2025 Volume 40 Issue 1 Pages 98-107
In recent years, research administrators (URAs) have played an increasingly important role as universities contribute to open innovation and address societal challenges. Although over 1,800 URAs are active in Japan, clear evaluation criteria for their diverse functions have yet to be established. This paper provides an international comparison of URAs and quantitatively analyzes their impact, such as facilitating industry-academia collaboration and increasing external research funding. It also highlights their growing role in supporting startup ecosystems, promoting open science, and ensuring research integrity.
To evaluate the expanding roles of URAs, this paper proposes boundary spanning as a framework for understanding their cross-sectoral coordination. Since URA contributions often extend beyond quantifiable metrics, qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods should be improved. Establishing appropriate assessment criteria is crucial for advancing research capacity-building efforts based on EBPM (Evidence-Based Policy Making).
