All workshops are now filled.

Pre-Congress workshops are being held on Tuesday 22 August 2006. The workshops are an optional activity at an additional cost of AU$150 and include morning and afternoon tea and a light lunch. Delegates wishing to participate in the workshops must register on the Congress registration form and specify their required workshop. Delegates may register for the workshops only, without registering to attend the INORMS Congress. Numbers are strictly limited – register early to ensure your participation.

Tuesday 22 August 2006
1000 – 1530 hours
Cost: $150 per person

Workshop 1 The anatomy of a successful research project
St Germain Room, Sofitel Brisbane
Sponsored by the University of New England

In this workshop the key management and administrative parts of a research project will be analysed and synthesised to determine factors for success. The workshop will feature case studies designed to explore why some research projects are successful and achieve their aims and objectives while others falter in the face of the inevitable management and administrative challenges that occur throughout their life. It will also consider international project management dimensions and the increasingly important area of post-project evaluation.

Learning outcomes
Participants will gain an understanding of what it takes to develop and sustain a successful research project from a research management point of view. They will become more aware of how to recognise some of the common (and not so common) pitfalls and how to establish sound management/administration practices to keep projects on track so the research can happen in an environment of stability and flexibility.

Audience
This workshop will be of benefit to middle-senior level departmental or central office managers/administrators and research program leaders interested in increasing their awareness of the critical success factors in research project management.

Workshop 2: Ethics international perspectives – agency expectations & institutional responses
Bastille Room, Sofitel Brisbane

Research ethics and research integrity have increasingly become matters of institutional concern. On one hand there are very real reasons for research managers to be concerned about matters such as demonstrable compliance and sufficient governance, but on the other there is a compelling body of commentary that points to the chilling impact bureaucratic processes can have on useful research. In this workshop international speakers will discuss how institutions can positively respond to the expectations of national agencies. The workshop will explore practical examples and strategies from around the world. It will also consider the degree to which research managers can use international lessons to minimise institutional risk, whilst still facilitating important research.

Learning outcomes
Participants will gain an understanding of research ethics and research integrity frameworks in Australia, Canada, India and the United States. They will become more aware of useful strategies and some of the common sources of the problems.

Audience
In addition to research ethics administrators, and research managers with a role or interest in the research integrity area, this workshop will be of benefit to middle-senior level departmental or central office managers/administrators and research program leaders interested in increasing their awareness of effective approaches to the governance of ethical conduct in research and research integrity.

Workshop 2 facilitator: Gary Allen Research Ethics, Griffith University, Australia

Gary is the Manager, Research Ethics at Griffith University. During the last 10 years he has worked with ethics committees in Australia, Canada, England and Vietnam. He was a member of the NHMRC working group that produced the National Ethics Application Form, is a training facilitator for the NHMRC and is one of the founding members of the Australasian Human Research Ethics Association. He is a regular presenter at academic and professional conferences, and is published in the research ethics area. His Professional Doctoral thesis on establishing more effective institutional governance frameworks for ethical conduct in human research is currently under review.

Workshop 3: Funding opportunities for international collaboration
Concorde Room, Sofitel Brisbane

With globalisation and rapidly advancing electronic communications technology the potential for the best and brightest researchers to work together as teams to collaborate on some of the world's most important research questions has never been greater. Many funding agencies seeking to support the world's best have opened up their scarce resources to international competition.

This workshop will provide participants with an opportunity to gain practical and strategic knowledge about funding opportunities from some of the leading international funding agencies gaining first hand knowledge of the financial support available for international projects and collaborations; criteria for gaining access to funding; and the key success factors for successful applications.

Moving beyond the strategies and mechanics of funding opportunities the workshop will provide participants with the opportunity to hear ‘stories from the front’ as presenters highlight some of the best and craziest research ideas.

The workshop will conclude by focusing on the future of international funding with a hypothetical discussion of the formation of a UN for International Strategic Funding Opportunities.

Learning outcomes
Workshop participants will learn about some of the major international funding opportunities, criteria for accessing these funds, key success factors and recent results. The workshop will also provide the opportunity to learn more on how to put grant schemes together, pitfalls for team building and international collaborations.

Audience
This workshop will be of benefit to researchers looking for funding to support international collaborations, and research grant administrators and managers looking to expand their knowledge of international funding opportunities.

Workshop 3 facilitator: Donna Hannan Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, Australia

Donna has 15 years experience in the Australian higher education sector, working in various administrative and management positions. For the last 12 years, Donna has pursued a career, which has focused on research administration and management, and has sought to develop breadth in this area by working in a variety of positions ranging from research ethics to research grant management. Having served as Secretary for many research funding assessment committees within Australia, including those at the National and State level, Donna has extensive working knowledge of the requirements of the grant assessment process and of the qualities that make a successful research grant application. Donna is currently the Executive Officer of the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), at the University of Queensland. Prior to holding this position she managed the central Research Grants Unit at the University of Queensland. Donna’s educational qualifications include a Bachelor of Business Degree and a Master of Public Sector Management.

Overall workshop coordination by Dr Fiona Wood, University of New England

Images courtesy Tourism Queensland