A talk delivered by Thorsten Hauler at the Anybook Oxford Libraries Conference 2015 - Adapting for the Future: Developing Our Professions and Services, 21st July 2015

1. Research Facilitation
at Oxford
Thorsten Hauler
Research Facilitator, DPAG
Tuesday, 21st July 2015

2. • A brief history of Research Facilitation at Oxford
• The John Fell Fund
• A selection of job titles
• The current landscape
• What is ‘facilitation’?
• Supporting and facilitating – reflection
• Discussion

3. A brief history of Research
Facilitation at Oxford (1)
• Initiated by Prof. JR Ockendon and Dr Chris Breward in 2001 (MI)
• Started as a 1/3 post (dept.-funded + postdoc) out of a need to boost
research overhead income (was £100k at MI)
• Important mix: subject knowledge & admin skills. Initial JD:
• Seeking out funding from all relevant sources
• Matching funding opportunities to expertise in the dept.
• Assisting with writing proposals; ensuring highest poss. quality
• Ensuring all relevant bureaucratic requirements are met
• Member of Research Committee; designing information systems
and management reports

4. A brief history of Research Facilitation
at Oxford (2)
• Bid for divisional support (38%) for a 50% post
in 2002 with extended responsibilities:
• Increase pool of applicants
• Prepare appropriate costings
• Liaison between dept. and funders
• Development of an internal peer review system
• Creation of funding web pages
• Annual discussion of research groups’ future plans
• Managing research incentive scheme
• First University-wide interest in 2003, next RFs 2006/7 (JFF)

5. The John Fell Fund
• Established in 2005/06
• Annual budget of £5m
• “The John Fell OUP Research Fund will also provide [support for]
'research facilitators' to help identify sources of external funding and
provide expertise on how best to tap into external resources. Again,
this is an idea which has already worked for departments in the past.”
(from the news item on the launch, 10th February 2006)
• Funded the first Research Facilitators in 2006/07
• Total funding for Research Facilitators 2005/06 – 2013/14: £3.5m
(10% of total funds available)

6. A brief history of Research Facilitation
at Oxford (3)
• A Research Facilitators network was initiated in 2007, which, over
the years, developed into ORFN
• Growing research (and research overhead) income is proof of the RF
success story (other indicators?); MI overheads c.£1.8m in 2008
• Increased competition and shrinking budgets require diversification
and new approaches
• Additional responsibilities include:
• Recording impact; identifying potential case
studies; REF support
• Open Access; research data management
• Knowledge exchange activities
• Where does the role go from here?

7. A selection of job titles
• Research Facilitator (several
different ranges of duties)
• Research Development Manager
• Business Development Manager
• Finance and Grants Officer
• Research Administrator
• Research Grants and Projects
Administrator
• Research & Collaboration Officer
• Research Coordinator
• Research Grants Manager
• Deputy Administrator (Research)

8. The current landscape
• Humanities Division: RF team at divisional
level (5 staff); additionally, 3 departments
have dedicated support
• Social Sciences Division: RF team at divisional level (3 staff); 14
dedicated staff across departments
• Medical Sciences Division: 15 staff listed across 9 departments,
plus 5 others (BD, BHF CRE, Division)
• MPLS Division: Mathematical Institute, Physics, OeRC (dedicated
teams of 3 each); 22 staff listed across all departments, plus 5 at
Divisional level
• Others (Begbroke, Isis Innovation, etc.): 9 staff listed

9. What is ‘facilitation’?
• to assist (a person); to
enable or allow (a person) to
do something, achieve a
particular result, etc., more
easily
facilitate, verb:
• to make (an action, process,
etc.) easy or easier; to promote,
help forward; to assist in bringing about
(a particular end or result) or

10. Supporting and facilitating – reflection
• Based on these definitions, are ‘administrators’ really
‘facilitators’, should they be, do they have to be?
• Roles are increasingly interlinked and more specialized
• How have your roles changed over the past 5 years?
• Has the training element kept up?
• We are all experts – are we
respected for that?

11. MANY THANKS TO SHARON LLOYD
AND CHRIS BREWARD
YOU CAN CONTACT ME AT:
THORSTEN.HAULER@DPAG.OX.AC.
UK
EXTENSION 82654
THANK YOU!