Developing a dedicated Research Support Team

Redefining roles at the University of York

Janette Colclough (Research Support Manager)Library, Information Services, University of York

Y&H ARLG Supporting Researchers at Your University - November 2015

This session Background– University of York context– External and internal drivers for change

Redefining roles and changing structures– New ways of working– University of York case study

Research Support Team at York– Remit to date– Experience so far

Questions References

Background

University of York Context Founded 1963 Research intensive (14th in REF) Member of the Russell Group

and White Rose Consortium 16,000 students, 1,400 academic

and research staff >30 departments in humanities,

social sciences, sciences High duck density

External drivers Research environment– Increased competition within sector– Scholarly communication - Finch report on access to research

publications (2012)– Open science/data

Funder policies– Compliance issues relating to Open Access– Compliance issues relating to Research data management– REF requirements on Open Access

Higher education– Competition and student fees

Library context Researchers’ information needs– RIN/RLUK (2011) The value of libraries for research and

researchers Skills to meet evolving research needs– RLUK (2012) Re-skilling for research

Value and impact agenda– Increased alignment with institutional strategies– Re-assessment of current services (and roles)– Development of new services (not just research-related!)– Not always funding for new/extra staff

York-specific drivers New University Information Strategy– Includes a Research Excellence strand– Support for research lifecycle, research publication, research

data management

Open Access– Convert project to business as usual

Redefining roles and structures

Academic library structures and research support

Range of new or adapted staffing models now in place Subject-based– Staff take on additional specialist roles as required

– Retain structure based on departments/faculties

Function-based– Staff focus on service area not subject

– New teams for teaching and research

Hybrid models– Mix of the above

Case study: Relationship Management at York

Team based within the Library Pre-existing structure based on Academic Liaison

Librarians– Individuals also assigned to functional areas e.g. information

skills, research support 2013 Staff realignment to meet the challenges of the

University Information strategy New teams in place January 2014

Case study: Relationship Management at York

Relationship Management 2013

Case study: Relationship Management at York

Relationship Management 2015

Research Support Team

Meet the team

Provide specific library-related support for research staff, postgraduate research students, and research administrators

Janette ColcloughResearch Support Manager

Kirstyn RadfordResearch Support Librarian/Copyright

Lindsey MyersResearch Support Librarian

Thom BlakeResearch Support Librarian

Open Access Advocacy and support– Web pages

www.york.ac.uk/open-access– Advice and training for

researchers and depts Help researchers meet funder

requirements– Manage York Open Access Fund

Help researchers meet REF and University Policy requirements– Major project!!!

ORCID iDs

Helping researchers distinguish themselves– ORCID iD as researcher identifier– See www.york.ac.uk/orcid– Over 60% of staff on PURE have an iD recorded

Research Data Management Advocacy and support– RDM web pages

http://www.york.ac.uk/rdm– Advice and training for

researchers and depts Help researchers meet funder

requirements Help researchers meet

University Policy requirements Support data management

planning– E.g. DMPOnline tool

Copyright

How can I use others’ work in my teaching activities? What are my rights as a author? Can I use third-party materials in my ethesis?– Advice via copyright web pages and libguide– Answer University-wide enquiries, both teaching and

research– Maintain licences (e.g. CLA return)– Email lib-copyright-advice@york.ac.uk

Information skills and training

Researcher Development Team programme– Searching the literature– Copyright– Open Access– Research Data Management

Online tutorials– Contribute to PG Research Integrity tutorial

Departmental sessions– For staff and PGR students– Departmental briefings

Work with Academic Liaison colleagues

“It is really helpful & very

informative”Maths PGR

Searching the Literature

Enquiry support

Information for researchers– Web page– Email

lib-research-support@york.ac.uk

Signpost to expertise– E.g. Academic Liaison,

Research Computing

Pros and cons of a dedicated team Advantages– Dedicated staffing to support funder and REF compliance– Opportunity to develop expertise– Time to forge new relationships e.g. research administrators– Flexibility to take opportunities e.g. Jisc-ARMA ORCID pilot

Issues– Potential for duplication/loss of contacts– Uncertainly in some areas e.g. PGR– Difficult to cover staff absence– Potential damage to existing services

Lessons learned Don’t expect too much too soon! Manage the change Give staff time to develop new relationships Don’t over commit– E.g. bibliometrics scoping coming soon

Work on communication– E.g. Customer Relationship Management tool to manage

multiple access to departments Think about how teams work together across whole

structure Consider institutional context

Questions and references

Any questions?

References Blake, M. and Colclough, J.A. University of York case

study in M.J. Bent (2016) Practical tips for facilitating research. Facet Publishing.

Colclough, J.A. and Spoor, P. (2015) Redefining roles: supporting researchers at Leeds and York. UHMLG Spring Forum presentation March 2015. Available from https://uhmlg.wordpress.com/2015/03/15/uhmlg-spring-forum-2015-slides-now-available/

Thank you for listening

Janette ColcloughResearch Support ManagerInformation ServicesUniversity of YorkEmail: janette.colclough@york.ac.ukWeb: www.york.ac.uk/library orcid.org/0000-0003-4767-6801