RLP Project E’s ‘Pure Portal Project’ aims upgrade to the current Pure Portal (also known as Research Explorer) with a refresh of branding and imagery, improvements to search capabilities as well ensuring ongoing technical support for the platform from the supplier.

Project update

The project has established key stakeholder groups and we have been utilising these groups to feed into configuration and improvement requirements of the new portal. The stakeholders in these groups have an interest in the upgrade to the Pure Portal as they either support the tool, use the tool or provide services which utilise data to or from the tool. The stakeholders provide expertise in the following areas, Communications and Marketing, Technical expertise, subject matter expertise, such as Pure and Library processes, Academic experience using Pure and project management.

These stakeholder groups are as follows:

• Project Initiation Team (PIT) – Responsible for the implementation and roll-out of the new portal
• Project Assurance Team (PAT) – Responsible for the assurance of the project in terms of the quality of the Portal
• Academic Advisory Group (AAG) – Act as a ‘critical friend’ to provide feedback and advice to PIT
• Executive Project Board (EPB) – Responsible for providing leadership for the Project Management/PAT for the implementation of the new Pure Portal 

The new portal pages have been through an initial review and we are currently working through our first round of configuration, in consultation with the stakeholder groups above. Once this initial stage of configuration has been completed, we will enter a review stage and repeat this process until the portal is ready for a pilot phase.

Forthcoming developments

The project team will be focusing on the following areas as part of the next phase of the project:

• Images – Technical solutions will be reviewed to ensure images on the portal can be supported.
• Communication plan – The PIT team will liaise closely with central communications to draft suitable communications and attend suitable committee and faculty meetings to provide project updates.
• Training asset development – The PIT team will review all current training assets and plan new training and guidance provisions.
• Academic pilot – The PIT team will be planning a pilot which will provide early access to the new portal so that staff and PGRs can familiarise themselves ahead of any changes.  

How can I get involved? 

The Pure pilot will involve the academic community accessing the test Pure site over the summer, accessing new features, and providing feedback. If you would like to be involved in the upcoming pilot, please email us at pure@manchester.ac.uk and we will provide you further information on how to get involved as the project progresses.    

Where can I find updates about the Pure Portal Project?   

You can visit the Research Lifecycle Programme website for more information and sign-up to the monthly newsletter. Additionally, a new dedicated project page has been created on the Pure support pages, where you find updates and information on the project.

If you would like us to attend faculty, school, division or department meetings to present an update on the project, please get in contact with us at pure@manchester.ac.uk and we can arrange this.

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