Comparative Understanding of Change of University Research Administrators (URA) between Japan and the USA:

Expansion of the Role of Research Development (RD)

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to discuss the role of a University Research Administrator (URA) in Japan as a new system by comparing it with the functions of research administration (RA) and research development (RD) in the US. The analytic view consists of the following: first, clarifying the change of role of a URA in the US by examining the history of RA and the recent expansion of RD; second, clarifying the function of a URA in Japan by examining the history of RA and the roles of URAs in the new system. For the result, the function of a URA in the US is mostly covered by traditional general administrators in Japanese universities, and the new URA in Japan has functions similar to RD in the US.