Introduction to Research Project Management

Achieve Your Research Goals on Time and Within Budget

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Learn the essential principles of research project management at your own pace. Achieve your research goals on time and within budget with easy to use tools and templates.

If you're a doctoral student or early career researcher you'll be only too familiar with the pressures of investing in your career – not just in terms of cost, but also when it comes to making research count.

Drawing on more than 20 years' research experience, inside and outside of academia, this online programme equips you to better manage any type of research – at whatever stage of your career – so you're able to:

  • Identify the key skills every research project/programme manager needs
  • Understand which skills are most in demand – inside and outside of academia
  • Explore the four core project management stages necessary for delivering research objectives on time and on budget
  • Find out how to get up to speed on any project – at whatever stage you join it
  • Discover the Top 10 challenges project managers face and tried and tested solutions for handling them
  • Learn which 'buttons to press' to help you convince potential funders your project will complete within its timeframe and resource limitations.


We'll give you simple tools and templates to help you:

  • Identify project stakeholders and prioritize their needs
  • Assess the impact of potential risks to your research and discover tried and tested strategies for overcoming the most common threats
  • Identify what skills and resources your project needs to achieve its objectives
  • Break your project into manageable tasks
  • Work out how long it should take to complete any given project
  • Identify the critical activities you'll need to monitor closely to make sure you complete your research as planned
  • Track any project through to completion...

…and much more!

We'll guide you through the key activities at each stage of the project lifecycle, so you'll be better prepared to manage any research project or programme for success.


Who should take this course?

  • Designed for early career researchers, PhD and Professional Doctorate students and anyone responsible for day-to-day management or coordination of research projects or programmes.
  • Whether you’re putting together a research project proposal, getting ready to implement a project plan, working on your thesis or dissertation, figuring out how to budget, schedule tasks, manage time, work with colleagues, or co-ordinate a project or programme that is already underway, this course was designed with you in mind.
  • Because every research project is unique, we focus on the principles, choices and strategies that apply regardless of project size, content or research methodology.
  • The course is relevant to any research field; however, examples used reflect our experience in health care, social care, management, and social science.


By the end of the course you should be able to:

  • Understand the essential principles of effective research project management
  • Identify the key skills every research project manager needs and how they can benefit your career - inside and outside of academia
  • Identify the resources a project needs to achieve its objectives on time and within budget
  • Break any project into manageable tasks so you can monitor them effectively and efficiently
  • Have tried and tested strategies at your fingertips to deal with the most frequently encountered challenges project managers face
  • Consider how to communicate, lead and work as a team with project stakeholders, staff and colleagues
  • Estimate how long it should take to complete any research project and the critical activities that can make or break it
  • Use our research proposal/plan template to include the key ingredients potential funders look for to convince them your project will complete within time and resource limitations
  • Use our simple but effective tools, templates and checklists to get your research project or programme off to a good start
  • Understand the core stages of the project lifecycle, so you'll be better prepared to manage any research project or programme for success.

What does the course not cover?

  • We do not teach you how to use any particular proprietary project management software, e.g. Microsoft Project. Nor do we teach you how to use accounting software or systems.


What materials or software will I need before starting this course?

  • You need only basic word processing and spreadsheet software and capabilities to use our tools, templates, and checklists.


START TODAY and give research project management the attention it deserves at the top of your career development agenda.



Your Instructor


Dr Ruth Belling
Dr Ruth Belling

A researcher, evaluator and course creator with 20+ years' experience managing successful research projects and programmes.

I've spent much of my research career helping students and colleagues achieve their research aims, supervising successful PhD and Professional Doctorate students, writing funding proposals, presenting and publishing research, and helping to develop the research skills and capabilities of researchers who are just getting started in their careers.

Here at Evaluation Works, we're on a mission to help you succeed.



Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
After enrolling, you will have unlimited, ongoing access to this course - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, please contact us within the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund, providing you have not downloaded any of the video tutorials or other course materials. Once downloaded these cannot be returned which is why we cannot provide any refund in these circumstances. If you have any questions about the course, do please contact us before enrolling at: [email protected]

START TODAY and give research project management the attention it deserves at the top of your career development agenda.

Get started now!