Validation, diversity and learning with real training providers
In this fifth episode of the RM Framework Series, I’m joined by Marcos Gomes, Research and Innovation Manager at the University of Coimbra and co-lead of the RM Framework pilot work package. Marcos explains why the consortium made pilot testing a central activity: the new handbook for research management training providers should not be written in isolation and then “rolled out”, but tested in real training contexts as the primary validation mechanism. Building on RM Roadmap’s mapping of roles, pains and backgrounds and the RMcomp competence framework, the project now needs practical evidence: which parts of the handbook are clear, which are confusing, what’s missing, and where different national and institutional contexts require adaptation.
Marcos folds out the pilot concept and describes how a diverse first wave of pilot testers was selected: universities in Spain, Hungary and Italy, a regional funding agency in Catalonia, and a professional association in Norway, covering everything from pre- and post-award to research infrastructures, innovation, open science and hybrid roles. Each pilot receives the draft handbook plus a guiding document with structured questions, and is asked to “recreate” an existing training programme on paper using the handbook, keeping a learning diary of what they use, skip or modify. This isn’t about forcing conformity; it’s about co-creation. The diaries and follow-up interviews feed back into the drafting team so the final handbook becomes a living document filled with real examples, good practices and even failures – a tool that supports local nuance while building a common language and recognition for research management as a profession across Europe.
Time codes:
02:44 Introduction and fly in
11:00 Why pilot testing is central to the RM Framework
13:43 Diversity of pilots and training contexts
20:00 How pilots work in practice
27:43 Key lessons from the pilots
31:39 Closing reflections
