On Thursday 14 September, RIS colleagues gathered on the Templeman lawn to mark the beginning of the new Research and Innovation Support structure. The social event provided a much-needed opportunity for colleagues old and new to connect, reflect on recent changes and look ahead to the future ahead of the new academic year.
The gathering marked the directorate’s transition from ‘Research and Innovation Services’ to ‘Research and Innovation Support’, better reflecting the nature of its role as a community of professional staff that enable Kent’s thriving research and innovation activity through support. This minor change in nomenclature comes with an even greater focus in how funded R&I support will be delivered and how the team can ensure that key drivers, such as the development of partnerships, the changing Research Excellence Framework (REF) landscape, the development of a positive research culture and agendas such as Trusted Research can be better supported. RIS staff previously based in Kent’s six academic divisions will now report to the Central Professional Services ‘hub’ and work in close partnership with a centrally-located RIS team which will focus on governance and compliance.
The Director of Research and Innovation Support, Kerry Barber, commented:
Research and Innovation support, both centrally and within Divisions, was greatly enhanced during Organising for Success. This means that we have been able to build upon a successful model to support Kent’s researchers. The committed and talented R&I professional services staff at Kent have always worked in close partnership with academic colleagues, leading to remarkable achievements such as the institution’s outstanding REF 2021 results and doubling the value of research and innovation applications submitted between 2021-22 and 2022-23. We’re therefore looking forward to continuing to enhancing R&I support at Kent, and helping our colleagues achieve even greater research and innovation success.
With the new structure now in place, there is no better time for Kent staff to explore what support RIS has to offer. The RIS Intranet site, accessible via the Kent Community homepage, can help you do that. Here you’ll find guidance on a wide range of research and innovation activity, including how to:
- Apply for research funding
- Manage your funding awards
- Support knowledge exchange and research impact reporting
- Commercialise your research
- Apply for ethics approval
- Access systems such as Worktribe, Research Professional, Scival and Researchfish
If you can’t find what you’re looking for, please email us at ris@kent.ac.uk and we’ll do what we can to help. A breakdown of the RIS structure and individual contact details are available on the Meet the Team page.