Research Information Management
http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/research

Research activity is a fundamental activity within the UK HE sector and for many institutions is a major revenue income stream. In common with all other areas of endeavour, research is becoming increasingly dependant on information systems to manage the complex information flows that it creates. It is probable that in the medium term future there will be an increased need for institutions to be able to demonstrate how their research funds were utilised and the value for money they provided. While there are numerous examples of good practice and sophisticated system interaction, it is a widely held belief in the Higher Education sector that information systems to support Research Management have grown piecemeal in most institutions. There are a number of stakeholders in research and research management activities and each of these has to some degree developed their own information system support. There is some evidence that in most institutions these systems are to a greater or lesser extent discrete and separate with limited integration. As one part of a string of initiatives by JISC and JISC infoNet their work in this area will seek to develop a better understanding of the processes of Research Information Management systems within institutions and the processes for building a business case for justifying the development of such systems. It also aims to provide via a sector survey and series of detailed studies an online resource to provide support and guidance for institutions considering further development of their RIM systems. A prime objective of this project is to work with and to support projects funded by the JISC Innovations Group during the lifetime of this project and to help synthesize and disseminate their findings to the community at large. This has been added to Research Resources Subject Tracer™ Information Blog.