What is Research Development?

Research Development encompasses a set of strategic, catalytic, and capacity-building activities that advance research, especially in higher education. Research Development professionals help researchers become more successful communicators, grant writers, and advocates for their research. They help researchers bring new ideas to life.

Research Development professionals also serve their institutions. They create services and resources that transcend disciplinary and administrative barriers and create programs to spur discovery.

NORDP members are involved in many Research Development activities, such as:

Strategic Research Advancement

  • Collaborate to identify areas of institutional research priorities
  • Spearhead grand challenges, moonshots, HIBAR, and similar forms of academic endeavor in the service of real-world problem-solving
  • Advise institutional leadership on issues related to research, including providing support for strategic planning
  • Serve as institutional representatives to the university community and external visitors
  • Manage or contribute to internal funding competitions and decisions
  • Provide information and analysis to support formal partnerships with external entities
  • Interact with political leaders related to research initiatives at institutions
  • Serve as liaison with institutional federal relations
  • Facilitate sponsor site visits
  • Manage limited submissions programs

Communication of Research and Research Opportunities

  • Manage marketing of research, e.g. annual reports, research magazines, and institutional websites
  • Raise profile of university strengths to increase visibility and impact of research with external funding sources
  • Provide proposal and award information-related metrics
  • Disseminate grant opportunities and proposal development tools

Enhancement of Collaboration and Team Science

  • Convene and coordinate research interest groups
  • Lead large, interdisciplinary proposal teams
  • Catalyze new cross-disciplinary research initiatives
  • Develop and coordinate resources and tools to promote collaboration
  • Maintain faculty expertise database and other collaboration and networking tools
  • Facilitate collaborations within and among institutions

Proposal Development

  • Navigate faculty through administrative structures within the institution
  • Work with investigators to improve grant writing skills and grantsmanship
  • Write proposal components
  • Provide strategic advice on making proposals competitive
  • Edit proposal drafts
  • Manage requests for cost sharing
  • Coordinate institutional support requests
  • Coordinate pre-submission peer reviews of proposal drafts
  • Manage “Red Team” reviewers or external review