Research Project Management and Leadership

P. Alison Paprica is an adjunct professor and senior fellow at the Institute for Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation at the University of Toronto.

List of Illustrations
List of Tables
List of Boxes
List of Leadership Advice Crosswalks

Section 1: Overview of Research Project Management and Leadership
1.1 Research Requires Both Vision and Planning
1.3 The Origin and Content of This Handbook
1.4 Summary of Project Management Tools and Processes for Research
1.4.1 Distinguishing Projects from Operations
1.4.2 Project Management Tools and Processes
1.4.3 Overview of the Research Project Management Tools Presented in This Handbook
1.5 Main Themes from Research Leader Interviews
1.6 How to Use This Handbook

Section 2: Scoping and Planning Research Projects
2.1 Scope and the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
2.1.1 The Project Management Mindset of DEFINE Then DELIVER
2.1.2 The WBS as a Tool to Articulate Project Scope
2.1.3 Deliverable-Based Scoping Drives Activities to the Point That They Produce Something Tangible
2.1.4 Common Workstreams and Deliverables for Research Projects
2.1.5 Using the WBS to Establish a Shared Understanding of Research Project Scope
2.2 The Deliverable-Based Schedule
2.2.1 Using the WBS Deliverables to Create a Schedule That Covers the Entire Project Scope
2.2.2 The Benefits of a Schedule
2.2.3. Steps for Developing a Deliverable-Based Gantt Chart Research Project Schedule
2.2.4 Schedule Compression
2.2.5 Avoiding Unnecessary Multitasking
2.3 The Deliverable-Based Budget
2.3.1 The Budget as a Tool to Ensure Sufficient Funding for All Deliverables
2.3.2 Estimating the Costs for Common Research Budget Lines
2.3.3 Steps for Developing a Deliverable-Based Research Project Budget
2.4 Involving Stakeholders in Project Planning
2.5 The Triple Constraint of Scope, Schedule, and Budget

Section 3: Transitioning from Research Project Planning to Implementation
3.1 Progressive and Iterative Elaboration of Project Details
3.2 Processes to Identify and Manage Risks
3.2.1 Distinguishing Risks from Issues and Opportunities
3.2.2 Identifying, Prioritising, and Responding to Negative Risks for Research
3.2.3 Positive Risk Management
3.2.4 The Research Project Risk Management Plan
3.3 Roles and Responsibilities
3.3.1 The Importance of Understanding Who Will Do What on the Research Project Team
3.3.2 The WBS with Lead Initials as a Tool for Identifying Workstream and Deliverable Leads
3.3.3 The Intertwined Roles of the Principal Investigator and the Academic Research Project Manager
3.3.4 The Core Team
3.3.5 The RACI as a Tool to Define Multiple Roles
3.3.6 Building Capacity across the Research Project Team
3.4 Decision Making, Governance, and Oversight
3.4.1 Research Project Governance
3.4.2 Decision-Making Processes
3.4.3 Bringing Governance and Management Together
3.5 Using Project Management to Strengthen Grant Applications

Section 4: Implementing and Closing Research Projects
4.1 Project Kickoff
4.2 The Tracking Sheet as a Tool to Monitor and Drive Research Project Progress
4.3 Communications and Stakeholder Involvement During Implementation
4.3.1 Communications Planning
4.3.2 Status Reports
4.3.3 Stakeholder Engagement
4.4 Preventing and Addressing Common Problems
4.5 Closing the Project and Capturing Lessons Learned

Section 5: Research Operations and Cross-Cutting Topics
5.1 Running Effective Meetings
5.1.1 The Value of Meetings
5.1.2 The Role and Responsibilities of the Meeting Chair
5.1.3 Research Meeting Agendas
5.1.3 Facilitation Techniques and Processes
5.2 Adapting Project Management Tools and Processes for Research Programs, Operations, and Portfolios
5.3 Agile Approaches and Research Project Management
5.4 Adapting Research Project Management and Leadership Skills to Your Environment
5.4.1 Modifying Academic Research Project Management Skills for Other Sectors
5.4.2 Adapting the Guidance in This Handbook to Your Environment

Section 6: Interviews With Research Leaders
6.1 Elspeth Brown: Starting a New Leadership Role With a Listening Tour
6.2 Steini Brown: Research Leadership Should Focus on the Team, Not the Leader
6.3 Beth Coleman: Starting Up the University of Toronto Black Research Network
6.4 Aled Edwards: Learning Your Partners’ Culture Through Immersion
6.5 Steve Farber: Leadership to Advance a Concept Into a Co-Developed Research Agenda
6.6 Colleen Flood: Forward Thinking and Scenario Planning for Policies Related to Vaccination
6.7 Lorna MacDonald: Creating and Leading Two Productions of a Historically-Based Opera
6.8 Kim McGrail: Launching a New Pan-Canadian Network
6.9 Michael Schull: When a Clinician Scientist Is the CEO of a Research Institute With More Than 200 Staff
6.10 Barbara Sherwood Lollar: Understanding That Research Operations Are Fundamentally Entrepreneurial
6.11 Molly Shoichet: Supporting Students in Learning Their Own Lessons
6.12 Ajrumand Siddiqi: Contributing as a Researcher When You’re Not Certain That You’re Right
6.13 Zaïna Soré: Working With Partners to Take Research Into Practice
6.14 Sharon Straus: Using Research Skills and Methods to Achieve Change
6.15 Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi: Creating Vibrant Research Communities in the Humanities
6.16 Jutta Treviranus: Shifting the Culture of Research Funding to More Inclusive Approaches
6.17 David Wolfe: Distinct Leadership Requirements for Large Research Grants With Business Partners
6.18 Stefaan Verhulst: Research Entrepreneurship to Mobilize a New International Network
6.19 Rich Zemel: Working With Industry to Create a New Machine Learning Research Institute

Appendices: Examples of Light-Touch Project Management Documents for Fictional and Generic Research Projects
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D: Three Pages for Planning and Managing the Evaluation of Seniors’ Health Clinics
Background Information About the Project
Appendix E: Five-Page Plan for Pollution Monitoring Research
Background Information About Pollution Monitoring Research Project
Appendix F: Example Full Project Plan for a Fictional Natural Sciences Research Project That Is Part of a Multidisciplinary Program
Background and Context
Assumptions
Constraints
Scope
Roles, Responsibilities, and Governance
Schedule
Budget
Risk Management Plan
Communications Plan
Stakeholder Engagement Plan
WBS Dictionary

References
Index
About the Author