RMS: a platform for managing cross-disciplinary and multi-institutional research project collaboration

Area of Science:

• Biomedical research
• Translational science
• Scientific collaboration infrastructure

Background:

• Cross-institutional and cross-disciplinary research collaboration is increasing.
• Challenges include diverse administrative structures, expertise differences, and communication barriers.
• An integrated informatics platform is proposed to mitigate these obstacles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and implement an informatics platform to facilitate biomedical research collaboration.
• To reduce barriers in cross-institutional and cross-disciplinary research projects.

Main Methods:

• Developed the Request Management System (RMS), an informatics infrastructure.
• Structured categorization of experts and knowledge areas.
• Integrated role-based collaborative workflows with domain experts and services.

Main Results:

• The RMS tracked over 1,500 investigators and 4,800 tasks.
• Collaborative projects increased nearly threefold between 2009 and 2012.
• The platform demonstrated a reduction in collaboration barriers.

Conclusions:

• Developing infrastructure for enhanced collaboration is crucial but challenging.
• A web-based informatics platform can effectively facilitate research interactions.
• The RMS experience highlights the system's success in promoting collaboration.