It is not uncommon to find that the research support office in a university or organisation has been, is going through or is about to be restructured. This observation may reflect the ever-changing requirement and roles of those based within these functions, yet it might also be a symptom that traditional models are sub-optimal and below standards of recognised good practice. The growth in scale, complexity and administrative requirements of research and enterprise endeavours in recent years has meant that organisations and research staff need professional skills and support of research administrators more than ever, yet it is not uncommon to find that the opposite viewpoint prevails and that the research community perceives research support as inefficient, unresponsive and even a hindrance. This poses an interesting and challenging situation. This paper examines some of the drivers for change and describes recent restructuring at two organisations: Imperial College London, a world-class research-intensive university, and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the national science agency in Australia. It is based on a workshop delivered by both authors with Tim Quigg, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, at the International Network of Research Management Societies (INORMS) conference in 2008. (Contains 1 figure.)