Behind every successful research project stands not only a group of scientists, but a whole team of research managers, securing and managing funding, navigating regulations, building partnerships and ensuring science runs smoothly.
Although they are not often in the spotlight, the work of research managers is essential. So, when an international delegation of over 50 research managers from all over the world arrived at the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB), the focus wasn’t just networking – it was about discussing the future of research.
The group was coming from the International Network of Research Management Societies (INORMS) conference. This biannual global conference aims to promote professional development, exchange and collaboration across borders. This year’s edition took place in Madrid on the 6-8 May, followed by a Study Tour to foster knowledge sharing, understanding of the Spanish research landscape and to plan joint initiatives among participants. After visiting research institutions in Madrid and Granada, and travelling always by train to emphasize environmental sustainability, they came to the PRBB.
Gabriele Picarella, Preaward Coordinator at the Strategy and Funding department of the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), coordinated the networking session at the PRBB, and in this article he gives us an overview of the meeting and its relevance for the research community.
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The INORMS Congress was hosted this year, for the first time, by the European Association of Research Managers and Administrators (EARMA), and it was focused on “A Sustainable Profession in a Sustainable World”. The aim was to reflect on the increasingly vital role of research management in enabling international collaboration while addressing local and societal challenges.
Some of the major themes explored (beyond the art of surviving parallel sessions!) included:
- The professionalisation and sustainability of research management as a global career path
- Responsible Use of AI in Research Management
- Ethics, equity and inclusion in research partnerships
- Innovation in research funding and management
- Building resilient, future-ready research support systems
The congress highlighted how research managers are becoming strategic actors in the design and success of scientific systems; how we are no longer behind-the-scenes administrators, but facilitators of innovation, partnership and impact.
Visiting the PRBB
As part of the post-conference study tour agenda, the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) hosted a networking session with over 50 participants from 12 countries, including representatives from some of the world’s leading research management associations and institutions.
The visiting delegation included members from SARIMA (Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association), ARMS (Australasian Research Management Society) and EARMA (European Association of Research Managers and Administrators), as well as from individual research institutions and universities from South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, Australia, Sweden, Austria, Norway, Chile, Belgium, the Netherlands and the United States. Participants ranged from senior directors and policy leaders to project managers and institutional strategists, all actively involved in designing, developing and evaluating research activity at their respective institutions.
About 50 senior directors, policy leaders, project managers and institutional strategists from 12 countries representing all the continents, came together at the PRBB to discuss the future of the research managers profession.
The visit to the PRBB was co-organised by the EARMA Post-Congress Study Tour Committee, in collaboration with the CRG and other leading research centres, including ISGlobal, MELIS-UPF, Hospital del Mar Research Institute, and the Fundació Pasqual Maragall, all part of the PRBB community. Coordination of the session on-site was led by the research managers of these institutions, working together to provide a dynamic and participatory programme.
The event stood out for the high level of co-creation with the local research community to foster discussions on the future of the research management profession: how to overcome barriers and face challenges while embracing global change and sustainability. Also, this was the first time that a dedicated workshop on the professionalisation of research management was embedded into the study tour, offering not just a visit but a genuine peer-to-peer knowledge exchange.
More than a networking event
The visit to the PRBB aimed to showcase the strength and diversity of research management in Catalonia and Spain and facilitate international dialogue on how to build research management as a professional career. And of course, we aimed to build networks of trust and links of collaboration between research-performing organisations worldwide and the PRBB research ecosystem.
The core of the networking session was a 2-hour World Café discussion with five mixed discussion groups, where the visiting international managers were joined by 26 local managers with different profiles. The aim was to explore two topics vital to the evolution of the research management field: career development and research management metrics. Each group was chaired by research managers from the PRBB centres and included participants from multiple regions and roles.
Professionalisation and career development: diverse realities, shared needs
The group discussions revealed that while career development landscapes differ significantly, as they are shaped by diverse institutional, national and funding contexts, the aspirations and challenges faced by research managers are remarkably aligned.
There also was clear convergence around a central issue: research management is becoming more professionalised, yet career pathways remain unevenly developed across countries and institutions.
“The most powerful insight was the shared motivation to drive change. Even while waiting for formal structures to catch up, research managers are actively building roles aligned with their values and institutional missions,” said Ojas Deshpande, Scientific Policy Officer at the Fundació Pasqual Maragall, who co-chaired one of the discussion groups. He also observed that, despite growing responsibilities, many research managers face flat career structures, ambiguous roles and a lack of institutional support for formal development.
Despite the diversity of career paths and local realities, research managers from all over the world found they had the same needs and aspirations, and are actively building their roles, while asking for more formal structures and support.
