Research Costing Tool project

The research costing tool project aims to improve the University’s ability to accurately cost research activity and will allow staff to model costs throughout the lifecycle of a research project. A product called BlackDackel, a web-based tool will be implemented at The University of Manchester (UoM).

Project update

Currently we are working on mapping configurable items within BlackDackel. This involves working through the different navigation headings within the tool and capturing all items which can be configured to UoM needs. Following on from this task, the creation of training modules will commence for admin users to ensure appropriate support will be available to guide them on how to make changes in the system. 

Testing of pricing templates continues and the testing team have been working with BlackDackel to overcome any teething issues. The templates will be fully functional for the start of User Acceptance Testing (UAT).

Forthcoming developments

• Training programme continues – a training programme is being developed to include guidance material and training videos
• Workflows – user workflows are in development with the project team working closely with BlackDackel to ensure the user journey is mapped and verified

Additional communications

Traceyanne Sinclair participated in a podcast with members of the Library, Research Computing Services and Research Finance to discuss the impact of Research Data Management costing and the new tool. If you would like to listen to this, it can be found at the Library research Plus blog.

The project team will commence a series of update meetings for Research Services (RS) teams in the coming months. This update will provide RS with a demo of the product and a further update of the project and timelines.

Additionally, the project team will begin to publish blog posts providing an insight in to the project team members, working on the project itself as well as project updates, so watch this space.

Find out more about the Research Costing Tool project and how it will benefit you:

• Research Costing Tool: How will it help me?

Related