Research IT

Speed up Research Approval with the Research Risk Profiler

Originally launched in February 2022 as part of the Research Lifecycle’s Project A, the Research Risk Profiler (RRP) is a simple tool that helps researchers to quickly and easily identify factors which may delay or slow their work. Kalu Uka from the Research Lifecycle Programme explains more.

The Research Risk Profiler (RRP) is a simple questionnaire that takes about 15 minutes to complete. The structured questions help to quickly identify challenges in key risk and compliance areas, such as export controls, and signpost to resources and support that the University offers to help you overcome these challenges. The RRP ensures that researchers are offered solutions that are appropriate to their project, rather than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.

Speaking about the Research Risk Profiler, Professor Colette Fagan, Vice-President for Research said:

‘The Research Risk Profiler is a tool that will help researchers, at any stage of the academic career, to navigate the potential pitfalls of a changing funding and legal landscape quickly and easily. Investing just a few minutes at the start of a project has the potential to save weeks further down the road.

I encourage our researchers to use this risk profiler so that they are able to start work as soon as a grant is approved, and continue to raise The University of Manchester’s profile across the UK and beyond.’

Senior and experienced researchers will be familiar with many of the measures that the RRP highlights. However, the profiler will be regularly updated to reflect changes in the compliance landscape. Researchers who are new to The University of Manchester will benefit from the single point of contact that the tool provides. Using the RRP will help to ensure that projects are meeting the latest University, funder and legislative requirements.

The RRP is not an end in itself. It triages the most serious risk and compliance issues and enables researchers to connect with specialist professional services colleagues who can support them. The profiler is an enabler of research, helping to support the highest-risk projects through professional collaboration.

The tool offers significant benefits to research support staff by providing a better overview of the risks in each portfolio. Similarly, it ensures that there is more information available to approvers to support decision-making.

Using centralised resources, the RRP also supports Research Services by providing checklists for compliance processes and monitoring of due diligence thresholds. It also helps to ensure that information is gathered in a single place, rather than in e-mail chains for example, improving efficiency.

Risk Profiler

What Do You Need To Do?

You can access the Research Risk Profiler directly or through the Trusted Research page where you can also find information about the broader principles of Trusted Research.

The tool is a work in progress and the team want to ensure the tool is as useful as it can be. Feedback on the tool will therefore be gratefully received. Any feedback or queries should be sent to the Research and Business Engagement team.