Participants called for structured, accredited training systems, but funding constraints and visibility issues remain serious obstacles. In fact, research managers are still perceived in many institutions as ‘assistants’ rather than strategic collaborators; although they are accountable for strategic decisions, they receive no formal authority or professional status.
However, some institutions are developing promising examples of career development models. These include SARIMA’s integrated career framework in South Africa; Norway’s Research Council-supported accreditation pathways; or the training models from CRG, UPF-URV-AGAUR and the PRBB.
As summarized by Ester Rodríguez, European and International Projects Funding Advisor at the Department of Medicine and Life Sciences (MELIS-UPF), who co-chaired another discussion group: “The initiatives shared emphasize the need for structured training, both technical and on soft skills, and of formal recognition mechanisms, like competency frameworks and clear institutional promotion tracks.”
Participants proposed a set of actionable priorities to improve career trajectories of research managers, including:
- Develop and implement competency-based frameworks at institutional, national and international levels
- Include research managers in strategic discussions and evaluation systems
- Promote internal visibility through awards, secondments, case studies and storytelling
- Build cross-functional ecosystems that foster staff exchanges, mentoring and learning communities
- Integrate research managers’ roles in scientific forums, policy documents and national HR frameworks
Indicators of value: making impact visible
Discussions on indicators highlighted a widespread dilemma: how to measure and communicate the value of research management, in a way that resonates with institutional leaders and funding agencies. Tommaso Legnaioli, Head of Preaward at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), who co-facilitated one of the groups on this theme, mentioned: “We all struggled with defining indicators that reflect the quality of our work, while often being assessed through metrics tied to things we can’t fully influence, such as funding wins or institutional prestige. There was a consensus that indicators must be contextual and that developing them requires both time and institutional trust.”
Participants expressed concern that traditional output metrics that are used to quantify the work of research managers, such as grants managed, publication volume or proposal count, fail to capture the full spectrum of research managers’ strategic, operational and relational contributions. They also highlighted that research managers operate across multiple levels, from institutional policy to daily interaction with research teams. However, when it comes to formal evaluations, their contributions often stay behind the scenes, vital to the process, but not always on the final scoreboard.
Participants found that the metrics and indicators used to evaluate the work of research managers fail to capture the full spectrum of research managers’ strategic, operational and relational contributions.
Despite these challenges, the discussion groups proposed concrete approaches to building recognition by integrating quantitative and qualitative indicators:
- Internal quality reviews and internal feedback tools and surveys
- Mapping contributions of research managers to aspects such as strategic foresight, partnership growth and sustainability of projects
- Capturing influence through participation in governance, project design and policy implementation
- Tracking capacity building through mentoring, onboarding and career progression of research staff
- Promote institutional integration of research management indicators in institutional strategic plans and HR evaluations
The importance of international peer exchange
For all the participants, the session reaffirmed that international peer exchange is crucial. In fact, what made the PRBB session unique was not just the topics, but the format and dynamics. Participants valued the small-group format, as it made space for deeper understanding, trust and concrete ideas for follow-up. “Meeting in a small group lets us test if our local problem is a global one”, said Laia Lagunas, EU and International Strategic Grants Specialist at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), who chaired one of the groups: “These meetings also help us build real relationships; after the session several people planned follow-up calls and possible staff exchanges”, she added.
“These exchanges create space to reflect, learn, and co-create ideas across borders and helps us grow not only as professionals but as a profession.”
Ester Rodríguez (MELIS-UPF)
Looking Ahead
As research becomes increasingly global, competitive and complex, research managers are indispensable enablers of science. They navigate funding landscapes, align projects with societal needs, ensure compliance with ethical standards, bridge science with policy and real-world applications and produce the knowledge that sustain the systems that make all that possible. As such, the professionalisation and support of the role of research managers is not an internal matter; it is a strategic issue for the future of science and innovation.
A Joint Statement calling for a greater recognition of the role of research managers is under preparation, building on the reflections from the Study Tour of Spain – and the conversations at the PRBB provided a powerful foundation for it. The sessions revealed that recognition, visibility and community are not just buzzwords, but active needs and drivers of change for research managers across the globe. In this respect, the discussions at the PRBB were a catalyst for a shared vision of the future of research management, with flipcharts, post-its and a lot of brainpower packed into two hours of focused thinking and lively exchanges. As one of the participants put it, we begin to shape a shared understanding of what good practice in research management looks like; what we can and should expect from our institutions; and how we can advocate for recognition not only within our organisations, but also at the policy level.
The PRBB networking session also shows that local research ecosystems can actively shape and influence the development of standards and frameworks as well as inspire others at a global level. Therefore, fostering global networks of research managers and supporting their role worldwide is not just beneficial, but essential.
This post was written by Gabriele Picarella preaward Coordinator at the CRG, who has extensive experience of research administration on both the management of sponsored projects and the development of competitive funding strategies.
