This news round-up captures key developments across the UK research landscape in September 2026. From financial sustainability and sector collaboration to research security funding and REF 2029 updates, catch up on the headlines shaping research management today.
In this review of Hamed Taherdoost’s Maximizing Research Impact: Practical Strategies for Enhancing Research Visibility, Matthew Woodcock assesses a new publication that offers research professionals guidance on leveraging a varied set of tools and techniques to help raise the profile, accessibility and reception of research outputs.
The research manager is the key to navigating the hidden parallels between Universities and Catapult centres. Though they inhabit different worlds, they face shared challenges when negotiating the complex landscape of research and innovation funding.
This news round-up captures key developments across the UK research landscape from March to May 2026. From funding volatility and UKRI reform, to growing financial pressures, infrastructure challenges and evolving expectations of research governance, catch up on the headlines shaping research management today.
AI-powered tools are becoming available that claim to assess research impact. What can – and can’t – these tools offer, and what questions should RMAs and HEIs consider before adopting them?
This round-up captures key headlines and discussions from across the UK and European research landscape from the end of October to late November 2025.
As peer review evolves to reflect broader definitions of expertise, research managers are increasingly recognised as valuable contributors. This article explores sector trends, personal reflections and practical steps for contributing to fair, inclusive funding decisions.
Research outputs are the cornerstone of research progress, yet professional services teams are rarely involved in their development. The University of Liverpool’s unique Outputs Development team explores what could be possible when research managers and administrators support outputs from the start.
Areas of Research Interest are a growing phenomenon. Designed to help public organisations express their research needs, they provide a strong steer to researchers on what is most needed.
The very name of this magazine, The Protagonist, points to something we all know implicitly but don’t often state directly: story is central to how we imagine the world, including how we imagine our professional lives and work.
