Research Contracts

Beth Collins, Senior Research Contracts Manager, Cranfield University

Beth is a Senior Research Contracts Manager at Cranfield University (joining May 2024). Since starting her career in research support at Cambridge in 2007, she’s held roles on ‘both sides of the fence’ – within central professional services, on the front-line in a high-intensity research group, and with a charitable funder and journal. Over the course of those 16+ years, her perspective on the role of the Research Contracts Manager has shifted considerably, from demonstrably risk adverse to perceiving more value in applying legal (risk management) expertise in the preparatory work – discussions with the academics – than in the contractual terms themselves. Beth enjoys challenging perceptions of risk and has a particular interest in research data protection, team design and positive use of management information.