EAGER: Administrative Burden in University Research Administration

政府资助的学术研究的生产力和效率不仅取决于研究人员的培训，创造力和辛勤工作，而且还取决于研究人员所处的行政系统。然而，学术研究人员所经历的基于研究政策的行政负担的增加表明，可用于核心研究活动的工作时间百分比减少，令人担忧。该项目探讨了大学之间的关系？不同的科研管理政策和组织结构对科研人员管理经验的影响。 这项研究的更广泛影响包括提供证据，说明有效研究管理的最有效战略，并提出可能的行政改革建议，目的是提高研究管理的效率和效力，从而提高学术研究的生产力。本研究调查了学术主要研究者在科研管理方面的经验，包括对行政负担的看法、在与赠款有关的行政管理上花费的时间以及为有效和高效的科研管理所采用的策略。 该项目从所需的时间和资源以及政策目标在多大程度上对研究管理活动进行评估。 这种做法意味着某些行政负担比其他负担更有害;如果没有提出重大的政策目标，那么遵守行政规定的努力只会助长繁文缛节。相比之下，需要相当大行政负担的活动可以通过实现重要的政策目标或产生社会影响来弥补。该项目基于（1）对学术研究人员的半结构化访谈，以及对作为支持人员的大学研究管理人员的访谈，以及（2）参与该项目的PI提供的行政日记。

The productivity and efficiency of government-sponsored academic research depends not only upon the training, creativity, and hard work of researchers but also the administrative systems within which researchers are embedded. However, increases in the research policy-based administrative burdens experienced by academic researchers suggests there is a worrisome reduction in the percentage of work time available for core research activities. The project explores the relation of universities? diverse research administration policies and organizational structures on researchers' administrative experiences. The broader impacts of the study include providing evidence of most effective strategies for efficient research administration and suggesting possible administrative reforms, with the objective of enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of research administration and, thereby, the productivity of academic research. The research surveys academic principal investigators about their experiences with research administration, including perceptions of administration burden, the amount of time spent on grants-related administration and the strategies employed for effective and efficient research administration. The project assesses research administration activity in terms of the time and resources required but also the extent to which a policy objective. This approach implies that some administrative burden is more harmful than others; if no significant policy objective is advanced then the efforts at administrative compliance does little more than promote red tape. By contrast, activities requiring considerable administrative burden may be redeemed by serving an important policy goal or social impact. The project is based on (1) semi-structured interviews with academic researchers, as well as interviews with university research administrators who are support staff, and (2) administrative diaries provided by the PIs participating in the project.