Research Management | News

UK's Durham U Explores New Research Management Platform

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 05/19/14

Durham University is adopting a new research information system, which is expected to help address several research-oriented goals set out in the university's 2010-2020 strategy. The institution, located in Northern England, will be deploying Converis from Thomson Reuters.

Converis acts as a portal to help users manage the research lifecycle, from idea generation to "exploitation." It offers a set of modules for managing pre- and post-award activities, publications, and graduate students and provides research analytics. The primary purposes of the tool suite are to facilitate better communications among researchers and administrators within the institution and to streamline workflow.

"We are happy to be collaborating with Thomson Reuters to advance the efficacy of our research support," said Wendy Harle, director of the university's Research Office. "As the international research landscape becomes increasingly competitive, it is critical to have access to a research management system like CONVERIS that provides an array of flexible tools and a comprehensive view of our research activity that will enable us to maximize the success of our research efforts."

Thomson Reuters acquired the application as part of its purchase of Germany-based Avedas in December 2013. Shortly, the company expected to announce integration between Converis and InCites, its research evaluation tool for analyzing and benchmarking research output. According to the vendor, InCites will access Converis research data in its bibliometric reporting.

Converis is in use by the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Brighton, among many other schools.