RCUK engaged with users from the higher education sector during development of the system to ensure it is easy to use and aligned as far as possible with universities’ own research management systems. Benefits of the new system include:
- Outcomes can be added at any time during the life of a research grant and beyond.
- Existing data can be uploaded from HEIs own research information systems, therefore minimising the reporting burden on researchers.
- A bulk upload option allows multiple outcomes for multiple grant holders to be inputted at the same time, therefore saving time and effort.
- Access to ROS can be delegated to other users, including joint investigators or co-investigators, and research managers.
- Outcomes can be attributed to funding from more than one Research Council.
- The ROS takes account of and, where possible, accommodates the reporting requirements of other bodies, for example the UK Funding Councils’ Research Excellence Framework (REF) and Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) data returns.
Dr Sue Smart, Chair of the RCUK Research Outcomes Project that developed the ROS said: “The Research Councils recognise that the outcomes and impacts of research are often realised some time after the end of a research grant. This is why the Research Outcomes System has been developed to allow research outcomes information to be provided on an ongoing basis. The information gathered by the ROS will help us demonstrate the benefits of Research Council funded research and their contribution to the economic growth and societal wellbeing of the UK.”
The ROS is based on the existing ESRC collection system which has been developed on behalf of the AHRC, BBSRC, ESRC and EPSRC. The remaining three Research Councils will continue to use alternative existing systems. The MRC and STFC are using the e-Val system and at present, NERC is continuing to use its Research Outputs Database (ROD).
The current priority for MRC is to extend this approach to share data collection with charities and other funders that contribute significantly to the medical research sector, and continue to make the system easier to use. The aim of e-Val, as with ROS, is to rationalise the capture of output data, reducing the number of systems to which researchers report.
The Research Councils will continue to work together to develop a common solution in the medium term, as Sue Smart explains: “We are looking at ways to facilitate data exchange between ROS and e-Val, enabling researchers to record information once, and easily transfer this to other systems where necessary.”
The Research Councils are also working with JISC on a project to scope the issues and requirements from universities, funders and researchers in managing the information about research outputs. The aim of the work is to provide the UK education and research sector with clear, practical guidance on recording and sharing information about its research outputs, so that it can be reused for a variety of purposes, including by the Research Councils’ systems.
Neil Jacobs JISC’s Digital Infrastructure Programme Director says: “The UK research community punches well above its weight in terms of the quality and quantity of research outputs. However, these are not systematically recorded, so it can be hard to demonstrate that impact. Researchers, universities and funders have a common interest in ensuring that the outputs from UK research are visible, and that this is achieved without putting undue burden on the sector.
“This can be done using both institutional repositories and more sophisticated research information systems but, in either case, it is important that these interoperate effectively with the systems operated by research funders and others.The RIO Extensionproject will describe a roadmap for the sector to achieve that.”
(Source: www.rcuk.ac.uk)
