Award Mobilisation (A1)

We intend to:

• Reform the award mobilisation stage of the funding lifecycle
• Focus on researcher experience as well as process efficiency
• Improve the transition form pre to post-award
• Increase transparency across the research lifecycle
• Integrate with the Research Finance Stabilisation activities

The benefits:

• Reduced risk of non-compliance with funders
• More staff time to focus on core tasks and value-adding roles
• Better management information to make better informed decisions
• Efficiency resulting on lower cost per research project

Project Manager: Caroline Hargreaves

Enquires: rlp-projecta@manchester.ac.uk

Timeline:

• 2022 – 2023

The Project Implementation Team

Project Manager: Caroline Hargreaves

Enquires: rlp-projecta@manchester.ac.uk

Name	Role	Area
Lita Denny	Head of Research Services	RBE
Petri Uola	Head of Research Finance	Research Finance
Caroline Hargreaves	Senior Business Change Manager	Research Lifecycle Programme
Traceyanne Sinclair	Research Costing Manager	Research Finance
Niki Harratt	Communications and Engagement Officer	Research Lifecycle Programme
Sara Lockett	Research Services Operations Manager	FSE
Emma Reilly	Research Services Operations Manager	FSE
Julie Saunders	Research Services Operations Manager	BMH
Jonathan Starbrook	Research Services Operations Manager	HUM
Elaine Edwards	Research Services Operations Manager	HUM
Kirsty Brennan	Senior Research Finance Manager HUM	Research Finance
Jamie Flood	Senior Research Finance Manager (FSE)	Research Finance
Malcolm Spencer	Senior Research Finance Manager BMH	Research Finance
Philippa Walker	Head of Research Operations	SoSS
Michael Platt	P&OD Talent Acquisition & Transformation Manager	P&OD
April Lockyer or nominee	Head of Research, Governance, Ethics and Integrity (RGEIT)	RGEIT
Mehmood Mulla	Lead Data Analyst	Planning
TBC for relevant process deep dives	TBC	Research Contracts
TBC for relevant process deep dives	TBC	Business Engagement & Knowledge Exchange

Frequently Asked Questions

One of the aims of the project was to improve on the handover process between Research Services (RS) and Research Finance (RF). What steps will be taken to ensure the handover between Pre-Award Team (RS) and the award mobilisation team will be an improvement on the existing process?

The project has identified around 25 processes which are core to award mobilisation and deep dives for each of these are planned over the coming months to ensure we make these processes more user-friendly, efficient, measurable and fit for purpose. Handover points are a key element of this work and colleagues from across Professional Services will be involved in these process deep dives.

Will the award Mobilisation team be expected to progress all new awards? Or will their support be targeted at larger complex awards?

The overall design work is still on-going but the current principle is that awards mobilisation support will cover all research awards not just a sub-set based on size or complexity.

What is the time scale for this project – is it dependent of filling current vacancies with Research Support & Research Finance teams?

The project expects to design and populate roles by July 2022. It is not dependent on filling current business as usual vacancies in Research Services or Research Finance.

Is there a trial period planned – or will it just be made live?

We don’t envisage a trial period as such, but there is expected to be a significant on-boarding period of 2-3 months before new services are introduced. As part of this it may be helpful to run small local pilots before launching but that won’t be determined until later in the project.

The current timeline for the project has the High level Design, Service Scope, Roles and end to end Business design after the Faculty workshops then straight to Implementation. Will there be an opportunity for teams to feedback before and after the High level design?

The reason for this is that the project does not wish to delay starting recruitment until all the process deep dives have concluded as recruitment can be a lengthy process. There will be an opportunity for colleagues to provide feedback throughout, particularly during the process deep dives as the high level design will be described at these, but the project is not proposing a re-structure or full organisational re-design.

How will Research Services be represented in the workshops?

The project implementation team includes the Faculty Research Services Operations Managers, Senior Research Finance Managers. Head of Research Services, Head of Research Finance plus a range of colleagues from Research Business Engagement (RBE), Faculty and P&OD. This is the group undertaking the primary design work and this is supplemented by outputs from 3 Faculty academic/PS workshops. The process deep dives are expected to draw form the broader pool of Research Services, Research Finance, RBE, P&OD and other PS colleagues and the project team encourages anyone interested in participating to come forward by emailing rlp-projecta@manchester.ac.uk

Where will the new Award Mobilisation team sit within our current structure? My impressions was that the team would be embedded within Faculty RS teams. Is that correct?

The project is embedding additional resource across Faculty Research Services Teams, Research Finance Team and RBE.

Who will be responsible for training the new award mobilisation staff?

The project anticipates a significant onboarding period of 2 to 3 months. Training throughout this period will be an important aspect and to a certain extent will depend on the needs of the people recruited. A mix of existing and new training material is anticipated and the project will be developing the training plan over the coming months.

Who will manage the Awards mobilisation team? will the team report to both RSS and Research finance?

The project is embedding additional resource across Faculty Research Services Teams, Research Finance Team and RBE.

My understanding the 12 FTE will be made up of 4 RSO/M 5 Finance 3 between contract and HR? This is between all faculties

The new resources will be embedded across Faculty Research Service Teams, Research Finance Team and RBE. In total there is fourteen permanent FTE plus one 12month transition into service role being invested. More detail on the service design, grades and allocation of resources is available on the project page.

Can you confirm there will be no reduction in Pre-Award staff as a result of this change? And existing Pre-award staff will not be expected / asked to move into the Award Mobilisation team to bolster the Award Mobilisation FTE 

The project does not include any plans to reduce current FTE in Faculty Research Services Teams, Research Finance Team or RBE. Some existing staff (of the same grade and role type) will be given the opportunity to express an interest in the new roles, if they have an interest in prioritising award set-up activity and in process improvement / development activity, before open recruitment begins.

If it’s only 12 posts including HR and finance, what will the additional resource to RSS be – i.e. additional 4 x Research Support Officers/Research Support Assistants? 

The new resources will be embedded across Faculty Research Service Teams, Research Finance Team and RBE. In total there is fourteen permanent FTE plus one 12month transition into service role being invested. More detail on the service design, grades and allocation of resources is available on the project page.

How was the budget envelope of 12 FTE established? Was it based on predicted activity for the Award Mobilisation team or due to budget constraints?

The project design is not tied to 12 FTE as such. The overall design has been established within an estimated budget (based on 12 FTE) using potential research income growth scenarios over the 5 year plan. The project will be embedding 14 new permanent FTE and one 12 month transition into service role. More detail on the service design, grades and allocation of resources is available on the project page.

Will the award mobilisation team have staff members from Research Support and Research Finance? As the activities involved seem to require skills from both areas?

The design sees new posts embedded in both areas as opposed to creating a separate team.

Will job descriptions for current Research Support Officers change based on if you sit within the pre-award team or the Awards Mobilisation team?

The project is not making any changes to the job descriptions of existing staff. The existing job descriptions are forming the basis of the awards mobilisation roles and these will have a focus on prioritising and improving the award mobilisation process.

Will there be opportunities for promotion within new the structure?

When the recruitment phase is open there will be opportunities for staff at any grade to apply for these roles if they wish.