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Impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Analysis of institutional authors

Martinez, RobertoCorresponding AuthorTejero, AlbertoAuthor

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March 22, 2025
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Transforming research at higher education institutions: overcoming challenges for research managers in Spain

Publicated to: COGENT BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT. 12 (1): 2470909- - 2025-12-12 12(1), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2025.2470909

Authors:

Martinez, Roberto; Tejero, Alberto
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Affiliations

Univ Politecn Madrid, Dept Org Engn Business Adm & Stat, ETS Ingn informat, Madrid, Spain - Author
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid - Author

Abstract

Despite their critical role in research processes over the past two decades, research managers at Higher Education Institutions are still often seen as mere administrative staff. They are frequently involved in bureaucratic tasks, lack a defined role within research organizations, and face temporary contracts and limited career development opportunities. Recent legislative changes in Europe in 2022 and 2023 have started to address these issues by recognizing the importance of research managers in Science, Technology, and Innovation Systems. Research managers are essential for planning, coordinating, and executing research, and their role has become more complex due to the evolving public funding landscape. This complexity has led to a variety of research manager profiles, complicating the definition of their roles and contributing to their lack of recognition. This paper examines how the recognition of research managers is being addressed in Europe, focusing specifically on Spain. By analyzing various European surveys and the Spanish context, the paper explores whether research managers can achieve better recognition in Spain and identifies five key action areas for improving their professional status: Establishment of Standards, Certification and Accreditation, Recognition and Career Development, Networks and Collaborations, and Outreach and Communication.
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Keywords

Higher educationIndustry, innovation and infrastructureInnovationInnovation managementManagement of technology & innovationPolicPolicyRecognitionResearch managersResearch methods in managementScience & technology policy

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal COGENT BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2025, it was in position 155/316, thus managing to position itself as a Q2 (Segundo Cuartil), in the category Business. Notably, the journal is positioned en el Cuartil Q2 para la agencia Scopus (SJR) en la categoría Business, Management and Accounting (Miscellaneous).

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Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-08:

  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 11 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

    It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

    • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
    • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: https://oa.upm.es/88204/

    As a result of the publication of the work in the institutional repository, statistical usage data has been obtained that reflects its impact. In terms of dissemination, we can state that, as of

    • Views: 126
    • Downloads: 101
    Continuing with the social impact of the work, it is important to emphasize that, due to its content, it can be assigned to the area of interest of ODS 9 - Industry, innovation and infrastructure, with a probability of 53% according to the mBERT algorithm developed by Aurora University.
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    Leadership analysis of institutional authors

    There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (MARTINEZ GAMERO, ROBERTO) and Last Author (TEJERO LOPEZ, ALBERTO).

    the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been MARTINEZ GAMERO, ROBERTO.

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    Project objectives

    El presente estudio tiene como objetivo principal analizar el reconocimiento y la profesionalización de los gestores de investigación en las instituciones de educación superior en España. Se propone examinar el impacto de los cambios legislativos recientes en Europa (2022-2023) sobre el papel de estos gestores. Además, busca caracterizar los perfiles diversos de los gestores de investigación y las dificultades asociadas a su reconocimiento. También pretende evaluar las áreas clave para mejorar su estatus profesional, incluyendo el establecimiento de estándares, certificación y acreditación, desarrollo de carrera, redes y colaboraciones, así como estrategias de difusión y comunicación. Finalmente, se orienta a identificar oportunidades para superar los desafíos que enfrentan estos profesionales en el contexto español.
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    Most relevant results

    El estudio analiza el papel de los gestores de investigación en las instituciones de educación superior en España, destacando su evolución y desafíos. Los resultados principales son: (1) los gestores de investigación continúan siendo percibidos principalmente como personal administrativo, con roles poco definidos y contratos temporales; (2) los cambios legislativos en Europa en 2022 y 2023 reconocen su importancia en los sistemas de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación; (3) la creciente complejidad del financiamiento público ha diversificado los perfiles de gestores, dificultando la definición clara de sus funciones; (4) se identifican cinco áreas clave para mejorar su estatus profesional: establecimiento de estándares, certificación y acreditación, reconocimiento y desarrollo profesional, redes y colaboraciones, y comunicación y divulgación.
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    Awards linked to the item

    The authors would like to express their gratitude to the members of the CARDEA and RM Roadmap projects, and to the INORMS association for their willingness to provide robust data on the profession and profile of RMs in Europe and around the world.
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