Assessing a national service for international due diligence

5^th November 2019

Assessing a national service for international due diligence

A consortium led by ARMA has been awarded £25,000 from UKRI and Research England to explore how a national service for due diligence in international research could deliver benefits for UK higher education institutions and partners overseas. The project will assess the feasibility of a national service in UK-funded research projects and partnerships, with a particular focus on Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) initiatives.

The project responds to feedback from the research management community, predominantly through ARMA Good Practice Exchange events on the subject of due diligence and post award assurance, which overwhelmingly said that there should be a better way of managing due diligence in order to understand,  mitigate and manage risk in an efficient way which supports both UK research organisations and overseas partners rather than increasing their burden.

The project, involving a consortium of HEI’s, will be led by Jennifer Stergiou, ARMA Chair-Elect and Director, Research & Innovation Service at Northumbria University. Jennifer said:

“I am delighted that ARMA are able to collaborate with partners across the sector to deliver this project which responds strongly to our member feedback.

Whilst some good practice is clearly evident, approaches to due diligence vary across the sector and the process of undertaking due diligence is highly inefficient. There is duplication across UK organisations, duplication and frustration within overseas partner organisations and the risk of significant weakness in the governance and management of this element of international research collaborations. This project will explore potential solutions and make recommendations to UKRI”

Steven Hill, Director of Research at Research England, said:

“Due diligence is vital in the establishment of partnerships between UK higher education institutions and international partners, but variance in how this is done can result in an inefficient use of both partners’ resources.

“The project will undertake valuable work in assessing how a national service for international due diligence could benefit both UK higher education institutions and their partners overseas. This work may in turn inform a roadmap for further due diligence activity and improve efficiency across the UK’s higher education sector.”

Over the next 9 months the project will deliver:

• A core questionnaire for gathering due diligence information
• Recommendations regarding the feasibility and operation of a ‘clearing house’ for due diligence questionnaire responses, which would enable UK research organisations to share questionnaire responses and information provided by partner organisations
• Recommendations regarding the feasibility and operation of a ‘national service for due diligence in UK funded research projects and partnerships’. Such a service would offer a range of services and expertise to UK research organisations and their overseas partners aimed at mitigating risk in a number of different ways.

Project updates will be shared via the ARMA members newsletter on a regular basis, and watch out for an exciting opportunity to get involved which will be coming soon!