Managing and Governing Integrated Research Programmes: Lessons from Theory and Practice

Researchers are increasingly working in large, integrated science programmes. This is supposed to lead to several benefits, including creating and enhancing synergies amongst projects, improving collaboration and knowledge exchanges amongst researchers from different disciplines, and generating a higher return on investments in R&D. In practice, though, these benefits are often not fully realised, and large-scale integrated programmes can become frustrating for researchers. Additionally, they can result in insufficient integration and collaboration, and incur high overhead costs. In the present paper, the authors share their experience and insights on how to structure, manage and govern integrated programmes more competently. They do so by reflecting on their own practical experience in designing an integrated programme, and by drawing valuable insights from the literature on governance, management studies and organisational economics. The authors suggest that many problems can be linked to the implementation of programme management systems and coordination mechanisms that are poorly aligned with the unique characteristics of integrated programmes. They provide guidelines for programme managers to use systems that are a better fit, which can help researchers collaborate in a more engaging and productive manner while reducing the overhead costs associated with programme administration.