Selecting research administration software is an enterprise decision involving research offices, IT, finance, procurement, ethics teams and researchers. A useful evaluation must move beyond feature counts to examine how well each platform supports institutional processes, integrations, governance and long-term ownership.
Use the following questions and weighted scorecard to build a shortlist and compare vendors consistently.
Can the system manage pre-award processes?
Effective university research administration software should support proposal development from initial planning through to submission and internal approval.
Assess whether researchers can collaborate on proposals, reuse existing information and track upcoming deadlines. The system should also manage pricing, costing and budgets, including multiple funders, currencies, indirect costs and institutional contributions.
Approval workflows should reflect faculty, school and central-office delegations. Look for configurable routing, automated reminders and a complete record of reviews, comments and decisions. These requirements may vary between universities and other education institutions, research institutes and hospitals.
Does it support contracts and post-award administration?
Research grants management software should connect approved proposals to contracts, budgets, milestones and reporting obligations without re-entering information.
Check whether the platform can manage multiple contracts and subcontracts, document versions, digital approvals and authorised variations. Post-award capabilities should include progress reporting, payment tracking, financial reconciliation, outcome monitoring and program closure.
The reporting tools should provide both portfolio-level oversight and detailed project information. Confirm that internal teams can create or modify dashboards and reports without relying on the vendor for every change.
How does research compliance software connect with ethics?
A research management system should connect project, funding and compliance information while maintaining appropriate separation between processes.
The system should also support relevant government ethics protocols, including relevant application data, amendments and supporting records.
Evaluate how it supports human and animal ethics, biosafety, governance reviews and ongoing compliance obligations.
Which integrations must be tested?
Do not accept “integration available” without defining its scope. Ask vendors to demonstrate how data moves between the research management software and:
- Researcher profiles
- ORCID integration using the official ORCID integration framework
- Funder grant systems, e.g. ARC, NHMRC
- Ethics systems
- Finance and HR platforms
- Document and records management systems
- Institutional identity and single sign-on services
Who owns configuration, migration and support?
Procurement teams should determine who can modify forms, workflows, business rules and reports after implementation. Institution-owned configuration can make the platform easier to adapt as policies and processes change.
Review the proposed migration approach, including data cleansing, mapping, validation and archival records. Security due diligence should cover role-based access, encryption, audit logs, authentication, hosting, recovery testing and relevant certifications. OmniStar Research provides further information about its security controls and training and support.
Weighted research administration vendor scorecard
To compare vendors, score each category from 1 to 5, multiply it by the weighting and record supporting evidence.
| Evaluation category | Weight |
|---|---|
| Pre-award workflows, costing and approvals | 20% |
| Contracts and post-award management | 15% |
| Ethics, governance and compliance | 15% |
| Integrations and data interoperability | 15% |
| Reporting and analytics | 10% |
| Configuration and institutional ownership | 10% |
| Migration and implementation approach | 5% |
| Security, training and ongoing support | 10% |
Request demonstrations based on real institutional scenarios rather than generic vendor scripts.
Research management software in practice
Beyond comparing features and capabilities, it can help to see how research management software works in a real institutional setting. Explore the OmniStar Research University of Western Australia case study to see how the university approached its transition to an integrated research management solution, improving visibility across research activities and reducing administrative demands.
Build a stronger research administration shortlist with OmniStar Research
Use the research administration vendor scorecard to identify the platform that best meets your institution’s workflow, governance, technical and implementation requirements.
Reach out to us today and discover OmniStar Research, a powerful and configurable research management system that brings proposal development, costing, approvals, contracts, compliance and reporting together in one integrated system.
