MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF ARMS
PRESIDENT'S UPDATE November - December 2020
With only days left to go, this has probably not been the year you expected. Few of us went into 2020 expecting a global pandemic, riots, murder hornets, earthquakes, fires, record-setting global unemployment, a contested election, whales swallowing kayakers, and who knows what else has hit you individually.
We are living through a once in a generation crisis (or so we hope)! Things have gotten real. No one would deny that. And yet, and this is not to dismiss or make light of any of your troubles, history shows us that times of crisis often also result in increased change and innovation for good!
As the world around us has rapidly changed, research management has also been required to change - to be more agile, responsive, and connected.
ARMS members have responded to these challenges with a remarkable professionalism, compassion, resilience, and support for colleagues. It has been a privilege to experience this first-hand and to have represented such a dynamic community as it demonstrates its dedication to enabling global research excellence.
Throughout the turmoil of the past 12 months, ARMS has continued its commitment to deliver the outcomes described in our Strategic Plan: Towards 2025. Whilst there has inevitably been some evolution to how we expected to progress the work around our five Strategic Priorities, there have been considerable actions and achievements over the past year. These will be described in detail in our 2019/2020 Report to Members which is scheduled for release at the end of January 2021.
I should also mention our incredibly successful Virtual Event last month with the title "Never Waste a Crisis: Lessons Learned". Those that attended this event will have enjoyed the celebration of ideas, achievement, and invention from across our sector. Watch this space in the coming months for news about our 2021 event schedule.
I’ll conclude with a heartfelt “thanks” to all of you who have interacted with ARMS over the year. ARMS is set up to serve our members and is only as successful as the level of engagement of our members allows. Thank you for your continuing support of the Society.
I wish each of you a safe and productive remainder of 2020. I hope that you have a restful and relaxing holiday season and I forward to reconnecting with you in 2021.
Take care and best wishes.
Dr Ross McLennan
ARMS President
We wish to advise that the ARMS Executive Office will be closed from Friday 18th December and will re-open on Monday 11th January 2021.
On behalf of the ARMS Executive Office we wish you all a safe and happy holiday season and look forward to working with you in 2021!
ARMS Education and Professional Development Committee
Call for Expressions of Interest (EOI) to join the ARMS Education and Professional Development Committee now extended until 1 February 2021. Visit the website for more details.
Foundation Level Accreditation Program Update
Did you know that there are now three (3) ARMS compulsory Foundation Level Accreditation modules available online? The programs include: The National Research and Innovation Systems in Australia; Legislation as it affects Research in Australia; and Understanding Research and Researchers. See article below for details. There are also plans to offer other country specific modules for New Zealand and Singapore in an online format in the first quarter of 2021. Details will be published in future newsletters.
New ARMS Board Announced
At the Annual General Meeting of ARMS held on the 26th of November, ARMS President Dr Ross McLennan announced membership of the new Board. We warmly welcome:
-
- Dr Ross McLennan (ARMS President)
- Dr Tania Bezzobs (President-Elect)
- Ms Connie Killey (Treasurer)
- Dr Lesley Ashton (Secretary)
- Dr Hannah Clarke (General Committee Member)
- Dr Maxine Bryant (General Committee Member)
- Mr Steven Hannan (General Committee Member)
- Dr Yordanka Krastev (General Committee Member)
Full details are available on the ARMS website
Board members have attended an induction session on the 10th of December and will officially commence their duties at a scheduled meeting on the 29th of January 2021. Scheduled Board meetings for 2021 are as follows:
- 29 January 2021
- 26 March 2021
- 28 May 2021
- 30 July 2021
- September 2021 (tbc)
Janet Dibb-Leigh Award for Distinguished Service to Research Management Announced
We congratulate Ms Louise Fleck who last month received the prestigious ARMS Janet Dibb-Leigh Award for or Distinguished Service to Research Management. This award recognises individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the enhancement of the research management sector throughout Australasia and Singapore. Ms Fleck received her trophy at an award ceremony held on the 30th of November.
Fellows of ARMS for 2020 Announced
ARMS is delighted to announce its 2020 Fellows of ARMS. These are individuals who have made an enduring and substantial contribution to research management as a practitioner, mentor, trainer or advocate in the research management profession.
We congratulate the following who received their plaque and commemorative pin at an award ceremony held on the 30th of November:
- Associate Professor Tam Nguyen, St Vincent's Hospital/The University of Melbourne
- Caroline Pratt, ARMF, ARMA, Antarctica New Zealand
- Tania Tambiah GAIDC, RMIT University
CSIRO Awards for Excellence in Research Management Practice Announced
The 2020 CSIRO Awards for Excellence in Research Management Practice were also announced at an award ceremony last month.
This year’s award guidelines were revised to place greater emphasis on the adoption of innovative changes to work practices either by teams or individuals during the current pandemic which have enabled the continuity of research support.
