About UWA
The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a comprehensive teaching and research institution that strives to design the future with trusted, reproducible, transformative open research and accessible data. Ranked in the top 100 universities in the world (QS World University Ranking), and home to more than 2000 active research academics, UWA aims to lead world-class research in finding solutions for real-world challenges.
UWA’s Office of Research is responsible for nourishing the university’s research excellence through adept management of the administrative aspects of research including funding, ethics and compliance.
The Challenge
UWA’s research management system was paper-based and therefore was becoming unsustainable. UWA needed a solution that provided them with more oversight, was more readily auditable and could support them moving into a more modern system.
UWA required a solution that:
- Had coverage of grant management from pre-award through to post-award stages
- Managed the demands of increasing compliance requirements
- Had compatible ethics capabilities
- Was more user-friendly for academics
- Enabled better oversight of research activities
- Kept healthier records of research activities
- Had improved compatibility with other systems used within research management
- Could continue to evolve with the university’s needs
"We couldn’t persist in a paper environment. We were looking for a solution that could cover the pre-award and post-award requirements, and we wanted a system that could do ethics as well. And that's where OmniStar ranked above the other options, because it was able to meet both of these requirements with one compatible system." - Laila Simpson, Director of Research Operations, The University of Western Australia
The Solution
OmniStar offered a management solution that could speak to UWA’s unique requirements. Although the transition from a paper to a digital system came with some challenges, OmniStar allowed for a build that could evolve to meet the changing needs of the university.
The shift to a digital system that has research, grants and ethics components has allowed for superior communication between the university’s other digital management systems.
With this new forward-looking solution, UWA has been able to provide researchers with a user-friendly system that gives them better visibility of the research activities of their schools. It has enabled greater oversight and a superior solution to record-keeping, and allows researchers to self-service, reducing administrative demands.
OmniStar’s compatibility has allowed for integration with UWA’s research repository and finance system as well as making information more transferable to other systems. This has begun to allow for a more strategic approach to generating research questions.
The improved perspective delivered by OmniStar has enabled tighter research management within UWA and prompted policy change as it provides a better view of grants and ethics applications. It has also provided a superior solution to compliance and justification of current and future resourcing.
With OmniStar, UWA has been able to modernise its research administration, improving connectivity across its research management systems. Research heads now have better visibility over the research activities of their teams and more easily make data-informed decisions on compliance and resourcing.
The Benefits
Increased independence
Increased researchers’ independence in research administration with a user-friendly interface.
Improved compliance
Enhanced capabilities for keeping records, data analysis and governance of research activities.
Complete solution
Streamlined multiple elements of research management into one cohesive solution, including ethics, funding, data management and publication.
Enhanced oversight
Enhanced research leaders’ visibility of their teams’ activities with real-time dashboards, which has enabled more efficient and strategic research.
Increased agility
Increased ability to accommodate changing operational requirements as university processes evolve.
Birds-eye view
Provided visibility across the research lifecycle, from pre-award through to post-award stages.
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Experience OmniStar
Arrange for a demo to see OmniStar in action and speak with our expert team today about how we can help you reimagine grants, ethics and research.