Presentation delivered by Janette Colclough at Supporting Researchers at Your University event, at Kings Manor, University of York, organised by the Academic and Research Libraries Group Yorkshire and Humberside branch, 18th November 2015

1. Developing a dedicated
Research Support Team
Redefining roles at the University of York
Janette Colclough (Research Support Manager)
Library, Information Services, University of York
Y&H ARLG Supporting Researchers at Your University - November 2015

2. This session
 Background
– University of York context
– External and internal drivers for change
 Redefining roles and changing structures
– New ways of working
– University of York case study
 Research Support Team at York
– Remit to date
– Experience so far
 Questions
 References

3. Background

4. University of York Context
 Founded 1963
 Research intensive (14th in REF)
 Member of the Russell Group
and White Rose Consortium
 16,000 students, 1,400 academic
and research staff
 >30 departments in humanities,
social sciences, sciences
 High duck density

5. External drivers
 Research environment
– Increased competition within sector
– Scholarly communication - Finch report on access to research
publications (2012)
– Open science/data
 Funder policies
– Compliance issues relating to Open Access
– Compliance issues relating to Research data management
– REF requirements on Open Access
 Higher education
– Competition and student fees

6. Library context
 Researchers’ information needs
– RIN/RLUK (2011) The value of libraries for research and
researchers
 Skills to meet evolving research needs
– RLUK (2012) Re-skilling for research
 Value and impact agenda
– Increased alignment with institutional strategies
– Re-assessment of current services (and roles)
– Development of new services (not just research-related!)
– Not always funding for new/extra staff

7. York-specific drivers
 New University Information Strategy
– Includes a Research Excellence strand
– Support for research lifecycle, research publication, research
data management
 Open Access
– Convert project to business as usual

8. Redefining roles and
structures

9. Academic library structures and research support
 Range of new or adapted staffing models now in place
 Subject-based
– Staff take on additional specialist roles as required
– Retain structure based on departments/faculties
 Function-based
– Staff focus on service area not subject
– New teams for teaching and research
 Hybrid models
– Mix of the above

10. Case study: Relationship Management at York
 Team based within the Library
 Pre-existing structure based on Academic Liaison
Librarians
– Individuals also assigned to functional areas e.g. information
skills, research support
 2013 Staff realignment to meet the challenges of the
University Information strategy
 New teams in place January 2014

11. Case study: Relationship Management at York
Relationship Management 2013

12. Case study: Relationship Management at York
Relationship Management 2015

13. Research Support Team

14. Meet the team
Provide specific library-related support for research staff,
postgraduate research students, and research
administrators
Janette Colclough
Research Support
Manager
Kirstyn Radford
Research Support
Librarian/Copyright
Lindsey Myers
Research Support
Librarian
Thom Blake
Research Support
Librarian

15. Open Access
 Advocacy and support
– Web pages
www.york.ac.uk/open-access
– Advice and training for
researchers and depts
 Help researchers meet funder
requirements
– Manage York Open Access Fund
 Help researchers meet REF and
University Policy requirements
– Major project!!!

16. ORCID iDs
 Helping researchers distinguish themselves
– ORCID iD as researcher identifier
– See www.york.ac.uk/orcid
– Over 60% of staff on PURE have an iD recorded

17. Research Data Management
 Advocacy and support
– RDM web pages
http://www.york.ac.uk/rdm
– Advice and training for
researchers and depts
 Help researchers meet funder
requirements
 Help researchers meet
University Policy requirements
 Support data management
planning
– E.g. DMPOnline tool

18. Copyright
 How can I use others’ work in my teaching activities?
What are my rights as a author? Can I use third-party
materials in my ethesis?
– Advice via copyright web pages and libguide
– Answer University-wide enquiries, both teaching and
research
– Maintain licences (e.g. CLA return)
– Email lib-copyright-advice@york.ac.uk

19. Information skills and training
 Researcher Development Team programme
– Searching the literature
– Copyright
– Open Access
– Research Data Management
 Online tutorials
– Contribute to PG Research Integrity tutorial
 Departmental sessions
– For staff and PGR students
– Departmental briefings
 Work with Academic Liaison colleagues
“It is really
helpful & very
informative”
Maths PGR
Searching the Literature

20. Enquiry support
 Information for
researchers
– Web page
– Email lib-research-
support@york.ac.uk
 Signpost to expertise
– E.g. Academic Liaison,
Research Computing

21. Pros and cons of a dedicated team
 Advantages
– Dedicated staffing to support funder and REF compliance
– Opportunity to develop expertise
– Time to forge new relationships e.g. research administrators
– Flexibility to take opportunities e.g. Jisc-ARMA ORCID pilot
 Issues
– Potential for duplication/loss of contacts
– Uncertainly in some areas e.g. PGR
– Difficult to cover staff absence
– Potential damage to existing services

22. Lessons learned
 Don’t expect too much too soon!
 Manage the change
 Give staff time to develop new relationships
 Don’t over commit
– E.g. bibliometrics scoping coming soon
 Work on communication
– E.g. Customer Relationship Management tool to manage
multiple access to departments
 Think about how teams work together across whole
structure
 Consider institutional context

23. Questions and
references

24. Any
questions?

25. References
 Blake, M. and Colclough, J.A. University of York case
study in M.J. Bent (2016) Practical tips for facilitating
research. Facet Publishing.
 Colclough, J.A. and Spoor, P. (2015) Redefining roles:
supporting researchers at Leeds and York. UHMLG
Spring Forum presentation March 2015. Available from
https://uhmlg.wordpress.com/2015/03/15/uhmlg-
spring-forum-2015-slides-now-available/

26. Thank you for listening
Janette Colclough
Research Support Manager
Information Services
University of York
Email: janette.colclough@york.ac.uk
Web: www.york.ac.uk/library
orcid.org/0000-0003-4767-6801