Conference: Creation of a National Job Classification System for Research Administrators

A robust research administration workforce strengthens the research enterprise, promotes faculty recruitment and retention, assists with balancing research demands and heavy teaching loads, and increases the participation of underrepresented minorities in STEM. This project aims to contribute to the development of a national research administrator job classification system applicable to the wide array of administrative roles that support sponsored research activities.

A national job classification system is needed to extend access to research administration support across disciplines and address workforce challenges at all institutions, especially emerging and minority-serving institutions. The lack of a formal, national job classification system negatively affects employee retention. This retention problem results in significant financial loss and diminished productivity.

This problem is often more pronounced in emerging and minority-serving institutions because it can be difficult for these institutions to hire and retain qualified research support talent at competitive market salaries. This diminishes their capacity to submit competitive applications for external funding to support research. A national job classification system for research administrators will level the playing field for hiring and retaining research administration staff across all institutions.

The three-phase conference project, to be implemented in collaboration with the Society of Research Administrators International (SRAI), uses focus groups, surveys, and panels to explore current issues surrounding the research administration workforce and the need to create a national job classification system. A steering committee of stakeholders, including members from the SRAI, the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR), and Northern Illinois University, has been formed to provide strategic direction.

The project seeks to overcome barriers to conducting funded research at all academic institutions by focusing on the support provided by research administrators for proposal writing, submission to external funding agencies, and award management; identifying the challenges of recruiting, retaining, and compensating qualified research administrators to enhance institutional competitiveness for research funding; and highlighting the need for a formal job classification framework for research administration roles. Deliverables include a summary paper for each phase of the conference and a final report summarizing the discussion about challenges in obtaining funding for research, making key recommendations for developing a national job classification system, and creating organizational models to support research administration infrastructure and financing.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.