Research managers: Vital support for the advancement of science

Management professionals help to reduce excessive workloads for researchers through administrative and planning support

In the United States, Europe, and to a lesser degree in countries of the Global South, particularly in Africa and Latin America, navigation of the science funding system is coordinated by research management professionals.

Research managers, normally with research experience and after completing sensu stricto graduate programs, support researchers in identifying funding opportunities, navigating the complex global funding system, and monitoring developments in research management.

These specialists are responsible for dealing with regulatory and scientific integrity issues, and tracking indicators for evaluation of the social and academic impact of scientific output.

They also ensure that institutional processes are conducted correctly, for example, legal, financial, and human resources procedures, among others.

Research funding

According to the Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science (SBPC), the Brazilian Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FNDCT) anticipates an investment of R$10.3 billion in nonreimbursable research project funding in 2025.

Although an amount assessed as low by the Brazilian scientific community, this is the most sizable investment in the history of the FNDCT, a key federal instrument for supporting research and innovation.

The funds are primarily distributed through public calls for applications, published through funding notices and/or notifications, a practice carried out in Brazil and other countries by agencies, foundations, private institutions, and nonprofits investing in research & development.

Applications normally involve the submission of grant proposals and include schedules, relevance, impact of the theme, and budget. Other items may be necessary depending on the requirements of the support agency.

Negotiating the global funding system requires time and skills that applicants do not always have.

There is a need to understand eligibility rules and criteria, to draft documents and budgets, and to access submission platforms.

These processes take time that researchers could be otherwise spending towards their scientific investigations.

Moreover, the accumulation of administrative tasks and the bureaucratic burden can affect the mental health of researchers, faculty staff, and students.

Research funding

In Brazil, research managers are still a scarcity. This is believed to be due to a lack of awareness of the function of these professionals among decision-makers, and even by those coordinating research, who often perform these activities but are unfamiliar with the profession.

This is also a challenge in other parts of the world. In Europe, a project (RM-Roadmap) funded by the Horizon Program brings together managers from forty countries in a network enabled to promote recognition of the profession on the continent.

Many Brazilian researchers are still somewhat unfamiliar with research management, and those that do know of its existence within institutions do not seek it out, with many often seeing it as a secretarial activity rather than something strategic for their research.

This issue is featured in an editorial in the journal Nature, which mentions that in many cultures, the research manager does not have institutionalized attributions, and is seen as a mere executor of administrative duties.

However, experienced managers accumulate expertise that can be difficult for those not specializing in the area to acquire.

Brazilian support agencies see research managers as an institutional counterpart, and do not release funding to support research management.

However, some agencies outside Brazil, such as the National Institute of Health (NIH), the leading biomedicine research support agency in the US, allocate a percentage of the project amount to cover management disbursements, thereby preplanning their support for the involvement of dedicated professionals in this area.

Many European calls for applications make it an obligation to invest in research management structure. Organizations such as the British Academy recently came to issue exclusive calls to support scientific project management.

Support offices

The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), for example, is one of few Brazilian support agencies that endorse the need for research managers in organizations, also promoting training for these professionals.

Currently, 187 institutions are registered with FAPESP as Offices for Institutional Support to Researchers, and the Researcher Support Unit (NAP) of the Albert Einstein Israeli Institute for Education and Research (IIEPAE) is one (see article in Pesquisa Fapesp).

The NAP was implemented at the institution by the IIEPAE research planning & development office, and operates on fronts such as:

Fundraising;
Research project portfolio management;
Financial management;
Statistics and data consultancy;
Regulatory issues;
Internationalization.

Other leading Brazilian institutions, including the Insper Education & Research Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), the University of Campinas (UNICAMP), São Paulo State University (UNESP), and the University of São Paulo (USP), run research management offices and offer benefits tailored to the needs of their clients.

Enhancement

Steps have been taken to promote research management in Brazil, such as the 2015 creation of the Brazilian Research Administration and Management Association (BRAMA), with the mission of bringing together Brazilian research managers and promoting professional development actions in the area across the country.

The association enjoys partnerships with international research management agencies such as the International Network of Research Management Societies (INORMS), European Association of Research Managers and Administrators (EARMA), Southern African Research & Innovation Management Association (SARIMA), and the Society of Research Administrators International (SRAI).

BRAMA president Raquel Salviati states that the agency is still struggling to grow and attract members, not least due to the lack of recognition from managers unfamiliar with the activity, unlike international associations.

Furthermore, there is no culture of voluntary participation in representative agencies—a view shared by Aline Pacífico, research planning & development manager at Einstein and a member of the BRAMA fiscal board.

Nonetheless, with the support of associations such as BRAMA, some Brazilian institutions have promoted events relevant to the area.

In May 2024, the Paraná State office of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) organized the 2^nd International Science Management Meeting, where the importance of research managers was debated, and in the same year UNICAMP held the event “Research Management – A Strategic View.”

At international level there are master’s courses in the area, and a better general understanding of the role of research managers.

Brazil, however, still lacks informative actions regarding the impact of research managers on scientific culture and qualification programs for managers.

Trends and opportunities

A recurring current theme in the area is measuring the impact of research.

The aim is not just to assess whether publications resulting from studies generate citations and/or increase researchers’ h-indices (an indicator that measures output based on most-cited articles), but to measure the real impact of research for both society and the advancement of science.

For some support organizations, such as the US-based Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), the relevance of this theme in calls for applications is decisive for the funding of projects.

This type of measurement is complex, as it often requires longitudinal monitoring and the inclusion of multiple factors in analysis.

Raquel Salviati, who also represents Brazil in the INORMS Research Assessment Group, believes that impactful research should be conceived with the aim of meeting the demands of society, which does not cease when scientific articles are published.

Another theme not widely disseminated, particularly in Brazil, is institutional actions geared toward drafting grant proposals and informing about their review process, particularly for early-career researchers who, generally speaking, learn these skills through trial and error.

Operating as a research manager is an opportunity for recently qualified masters and PhDs not seeking to pursue an academic career, predominantly those interested in management, as there are opportunities to participate in a range of projects with the possibility of impacting several proposals in a short space of time.

Future research management has a fundamental role in increasing global partnerships.

This professional specialization can also help researchers to navigate the different areas of institutions and to obtain funding, given that the research environment, with its constant geopolitical transformations, increasingly requires multilateral actions.

José Belém de Oliveira Neto holds a bachelor’s degree in Letters (translator and interpreter) and is a research manager (Pre-Award) at the NAP of the IIEPAE/Albert Einstein Brazilian Israeli Beneficial Society (SBIBAE). He holds a master’s degree in English Linguistics and Literary Studies, and is conducting doctoral research into drafting grant proposals at the University of São Paulo (USP), where he is a tutor at the Academic Literacy Laboratory. He is a Guest Professor of Academic Writing at the Albert Einstein School of Health Sciences.

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