Accountability

Projects, networks other funded activities were normally managed by the academics who were named as Principal Applicants on initial proposals. Project and network directors were responsible for the progress of their research, for providing annual and end-of-award reports and for appropriate participation in the work of the Programme as a whole. Working within contractual frameworks and Programme policies, project directors and their teams had considerable autonomy.

The Programme Director was responsible for the operational management of the Programme on a day-to-day basis. The Director aimed to provide academic leadership across the Programme, to coordinate collaborative initiatives and to use the Programme’s infrastructure to ‘add value’ to the work of individual projects. Reports were made to, and advice received from, the Steering Committee.  The part-time Directors’ Team was adjusted in scale and composition as the Programme evolved. At its most expansive stage, the Director was supported by a Deputy Director, four Associate Directors and a Programme Office.

The Directors’ Team had expertise across all the major sectors in which research was being conducted. Drawing on this expertise, they each had responsibility for supporting a specific range of projects or other funded activities, and for direct liaison with an associated portfolio of research users.

The Programme Office maintained the core organisational infrastructure for day-to-day Programme activity and was normally the most appropriate initial point of contact for external enquiries and internal administration.

The Steering Committee had a key policy-making role with TLRP. With a membership of senior research users and distinguished academics from across the UK, it offered advice to the Programme Director, considered project reports and took responsibility for all major funding decisions. It met three or four times each year.

ESRC managed the Programme on behalf of a range of UK funders. On the one hand, ESRC’s Associate Director of Research for Education and his colleagues provided administrative services in respect of funding processes and accountability requirements. On the other hand, ESRC’s Research Priorities Board monitored the decisions of the TLRP Steering Committee and received the Programme’s Annual Report. ESRC also provided a range of other important services to support research development (see www.esrc.ac.uk).

Key funders of the Programme included the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Department for Education and Skills, the Scottish Executive, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Executive. Formally, ESRC’s contract to manage the Programme was with HEFCE, the largest funder.

Whilst this is a complex structure, it provided direct access to formidable sources of expertise and support for the Programme.

Details of the TLRP Core Programme Team at London can be found here page.