Introduction:

Strategic research administration and governance play a critical role in ensuring the integrity, sustainability, and impact of research-intensive organizations. As research environments become increasingly regulated and multidisciplinary, institutions require structured governance frameworks that align research administration with ethical, regulatory, and strategic objectives. This program presents advanced institutional models for overseeing research activities, funding oversight, compliance systems, and decision-making structures. It emphasizes governance accountability, risk management, and performance alignment across the full research and implementation lifecycle.

Program Objectives:

By the end of this program, participants will be able to:

Define the strategic role of research administration within institutional governance and oversight frameworks.
Classify governance structures supporting clinical research, implementation science, and funded research programs.
Assess regulatory, ethical, and compliance requirements affecting research administration functions.
Examine institutional mechanisms for research oversight, risk control, and accountability.
Establish governance-oriented approaches that strengthen research integrity, efficiency, and organizational alignment.

Target Audience:

Research Administration and Research Operations Managers.
Clinical Trials and Research Governance Officers.
Compliance, Ethics, and Regulatory Affairs Professionals.
Senior Research Coordinators and Program Leads.
Institutional Leaders involved in research oversight and implementation science.

Program Outline:

Unit 1:

Institutional Governance of Research Activities:

Role of research governance within research-intensive organizations.
Governance models supporting clinical trials and implementation science.
Institutional accountability structures and decision authorities.
Alignment between research strategy and organizational mission.
Governance interfaces between research, operations, and leadership.

Unit 2:

Strategic Research Administration Frameworks:

Evolution of research administration from operational to strategic function.
Institutional structures for managing research portfolios.
Coordination between grants management, ethics, and project oversight.
Research lifecycle governance: initiation, execution, and close-out.
Integrating administration with research performance objectives.

Unit 3:

Regulatory, Ethical, and Compliance Oversight:

Regulatory environments governing clinical and applied research.
Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) and ethics committee governance.
Compliance frameworks for funded and sponsored research.
Data governance, confidentiality, and research integrity controls.
Managing regulatory risk and audit readiness in research settings.

Unit 4:

Risk Management and Oversight in Research Operations:

Identification of administrative, regulatory, and operational research risks.
Risk-classification models for clinical and implementation research.
Oversight mechanisms for monitoring compliance and deviations.
Institutional escalation and corrective-action frameworks.
Governance reporting to senior leadership and oversight bodies.

Unit 5:

Performance, Accountability, and Research Sustainability:

Institutional performance indicators for research administration.
Monitoring efficiency, compliance, and research delivery outcomes.
Governance dashboards and reporting structures.
Supporting sustainable research operations and funding continuity.
Continuous improvement models in research governance systems.

Strategic Research Administration and Governance