Ideate

Mass publicly organized basic research has its roots in the crucible of World War II. The administration of research began with a simple premise: “There is only one proved method of assisting the advancement of pure science – that of picking men (sic) of genius, backing them heavily, and leaving them to direct themselves.” James Bryan Conant, President, Harvard University, Letter to the New York Times, August 13, 1945.

However, decades of regulations have fragmented research administration. Management is divided amongst a myriad of offices that have overlapping authority over research projects. While these mandated oversight offices provide specialized support, they also introduce their own forms, workflows, and systems, which unintentionally compound the administrative burden for researchers. As a result of this compliance-centric division of labor, information regarding the lifecycle of interrelated records is often trapped in disparate and disconnected systems, making it difficult to have a coherent view of a project.

Unfortunately, the organizational structures as they have evolved are not well positioned with the day-to-day operational needs of researchers who look at their studies holistically, a project with related parts (e.g. science abstracts and work plans; sponsor applications, notifications, and reports; human subjects protocols; animal study protocols; bio-safety protocols; publication and invention reports; conflict of interest reports; budgets; labor distribution reports; sub-recipient reports; etc.) and seek a streamlined service model. This alignment gap is at the heart of a fundamental tension between research departments and central administration.

Beyond the routine project management challenges of tracking timelines, resources, budgets, partners and reporting, researchers are confronted by a vast and ambiguous amalgam of rules. Every single project event and/or change request has to be executed consistent within a specific set of rules that might apply based on the circumstances, but which rules? Given the nature of projects are fluid, the context is always changing, so the rules aren’t fixed. In addition, the rules themselves change.

The inherent complexity of research management and the related environmental challenges have collectively posed a barrier to healthy competition for solutions. The major software vendors have not demonstrated serious resolve to develop and maintain expert systems for the niche arena as there is no clear return on investment. A few small point solution vendors exist, but their generally closed and rigid systems limit widespread adoption and encourage home-grown solutions.

In the meantime, growing market complexity and heightened stakeholder expectations for modern web-based solutions are creating pressure to replace legacy administrative systems. The industry needs a solution that not only delivers requisite functionality, but more importantly, addresses the fundamental organizational challenge at the root, as one of information architecture in order to connect the research enterprise and enable a unified view.

“Whoever takes the lead in reducing administrative burden might consider a somewhat unorthodox approach to reviewing and revising existing regulations. Rather than starting with the evaluation of each existing policy one at a time, it might ultimately be better to start anew from an integrated list of all the issues that must be addressed, and then take an entirely fresh look at what rules and regulations should be applied. Although this might trigger fears of “reinventing the wheel,” it also might prove the point of another old adage: “Never underestimate the value of ‘square one.’”

– Alan I. Leshner, chief executive officer of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science and executive publisher of Science

Ideate represents a meaningful new choice.

Ideate brings order to these historically intractable challenges with both rich ready-to-use applications for research management, and an open and flexible framework that is purpose-built to accommodate the dynamics of the research enterprise.

Taken as a whole, Ideate represents a phase change in research information management technology. The Company’s innovative web-native framework solution is uniquely capable of delivering research transformation.

“In the 21st century, innovation will be indispensable to the wealth and health of nations…
Tomorrow’s discoveries will depend less on our capacity to manage the biggest accelerator,
the largest research center, or the fastest computer, and more on our ability to create fluid,
responsive networks of scientists and engineers.”

—The Chronicle of Higher Ed, The Dawn of Networked Science, Diana Rhoten, September 2007

Tags: Rules, Workflow