Research Programme Governance
The governance arrangements for the programme ensure that we conduct research that is used by industry for the benefit of its customers.
Governance through the research journey
Clear, structured governance is well established for the research programme, drawing on both industry engineering and operations knowledge, and RSSB expertise in research specification and management.
This ensures that the right projects are pursued at the right time, and critically that the right stakeholders are involved, committing to championing the research and making use of the findings.
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Industry input and governance
- The research journey beings when an industry representative(s) proposes a new research idea or supports one generated elsewhere.
- If the idea fits with the RSSB programme, and funding is available, a senior industry sponsor is required to champion the project and its implementation.
- Support from at least two industry organisations and endorsement by a relevant cross-industry group is required to achieve budget authorisation.
- A project steering group is formed to oversee the research and review all outputs produced.
- On successful completion of the research, the industry sponsor and steering group members lead promotion of the findings and help to generate take-up across industry.
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RSSB oversight and governance
- A new research idea is evaluated and reviewed for fit with the programme and relative priority considered in relation to the current and planned pipeline.
- A case for research is developed comprising a business case and implementation plan.
- An RSSB Investment Panel reviews the case for research and resource availability before approving the required budget.
- An RSSB technical lead steers the project throughout, and reviews and accepts project outputs.
- RSSB ensure outputs are shared widely, including publication in the Research Catalogue on the website.
The governance process, key activities and timings of them in the context of the research journey are presented in the diagram below (click to enlarge).
