Researchfish Submission Period RO Communications - Top Tips
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How to introduce and refer to the Researchfish platform & Submission Periods
It’s useful to make the distinction that it is Funders (rather than Researchfish) who ask researchers to report their outcome and output data, and determine the timing and policies around this. Researchfish is the tool that the Funder has chosen to use to collect this outcome information; Research Organisations use the tool to support researchers with meeting the reporting requirements to their Funder, and to have access/make use of the reported data as well.
An overview of the roles and responsibilities is available in the Helpjuice content for Researchfish here.
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Tell researchers why they are being reminded to report by their Research
Organisation
Communicate any compliance requirements tied to funding or institutional reporting. Explain how Researchfish facilitates meeting these, and how they connect to the broader goals of your institution. Make researchers aware of the value of the data reported via Researchfish to their Research Organisation as well as their Funder.
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Explain what the data will/will not be used for
Help researchers understand what the reported data will be used for, and how the data collected contributes to demonstrating the impact and significance of the research to the Funder and at your Institution. Provide examples if possible.
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Notify them if your Organisation will be making use of the Interoperability
Uploader
Research Organisations with a paid subscription to Researchfish can use the Interoperability tool in the platform to upload publication records from CRIS systems into the system on the researcher’s behalf, saving them time and streamlining the process. Let your researchers know if and how you are assisting them with the reporting process.
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Language
When reminding researchers about their reporting requirements, explain that your organisation may face consequences including sanctions if researchers do not report to their Funder, and the effect this has on the institution. We advise using soft language and an explanation for why those principles are in place, emphasizing the importance of output reporting and the value of this reported information to both the funder and your organisation.
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Frequency
Be mindful that researchers may be receiving submission period notification and reminder emails from multiple sources (both Funders and Research Organisations) and potentially for more than one award too. Our Communications Guide and suggested timetable is available here.
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Timing
Optimum days of the week to send communications are Monday - Thursday, and where possible avoid the end of the day. Around the UK Multi-Funder Submission Period a Shared Funder Communications Calendar will be published in the Helpjuice area of the Researchfish platform. This gives visibility of when the large funders are scheduling their communications so that you can work around this.
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Length
Keep emails (especially reminders) concise and provide links to more specific guidance hosted in Helpjuice (or on your organisation’s website) wherever possible.
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Support & Guidance
Clarify where researchers should send their questions and the support available. Technical support queries about the platform will be handled by the Researchfish Support Team (support@researchfish.com), and resources are available in the Researchers area of the Researchfish Helpjuice content. Queries related to the award or requirements to submit should be directed to the Funder; include the contact email for this and ensure your details are up to date on the ‘Our Community’ page.
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Thank you’s and follow-ups!
We always advise following up with researchers to thank them for submitting their valuable data, this is also another opportunity to share examples of where the data has/will be used, and to remind researchers that they can login and keep their Researchfish account up to date at any point throughout the year.