ARMA establishes special interest group for Trusted Research and Safer Partnerships

We are thrilled to announce the formation of a new Trusted Research and Safer Partnerships special interest group (SIG).

Trusted Research and Safer Partnerships is a growing priority for research organisations balancing international collaboration with national security considerations. Many are in need of clear policies, processes, and guidance to ensure compliance with evolving regulations while maintaining open and productive research environments. Specialist staff have begun to emerge that support a variety of compliance and/or due diligence activities, bringing expertise in from other sectors or taking on new or additional roles related to existing research management roles. Building capacity and knowledge in the sector related to Trusted Research and Safer Partnerships, facilitating the sharing of good practice, and supporting staff to develop the skills and knowledge to work in these roles is of key importance in a dynamic and complex policy landscape. This SIG will provide a collaborative forum to support ARMA members in managing these challenges effectively.

The Trusted Research and Safer Partnerships SIG is open to all ARMA members, particularly those with an interest in research security, compliance, and partnership risk management. This includes all research management professionals, research contracts and legal services staff, ethics and governance professionals, institutional security and compliance officers, and research development and post-award teams.

The activities of the new SIG will be led by its champions: Joe Timlin (Loughborough University), Mary Beth Kneafsey (University of Glasgow), Rhiannon Sullivan (Wellcome Sanger Institute).

The SIG champions said, ‘The need to keep our research safe, secure and protected from misuse has grown in importance and complexity across the sector and institutions are increasingly finding themselves lacking dedicated resource, knowledge and experience to navigate this risk effectively. As the Trusted Research and Safer Partnerships ARMA SIG, we hope to be able to provide a forum to discuss these challenges, provide support to members in this area and generate useful tools to ease transition into new arrangements for those who may not yet know much about this topic.’

The ARMA special interest groups have been established to represent specific areas of expertise across the research management profession. They offer opportunities for ARMA members, including those who want to increase their knowledge in the subject matter, to connect, seek advice, address challenges and share good practice.

Want to connect with others working in this space and engage with the activities of the SIG, visit their webpage to learn more and join the SIG mailing list.