Faculty publications collection - centralised service from 20 June

We are pleased to inform you that a new service for collecting research outputs will commence on 20 June. As of this date, the collection of research outputs will be managed by the Research Output Collection Service (ROCS). The ROCS team is organisationally located in the Office of the Provost and Senior Vice-President.

What is the scope of this service?

·          Collection and entry of research outputs and associated evidence for HERDC, ERA, and internal reporting purposes such as Performance Development and Academic Performance Standards

·          Collection and entry of any additional categories of output that have been endorsed by Monash Research Committee, for example, for the purposes of Academic Performance Standards

·          Collection and entry of the outputs of new staff who require selected research publications to show in myResearch web profiles. Entry to cover the past 6-year period only.

·         Liaison with academic staff, including the Deputy Dean Research, to advise on processes and classification matters

·         Liaison with new academic staff about the collection process

What is not included?

• Entry of categories not relevant to HERDC/ERA or MRC-endorsed University categories
• Entry of research outputs published more than six years ago

·        Collection and entry of data for accreditation purposes that is not captured within the scope of research outputs collection

·        Reporting for accreditation purposes

Why is this service being implemented?

To provide a high quality and efficient research outputs collection service to the faculty through a standardised, centrally managed model. Since 2014, faculties have been moving progressively into this new model. In 2016, the service is being implemented in the final three faculties, including the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences.

The background to the service

In 2013, a survey of research administration highlighted the inconsistencies in practice and quality in research outputs collection across Monash University. This impacted both on the efficiency of this work, and on the quality of the data that was then reported to HERDC, ERA and used by academic staff for a variety of purposes, including web profiles and promotion applications.

A pilot program for a new, central service was run in 2014 with three faculties.  All three continued, and in 2015, an additional three faculties came on board. Feedback from all faculties has been addressed to refine and improve the service so that it meets the needs of academic staff, the faculty and the university.

Is my campus covered?

The team services all Australian Monash campus locations and sites where the Faculty has research data collection activity. Changes to collection practice are being made for Malaysia and South Africa campuses and these campuses will consequently be out of scope.

Who is the contact for our faculty?

Louise Micallef and Pete Nichols are the two Research Publications Coordinators in the ROCS team. They will be the primary points of contact for faculty academic staff for:

• Queries and advice about research outputs collection and the related data
• Submission and recording of research outputs
• Initiation into the research output collection process at Monash University

Additional, trained staff work in the ROCS and will be assisting Louise and Pete with collecting and managing research outputs, and will cover their roles during absences. These roles include Research Publications Coordinators and Publications Officers. The Senior Research Publications Coordinator, Annie Kelly, will also work closely with Louise and Pete and with the Faculty Research Office to ensure a smooth handover.

Donna Buckingham in the Faculty Research Office will be the designated ROCS liaison.

Contact details

·        Louise Micallef   990 59288           adm-pubcoord@monash.edu

·        Pete Nichols       990 59292           adm-pubcoord@monash.edu

We will let their schools and departments know which Research Publications Coordinator has been allocated as their primary contact.

17 June - 12 July: Transition period

On 12 July, the myResearch project will launch the new system for research administration, Pure. From 17 June until then, no research outputs will be entered.

·        All data entry into Research Master (the current system for recording outputs) has been frozen

·        Data cleaning of research outputs for migration is being finalised

·        The Pure harvest for Faculty academics for the initial harvest of the previous 2 years research outputs from Scopus is being set up

·        Information for academics about how to log into Pure, how to view research outputs and how to manage email notifications from the system will be circulated

·        All known Scopus and ORCID IDs are being collected and entered into Pure to improve harvest accuracy

·        The current MNHS Publication Officers will work with the ROCS team to hand over work in progress

·        We will inform the school/ departments of the contact details for their dedicated Research Publications Coordinator

What will change, and what will remain the same?

There will be no change to the level of engagement of academic staff with this process. The collection and input of research outputs for external reporting such as ERA and for internal reporting, such as Academic Performance, will continue to be handled by professional staff.  

The Deputy Dean Research, Professor Ross Coppel, will continue to provide academic input into classification matters as required.

Using the support of the ROCS team will ensure that the Faculty has access to a number of trained staff who will provide continuous coverage of the activity.

The transfer of responsibility for outputs collection from the Faculty Research Office to the central ROCS team will free up Faculty professional staff to undertake additional research support activities.

The Faculty Research Office will work closely with the ROCS team to ensure a smooth transition.

How will this service be monitored?

Dr Steven Kovacevic, the Director, Research and Graduate Research will be in regular contact with Dr Fiona Neilson in the Office of the Provost to discuss and manage any issues as they arise, to ensure that they are resolved with minimal disruption. A clear escalation process exists for handling more difficult matters.

A small governance group comprising Dr Steven Kovacevic, Director, Research and Graduate Research, Tim Stephens, Faculty Manager, Professor Kim Langfield-Smith, Vice-Provost (Academic Performance), Jane Holt, Executive Director, Office of the Provost and Senior Vice-President, Halina Oswald, Director Monash Research Office and Dr Fiona Neilson, Director Research Services Transformation, Office of the Provost and Senior Vice-President will meet regularly to review service quality and performance.

Monthly reports on data collection progress will also be provided to the Faculty Research Office.

Where can I find out more?

Please contact Dr Fiona Neilson (tel 9905 20509) or Dr Steve Kovacevic (tel 990 52909) for further information.