Case Study Investigation of the Development and Management of a University Research Institute

Multidisciplinary research institutes provide universities with an important vehicle to conduct research across traditional disciplines that can also be an attractive capability to external funders. However, there are particular challenges in the management of such institutes, including managing different reporting lines, research coordination and collaboration development; and these issues are especially relevant in the early development stages of institutes. Consequently, this paper will describe a case study investigation of the Institute of Shock Physics, which is a new university research institute at Imperial College London in the United Kingdom. The case study will provide a discussion of the key strands of management activity that were undertaken in the first two years of operation for the Institute, together with details on how any difficulties were overcome. Management areas discussed in the case study will include: collaboration development; financial program management; research project management; program reporting and governance; risk and safety management. This analysis will be carried out in the context of supporting research from the literature and through building on the findings from the case study a set of recommendations will be formulated on developing and implementing management systems for new research institutes.