We congratulate our 2020 recipients:
Anita Arndt, RMIT University
Nomination Type: Individual Category of Nomination: Leading Change
Dr Jane Holt, RMIT University Nomination: Individual Category: Leading Change
Working Smarter Team - University of Melbourne Research Return to Campus Design and Implementation Team (Note this award was accepted by Dr Bryony Wakefield on behalf of the team).
Nomination: Team Category: Working Smarter
ARMS SIG FEST 2020
The inaugural 2020 ARMS SIGFest was attended by over 130 members, showcasing 9 Special Interest Groups over 3 days, 1-3 December 2020.
To participate and stay connected with these specialised communities of practice, we encourage you to join where you will have access to a range of resources and communicate in forums with other SIG members.
Missed out on attending SIGFest 2020? The recordings of the sessions will be available in the SIG Resources early in 2021. Please also refer to Chapter/SIG updates in this newsletter below.
The inaugural ARMS Virtual Event - Never Waste a Crisis: Lessons Learned attracted over 800 registrations. Delivered over 3 days - Thursday 26 - Monday 30 November, the event picked up on the theme to focus not so much on the difficulties of 2020, but on the lessons we have learned, the things we have changed and the emergence of "a new normal. Highlights from the event included keynote sessions on 'The Hunt for a Vaccine, The Value of Investing in Research during a Global Pandemic, Foreign Interference from an Indigenous Perspective, Finishing your PhD in a Pandemic and How Concerned Should we be about Foreign Interference.
In lieu of gifts to our keynote speakers, ARMS has this year donated money to Beyond Blue, the Association for Mental Health Singapore and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Foundation.
To encourage networking and friendly rivalry, a number of competitions were held across the event. We wish to congratulate the following competition winners:
WINNER OF GAMIFICATION
Who doesn't like a 'friendly' competition between colleagues?! This year's virtual event we hosted a fun gamification feature. The activities included, participating in live polls, attending social functions, connecting with exhibitors and other participants etc.
We are pleased to announce the winner of the gamification for the 2020 Virtual Event with a massive 5200 points is...Heidi Worsley!
WINNER OF TRIVIA
The interactive trivia session was a friendly competition between the event participants. This session was facilitated through the platform Kahoot.
We are pleased to announce the winner of the Virtual Trivia session for 2020 with a score of 36,804 is... Jennifer Little!
WINNERS OF SOCIAL MEDIA COMPETITIONS
Each day of the virtual event we ran social media competitions with a prize being awarded for each day!
The different competitions and winners are as follows:
- Thursday 26th November: Post a picture of your favourite ARMS conference memory - using the hashtag #ARMSthrowbackthursday. The winner is...Kyla Archer!
- Friday 27th November: Upload a picture of your virtual set up to Twitter using the hashtag #ARMSGOESVIRTUAL2020. The winner is...Jaylene Wehipeihana
RESEARCH ETHICS IN A COVID-19 WORLD
hosted on Wednesday 11th November
11.00am - 12.30pm AEDT
This Virtual Event was hosted by ARMS in collaboration with the Australasian Ethics Networks.
The COVID-19 global pandemic has profoundly affected the conduct of research. Some research has been severely restricted, and many have had to alter protocols and methods. Other research, associated with prevention and treatment of COVID, and strategies to address anxiety, uncertainty and social isolation, has increased. Research ethics review is now routinely conducted online.
In this webinar, the following questions were addressed:
- What has changed in the research ethics landscape?
- How are changes to research protocols and methods being ethically evaluated?
- What are the ‘work arounds’ research ethics committees have made?
- How has urgent research been expedited? What makes it urgent?
The event was attended by over 140 participants.
Remember to join the SIG to keep up with all new event information and more!
In October, the ARMS QLD/NT/PNG Chapter hosted the ARMS PD@Zoom session entitled Pushing on through the Pandemic: The challenges, successes and strategies of regional universities.
This was a great session that included research administration leaders from the Regional Universities Network (RUN) and other regional universities in QLD, NSW and NT. The panellists included Professor Susan Kinnear, Dean of Graduate research at CQU, Mr Andrew Johnson, Director of Research Services at UNE, Associate Professor Jason White, Director of the Charles Sturt University Research Office and Dr Steve Rogers, Director of Research and Innovation at Charles Darwin University. The session was facilitated by Dr Sarah Wright, Manager for Research Infrastructure at the University of Southern Queensland.
The conversation focussed on how regional universities have adapted in 2020 to continue delivering high quality tertiary education and research during the Covid-19 pandemic. There was a very active and engaged discussion around many topics, including:
- Development of targeted pastoral care programs for HDR students,
- How the tertiary sector can support ECRs/MCRs who have been significantly impacted by caring responsibilities during Covid, and
- How universities can work together to face the continuing challenges in our current social and economic climates.
There were plenty of questions from the audience, and the panellists gave an excellent insight into different strategies adopted by each University to address similar as well as unique issues raised by Covid -19.
Both the audience and the panellists have given very positive feedback about the session, and the ARMS QLD/NT/PNG Chapter would like to thank all of the panellists and those involved in making this session happen.
CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD)
Accredited Research Managers (Foundation) or ARMFs and Accredited Research Managers (Advanced) or ARMAs, please note that ARMS' in-house events (registrations taken on the ARMS website) will automatically accrue CPD hours and there is no need for you to enter CPD separately in your CPD Diaries. Examples may include PD Sessions @ Zoom, ARMS virtual events and Winter School electives.
Chapter and SIG Updates/Events
Research Impact SIG
‘Impact through Culture Change’
The ‘Impact through Culture Change’ webinar series is hosted by the University of Auckland and focuses on the achievement of impact from the perspective of organisational change and the important role senior leaders can have in effecting this change. On Monday 16th October, Dr David Phipps (Assistant Vice President Research Strategy & Impact, York University) discussed how collaboration via networks can build institutional capacity for research impact. All previous episodes of the webinar series can be found on FigShare here.
Please check the Special Interest Group webpage of the ARMS website to join this SIG.
Research Funders SIG
Colleagues from the ARMS Research Funders’ SIG got together via zoom at the ARMS SIGFest on Wednesday 2 December 2020. Members of the Research Funders’ SIG share an interest in developing and managing impactful, responsive, and well-governed research funding schemes and grants programs. If this is an area of interest for you, subscribe to the SIG on the ARMS website. Next zoom catch-up tentatively scheduled for March 2021.
Please check the Special Interest Group webpage of the ARMS website to join this SIG.
Research Information & Reporting SIG
Thanks to those who dropped into the RIR session at the recent ARMS SIG Fest. It was great to see some new faces and have an opportunity to showcase past events as well as discuss possible future topics!
As we discussed, the SIG has been very active over the last few years facilitating a range of topical events for members. And we are keen to have members engage with us to consider and plan future activities. So, if you’d like to get involved in any of our key areas of focus, please reach out to the relevant member of our Convening Committee:
WA Chapter
On Thursday 19th November the ARMS WA Chapter met at Tiny’s Bar for drinks and nibbles to share experiences of what has been a very unusual year!
It was so great to chat with everyone about what a difficult year it has been and how we have all done our best to be agile and pivot our roles and ways of working to meet the new and constantly shifting demands of the research management sector.
Thank you to everyone who joined us and all of the Research Management community for your amazing efforts in the whirlwind of 2021!
Happy Holidays from all of the WA Chapter Committee.
VIC Chapter
The Victorian ARMS Chapter held its end of year event on Friday 11 December attended by 41 research managers from universities across the state.
They heard excellent presentations from Dr Amanda Caples, the Victorian Lead Scientist, who spoke about the Victorian Science and Technology Initiative, and Dr Marcus Nichol and Dr Saraid Billiards who spoke about assessment and the future of the Medical Research Future Fund.
Afterwards, 17 attendees enjoyed a virtual tour, ‘Follow a Plague Doctor Through Prague’, hosted by the very engaging Tom.
Accreditation, Professional Development and Training
ARMS Foundation Level Accreditation Program
ARMS wishes to advise that the following electives are currently open for registration on the ARMS portal. These online modules will continue being available for purchase/registration in 2021 and may be started at any time. Please check the ARMS website to register for these modules.
Module 1.1-Aus: National Research and Innovation System in Australia
Module 1.2-Aus: Research Ethics - Legislation as it Affects Research in Australia
Module 1.3: Understanding Research and Researchers
ARMS Foundation Level Accreditation Program
2021 Schedule
We are pleased to announce that the 2021 elective program schedule is currently being developed and will be published on the ARMS website in late February/early March. Most electives will continue to be delivered using the successful Zoom platform with delivery dates starting in May 2021. Please continue to check the ARMS website for the most up to date information.
The University of Queensland
Research Partnerships Manager (RPM)
From the ARMS Executive Office
ARMS acknowledges the generous support of our corporate partners:
ARMS Executive Office Contacts
ARMS Chief Operating Officer
Phone: +61 8 8201 2525
ARMS Management Accountant
Phone: +61 8 8201 2610
ARMS Conference and Major Events Coordinator
Phone: +61 8 8201 2911 Workdays: Wednesday & Friday's only
ARMS Accreditation Program Administrator
Phone: +61 8 8201 5592
Email the ARMS Executive Office
Not receiving Chapter or SIG Communication Emails?
Here's why...
As we have now moved to the new website/portal, it is required that you re-join your Special Interest Group (SIG) and Chapter through the portal. We have created a helpful guide to assist you with completing this.
If you have already completed this process and are still not receiving ARMS communications. Please contact your organisations IT department and request to whitelist the following IP addresses (range 103.73.82.0 to 24).
ARMS has been experiencing intermittent email issues.
Please contact your organisations IT department and request to whitelist the following IP addresses (range 103.73.82.0 to 24).
If you receive a bounce back and are unsure who to contact, please email arms.adminofficer@flinders.edu.au and your enquiry will be forwarded to the relevant person.
We apologise for any inconvenience!
|