Over the past 13 years at the Genome Sciences Centre, I have led the development of teams of professional leaders, managers and coordinators, with the overall goal of enabling the best possible science and research and the maximally effective use of available resources.
To maintain our vision and focus amidst the noise that research administration can sometimes involve, we have a mission statement: science, timeliness, respect.
Dr. Marco Marra wrote the statement, and the management and administration teams at the Centre have adopted it as a set of guiding principles:
Science and Excellence – enable the best possible science and more of it.
Timeliness and Accountability – meet all commitments and obligations.
Respect and Integrity – respect for the organization, our partners and funders, and our employees (and expect the same from all), and maintain integrity for the responsible conduct of research.
With these principles, the group (known collectively as MAG for “management and administration group”) has established consistent, excellent and supportive research management and administrative systems and processes, which are frequently sought out by other departments and institutes as among the best practices in the field.
As Director, I provide leadership and mentorship to my direct reports and others throughout the organization, and lead projects and process development for the oversight of normal operations, contingency planning and incident response.
I provide effective and motivational leadership to staff in operations, project management, finance, procurement, administration, and human resources.
All of this makes research happen more efficiently and effectively by focusing appropriate expertise on the management or “business” of the research projects, and allowing the scientists to focus on the science.
In my last post next week, I’ll tell you about my other activities in the field that support the development of research project management as a profession. I am committed to expanding knowledge and interest in the field of research management and administration, and to enabling scientific communications and knowledge transfer through strong training and mentorship programs
Robyn