Michael Creevey
In recent years, the workplace dynamics have significantly changed for most employees. Research and research support are not exempt from this and within research support functions there have been reductions in staff and corporate memory. This extends to both research ethics and research integrity. There are technical challenges with the rapid pivot to remote working environments accompanied with the shift to networked digital processes. With escalated pressures on research productivity and the on-going regulatory compliance stresses, there are increased frustrations from researchers centred around responsive communication and perceived administrative hurdles.
Empowering stakeholders involved in research with tools to handle these challenges is the focus of research leadership globally. Supporting research in new ways through purpose-built systems that can streamline administration while enhancing information sharing and process efficiency, allows teams to focus on value-add services. Collectively such a system-enabled approach promotes a positive reputation through stakeholder satisfaction.
Targeted and comprehensive research support can be rapidly expanded by research offices through bespoke, end-to-end research management systems. Such systems allow organisations the benefit of a best-in-class, industry-specific features. This underpins good organisational practice and ongoing research integrity compliance without high costs, manual processes and complex technical system integration architectures.
Offsetting internal resource commitments from the ethics office through to IT is facilitated through Endpoint IQ’s Conduit. Conduit significantly improves research management capabilities of clients with a comprehensive cloud-based platform purpose built for the ANZ research sectors. Research offices can spend less time on manual administrative tasks and empower their researchers with self-service tools.
Improved research culture and satisfaction
Conduit’s interfaces provide access to the necessary data and tasks for each user’s role. Self-service features, clear and transparent approval pathways and sophisticated notifications are supported by built-in help tools that mean users need little training before they can use the system.
Over ten years of researcher usage and feedback has created a system that can re-use data from the organisation and the individual researcher intelligently. The organisation level contains central repositories for elements such as SOPs, hazardous chemicals, facilities and people. Data is inherited from one level to another such that re-use of information is maximised, data integrity is maintained, and organisation-wide efficiencies can be realised.
The system contains smart forms that are intuitive and purpose built for the sector and can be reconfigured by the client. This spans human ethics, animal ethics, hazardous substances and gene technology related approvals. Workflow processes can be configured by a client across each approval type.
Support partner knowhow
Endpoint IQ (www.endpointIQ.com.au) was a response from within the Australian research sector by research institutions confronted by a lack of fit for purpose, interoperable off the shelf systems that would offer ongoing flexibility and compliance for an economic total cost of ownership. Subsequent commercialisation of the software involved expanding functionality to comprehensively meet the dynamic needs of researchers and research support wherever research is a focus. Clients across Australia and New Zealand are now widely adopting these benefits.
Contact details
For more information, please contact Endpoint IQ at www.endpointIQ.com.au or at he***@************om.au.
Declaration of Conflict of Interest
Michael Creevey is CEO of Endpoint IQ. AHRECS may obtain a financial benefit from referring its clients to Endpoint IQ.
AHRECS has a working relationship and financial connection to Endpoint IQ.
This post may be cited as:
Creevey, M. (28 April 2022) Effective use of research management systems. Research Ethics Monthly. Retrieved from: https://ahrecs.com/effective-use-of-research-management-systems/