Working with Technology and Technical Staffs in Research Administration. (Shop Talk)

Introduction In today's research administration environment, we must work more closely than ever with our information technology (IT) staffs. Whether we have our own in-house staffs or work with a central IT office, we cannot afford to ignore the importance of technology in doing our jobs. Electronic searches for funding, proposal submission, and grant management are increasingly commonplace. Technology, once considered more of a behind-the-scenes task, is now part of our overall business strategy and part of the services we offer to our researchers. We are longer just dependent upon our technology personnel to support us when we have word processing or spreadsheet problems. To ensure that our researchers have the capabilities to be successful in obtaining and managing external funding, we need to be savvy, not just of technology but also in managing and working with technical personnel. We also need to know how to manage technology projects, whether we are implementing sponsor systems in our organizations or designing and implementing our own systems. In some instances, we have direct supervisory responsibility over the technical personnel involved in others we must work with people who do not report to us. Some-times the teams we work on will be carefully planned, and at other times we may need to assemble a cross-functional team at a moments s notice to resolve a business problem. Setting some guidelines for the collaboration of different groups who may have never worked together in the past is essential for success. We do not want our technical personnel to merely cooperate with us; we want them to collaborate with us. By providing an environment where technical and administrative staffs truly collaborate to solve a business need, we can achieve better IT solutions. Communicating with Technical Personnel Martha K. Heyman (2001), in an article that addresses the importance of librarians working with technical staff, states that no one would argue that the first step in getting people to hear you is to at least speak their language. Learning basic IT terminology and acquiring knowledge of the tools and techniques that fill the toolbox of the technical person will allow you to clarify your (and your researchers') business needs and contribute more fully to finding the best IT solution. We can then be role models, encouraging the technical staff to develop knowledge of our jobs, as Heyman (2001) notes. This, of course, will also aid in the development of better solutions. We should also encourage technical personnel to gain a basic understanding of our business environment. Whether it involves sending them to research administration conferences and workshops, or providing more background and training at home, the investment will be worth the effort when technical solutions better meet our needs. In fact, just as research administrators should have basic technical skills, many technical people are now hired and evaluated based in part on their knowledge of business. Consequently, it is becoming increasingly more important for technical staff to have basic business knowledge prior to being hired. Creating a Team Environment Given the complexity of designing and implementing technical solutions for research administration, assembling a team is the best way to ensure that all stakeholder needs are considered. The team should consist of technical and non-technical people who will use or be affected by the technology. It should be made clear that each member adds value to the team, and that the team owes its strength to its diverse membership. Great technology that doesn't solve the business needs of the organization has little value. Similarly, simply automating the existing process does not take advantage of the benefits technology can add. A system that works for the administration may not meet the needs of the researcher. As a result, the team needs to have members who will consider the needs to be met as well as how to best harness technology to meet those needs. …