来源：《自然》
原文刊登日期：2021年7月7日
In the space of three decades, academic research management has become an attractive career prospect for researchers around the world. Once focused principally on helping academics to manage funding, research managers and administrators (RMAs) are now part of a globally recognized profession that spans the research spectrum. There are some 20,000 RMAs working in universities; most are in high-income countries, but expansion is under way in lower-income nations, particularly in Africa.
近三十年来，学术研究管理已经成为世界各地研究人员具有吸引力的职业选择。研究经理和管理人员(RMA)曾经主要专注于帮助学者管理资金，如今已成为全球公认的跨研究领域专业的一部分。大约有2万名RMA在大学工作；大多数是在高收入国家，但在低收入国家，特别是在非洲，RMA越来越多。
The role has evolved as research has become more complex, and this, in turn, is attracting more candidates with research-level qualifications and experience. Today’s managers and administrators need knowledge and experience of open science, equality and diversity, ethics and public engagement — as well as of more conventional areas such as accounting, project management and research policy.
随着研究变得更加复杂，这一角色也在演变，这反过来也吸引了更多具有研究水平资格和经验的候选人。今天的RMA需要开放科学、平等和多样性、伦理和公众参与等方面的知识和经验，也需要会计、项目管理和研究政策等更为传统的领域的知识和经验。
RMA courses and qualifications are now offered by universities and by some of the 20 national and regional professional associations belonging to the International Network of Research Management Societies (INORMS).
RMA课程和资格现在由大学和属于国际研究管理协会网络(INORMS)的20个国家和区域专业协会提供。
But tensions between RMAs and the researchers they work with are not uncommon. There are still those who regard the academic as ‘king’ and the RMA as little more than research support. Meanwhile, at some institutions, university leaders expect RMAs to monitor academics’ performance metrics — such as targets for publishing and research income — which can be stressful for both researchers and managers.
但是RMA和共事的研究人员之间的紧张关系并不少见。仍然有一些人认为学者是“国王”，RMA只不过是研究支持。与此同时，在一些研究机构，大学领导希望RMA监控学者的业绩指标——例如出版和研究收入目标——这对研究者和RMA来说都是有压力的。
As a result, RMAs and their professional organizations are becoming advocates for responsible research. And they are embracing the academic study of research management and administration. This is helping to establish good practice, as well as professional standards that can be used to hold universities and publishers to account.
因此，RMA及其专业组织正成为负责任研究的倡导者。同时，他们也在从事科研管理和行政的学术研究。这有助于建立良好的实践，以及职业标准，可以用来追究大学和出版商的责任。
For example, members of INORMS are taking a lead in addressing how university league tables might be improved to make them fairer and more transparent. And the UK research managers association, ARMA, has been involved in an independent review on the use of metrics in research evaluation, a project called the Metric Tide. This year also saw the launch by management professionals of the Journal of Research Management and Administration.
例如，INORMS的成员正在带头解决如何改进大学排名，使其更加公平和透明。英国研究经理协会(ARMA)参与了一个名为“度量潮汐”的项目，对研究评估中指标的使用进行了独立审查。管理专业人士今年还创办了《研究管理与行政杂志》。
These are welcome developments. RMAs are crucial to the research enterprise. Moreover, their involvement in active scholarship is essential to achieving the aims set out above. Researchers and managers must work collegially and respectfully to make the research environment happier and more productive.
这些都是值得欢迎的事态发展。RMA对科研事业至关重要。此外，RMA参与积极的学术活动对实现上述目标至关重要。研究人员和管理人员必须共同努力，相互尊重，使研究环境更快乐，更有成效。