Illinois teaming up to help fill national research development professional gap

Research development and administration professionals from Illinois and across the country gather annually at a conference organized by the National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP).

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is part of a multi-university effort to develop a research development career pipeline to reinforce the nation’s research enterprises. 

Funded by the National Science Foundation’s program GRANTED (Growing Research Access for Nationally Transformative Equity and Diversity), “Filling the Gap” will create a for-credit curriculum in research administration and management for undergraduate students at over 40 universities in the country, including Illinois. U. of I. is one of six universities collaborating on the project.

The U. of I. team, led by Kristin Tennant, Director of Research Communications, is creating a marketing strategy and toolkit to recruit both universities and students for the newly formalized career path. 

“The country is facing a growing need for research development professionals and administration – in large part because most people don’t know this career path exists,” said Tennant. “Creating curriculum is at the heart of the project, but curriculum alone can't move the needle. We also need to raise awareness and spark interest in this fulfilling career path through a strategy-driven marketing plan.” 

Sowmya Anand, Director of the Office of Proposal Development at Illinois, who is working closely with Tennant as a co-investigator, said growing the nation’s research development field is critical. 

“If you cannot get funding for your research, you're not able to do the research. That's the end of it,” said Anand. “Researchers rely on us to help bridge that gap between writing the proposal and the funding agency actually seeing this in a manner that's complete, compliant, and compelling.”

Tennant and Anand are also collaborating with partners at New Mexico State University (NMSU), particularly on qualitative market research and campaign development input and testing. An integral component of GRANTED is that investments by the program “...will advance equity in access to research support and service infrastructure across all types of institutions and organizations, geographic locations, and experience levels…”

Susan Martinis, Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, was involved in early discussions with her research administration counterparts about the growing national need for research development professionals who understand the complex ecosystem. Those conversations led to the collaborative grant proposal.

“Illinois is fortunate to have a robust research development staff and an excellent research communications team,” said Martinis. “I knew from those early conversations that I wanted Illinois to be a part of how we might collectively address the larger need, on a national scale. It’s absolutely critical.” 

In addition to Illinois and NMSU, other significant contributors to “Filling the Gap” are the University of Miami (Ohio); Alabama A&M University; and the University of California, San Diego. Chris Brown, vice president for Research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is leading the three-year, $2.8 million grant.

“This will provide a viable professional career option for future research administrators and managers,” Brown said. “Their service provides the backbone that supports research, scholarship and service at universities, industry, government and not-for-profit organizations. These individuals are critical to achieve successful outcomes, including technical innovation and improvement in the quality of life.”