit-related risks that could affect our operations. The Office for Students (OfS) demands that we demonstrate both value for money for our students and our financial sustainability (in the sense of being able to invest to deliver our ambitious strategy, rather than survival). There are, of course, also ongoing unresolved national issues around pay and the continuing challenges around funding pensions in the higher education sector.<\/p> Our Financial Statements show an improved operating surplus (3.7% of income compared to \u00a324.7m (2.3%) in 2017\/18), with a rise in income from tuition fees, education contracts and research. As I mentioned earlier, we re-invest the surplus we achieve each year in activity in line with our strategy. Recently our funds have been used to create some new academic and Professional Services posts; to invest in key infrastructure including IT; to invest in some new buildings like our student accommodation at Unsworth Park; to improve the student experience by funding more full-time Residential Life staff and to upgrade a range of buildings and research and teaching spaces and resources. Increasingly it is also invested in environmental sustainability and meeting our ambitious carbon targets. So even when we are making difficult decisions in some parts of the University we continue to invest our surplus.<\/p> Whilst we have reported an operating surplus, our Board of Governors expects us to deliver a much larger surplus than this (at least 5%) if we are to be sustainable in the long-term. Our strategic change programme (including IT Modernisation<\/a>, the Student Experience Programme<\/a>, and the Research Lifecycle Programme<\/a>), alongside our continuous improvement plans, will ensure that we create the financial headroom to invest in people and facilities. The strategic change programme will also enable us to embrace new technologies and new ways of doing things that better support all our staff and students to be the best that they can be.<\/p> Yes, this means that some individual roles will change. New roles (some that we haven\u2019t yet identified) will be created and some roles will no longer be required. I appreciate that this will cause some uncertainty and where that is the case we will do everything we can to support staff, but the alternative is that we never change anything. If we fail to take advantage of advances in technology and develop more joined-up ways of working we will ultimately find ourselves outdated in the eyes of future students, funders and other stakeholders. Staff want to work for a progressive and successful institution, of which they can be proud. This means we cannot stand still.<\/p> When I talk to staff and students I often hear their frustrations about how difficult it be can be to get some straightforward things done, grappling with paper-based, manual and repetitive processes, on outdated systems and infrastructure, all of which serves to increase staff workloads. Everyone wants to do a good job, but regularly feel that our world-class status is earned in spite of our internal systems and processes, not because of them.<\/p> To deliver our new vision and strategic plan we will need to embrace new opportunities and face challenges with courage and determination. That will sometimes mean we have to make tough decisions and no-one is claiming it will be easy or that mistakes will not be made along the way. But where we do have tough choices to make we will commit to implementing changes fairly and with compassion to support the wellbeing of all our colleagues.<\/p> [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_post_nav _builder_version=\"3.17.6\" prev_text=\"Previous\" next_text=\"Next\" in_same_term=\"off\" locked=\"on\" \/][et_pb_comments _builder_version=\"3.17.6\" custom_button=\"on\" button_text_color=\"#ffffff\" locked=\"on\" \/][et_pb_text admin_label=\"Related posts\" _builder_version=\"3.17.6\" locked=\"on\"]<\/p> [related-posts-thumbnails]<\/p> [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column_inner][\/et_pb_row_inner][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=\"1_3\"][et_pb_sidebar admin_label=\"Subscribe\" _builder_version=\"3.17.6\" area=\"et_pb_widget_area_3\" locked=\"on\" \/][et_pb_sidebar _builder_version=\"3.17.6\" area=\"sidebar-1\" show_border=\"off\" locked=\"on\" \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pslt","category-slt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3537"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3650,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3537\/revisions\/3650"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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Related<\/h1>\n
Related posts:<\/h3>
Jonathan Winter: A time of learning<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a>
Nancy Rothwell: Demonstrating the value of our university<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a>
Patrick Hackett: Working smarter and living better: a hybrid future<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div>
Improving our financial performance will help to deliver our ambitious future plans, but we must also increase our capacity to create the funds and time to invest in our core goals. One of the ways we can do this is by changing what we do and how we do things.<\/p>Related<\/h1>