The activities of National Institutes of Health personnel and peer reviewers in preparation for and during a visit to a proposed research project site are outlined. Steps for the requesting agency to take before, during, and after the visit, to present itself in the best possible light, are suggested. (Author/MSE)

Enormous enrollment growth has created substantial management problems for Dutch universities. Based on the idea that government research policy should stimulate, not weaken, university capabilities to improve their management, a system of research schools has been integrated into the higher education system to better concentrate teaching and…

American research universities addressed issues of shared funding and overhead for research long ago. British universities are now establishing their own rules. The Commission of European Universities has worked on a model contract that represents progress, but major issues of partnership and patronage arising from differential institutional…

A variety of administrative issues can arise when multi-investigator, interdisciplinary research increases on campus. As research facilitators, university research administrators are in a position to help their institution with necessary management adjustments. Interdisciplinary research brings special opportunities and challenges to the campus…

A discussion of federal policy on research integrity and scientific misconduct chronicles the history of federal involvement in accountability in the scientific community, forms of intervention, determination of the boundaries of misconduct, and the rights of whistle blowers. Official definitions and standards are presented. (MSE)

Differentiates between the legal functions that college- and university-sponsored research officers are required to perform and the quasi-legal functions in research administration. Introduces and discusses legal concepts integral to research administration, and offers practical pointers in carrying out both legal and quasi-legal functions.…

A survey of 80 senior research administrators at public doctorate-granting universities investigated the relationship between the institutions' economic development orientation (new business/technology development; capacity building; human resource development; research/analysis/evaluation) and their level of federal research support. Results…

Basic algebraic formulas for calculating research program budgets are explained, using time-tested examples of cost-sharing, fringe benefit, and indirect cost calculation. The method is suggested as a tool for teaching both novice research administrators and researchers. (MSE)

Sources of potential health-related research support outside the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are discussed to encourage VA field research administrators to seek out new research funding arrangements. The history and scope of extra-VA research funding is reviewed and the VA research administrator's role is examined. (MSE)

A national survey of 213 research universities found 2 models of research program administration predominate: an officer for graduate studies and another for research, and a single officer handling both responsibilities. The former is more common at the most research-oriented institutions. Choice of model depends on program similarities,…

The Texas legislature has mandated assessment of research programs in the state that receive separate line-item appropriations. The two-phase process involves institutional self-studies and site visits resulting in a final report with recommendations. The first two cycles of the assessment have indicated that process is more critical than result.…

The following administrative aspects of scientific experimentation with human subjects are discussed: the definition of human experimentation; the distinction between experimentation and treatment; investigator responsibility; documentation; the elements and principles of informed consent; and the administrator's role in establishing and…

Systems dynamics, a computer-based tool for visualizing how parts of an organization work together over time, is a valuable tool in administrative decision making. Feedback loops among elements mimic complicated behavior in real or imagined situations. An experiment using the technique with a simple research funding model validated its utility.…

The National Science Foundation's effort to assess ways to improve the speed and accuracy of data collection from universities by federal agencies is discussed. Although only one phase of the project was completed, it is concluded that the issues surrounding electronic data collection have important implications for university research…

The project accounting system used by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Chemical Sciences exchanges financial data with the campus' central accounting system and allows integration of this information with user-entered data to produce an easily read, fully obligated project accounting statement for the budget and period…