Update on the Research Partner Network | The Quad

Update on the Research Partner Network

Increased administrative support for our research community.

November 30, 2023

We are pleased to provide an update on the Research Partner Network (RPNet). The Network was created to increase our institution-wide capacity for research grant development and administrative support to the research community. RPNet aims to help researchers save time and energy by serving as the first point of contact and go-to resource for our research community to access strategic advice, hands-on grant development and administrative support across the university.

As a refresher, the expanded Research Partner Network consists of a director, four senior research partners (one for each college and one for the stand-alone faculties who will be recruited soon), thirteen research partners (deployed by faculty and area of specialization), a manager, research administration support services and ten newly hired research administration specialists (deployed by college/faculty). The network is designed to provide the research community with the expertise to craft innovative, fundable research proposals as efficiently as possible and to help manage the administration of funds.

The senior research partners provide support to the college/stand-alone deans and associate deans of research for strategic cross-college/faculty and interdisciplinary initiatives and work directly with researchers to provide grant development support for such initiatives. They also work collaboratively and help coordinate with college/faculty offices of research on college/faculty-specific research opportunities and with faculty research teams. The senior research partners are responsible for the overall creation and coordination of the institution-wide research development support provided by the research partners.

The research partners are the first point of contact for researchers for research/grant development support. Each partner is specialized in a specific area of grant development and is able to provide personalized grant application support to researchers. They assist faculty associate/vice deans of research and their faculty research teams to meet strategic research goals and serve as a go-to resource for researchers, senior academic leaders and administrative professionals within their assigned college/faculty.

While the senior research partners and research partners will focus on providing grant application development support to our research community, the research administration specialists will assist with navigating the accompanying administrative environment. The specialists are research policy and procedure experts able to provide direct, hands-on support for researchers with administrative tasks and offer tactical research administration support. They will work collaboratively with college/faculty administrators and other partner networks to ensure researchers are supported administratively.

We encourage you to visit our refreshed RPNet webpage to identify detailed examples of support as well as the different areas of specialization and faculty/department assignments; the site also contains information to help understand when to reach out to a senior research partner, a research partner or a research administration specialist.

The Research Partner Network is an integral part of establishing an integrated research support model in collaboration with the colleges/faculties (including the stand-alone faculties) and the VPRI portfolio. Please join us in celebrating the development of the Research Partner Network that is here to support the University of Alberta research community and streamline the research administration workflow.

Aminah Robinson Fayek
Vice-President (Research and Innovation)

Julie Stephens
Director, Research Partner Network

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