Development of a Research Tracking System for Higher Education Institution Research Grants

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of the processes and tools governing the research administration in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in general and Qatar University (QU) in particular. It also encompasses the best practices being employed or to be adopted for smooth sailing of research projects all the way from their inception to closeout. It can serve as a referring point for management to get an eagle view of the present research policies and accordingly take decisions to boost the quality of research outcomes by implementing automated systems such as tracking and monitoring of research activities to tackle the grants in a more effective and productive manner. Moreover, the requirement of a research tracking system (RTS) has been emphasized by proposing a stepwise implementation to manage grants more efficiently both from an administration and management point of views. In order to detail the implementation of RTS, a brief review of contemporary available grant management systems, applicable to research, has been conducted. The salient features of these systems are studied to develop an in-house solution for the university in the form of web applications using open-source tools. A tailored tracking and monitoring of research activities, from post-award until the closeout of the grants, is a valuable addition that contributes to building best practices for higher education and research institutions. The system digitally registers the growth of the university awarded grants, in terms of research outcomes. It will intimate the projects’ leaders of their present performance with respect to their peers. The Office of Research Support (ORS) of the university on the other side can track such progress and make informed decisions to improve the performance of its grants.