Many researchers have positive experiences of the external research funding database Research Professional, and this is one of the reasons why the Research Support Office is extending the pilot scheme for a further two years. At the same time, Researchfunding.net – which is AU’s and AUH’s own locally run database – will be phased out.

2019.01.10 | Nanna Jespersgård

Researchers should remember to save their settings and lists before Researchfunding.net is discontinued at the end of March 2019, so that settings can be manually recreated in Research Professional.

Most researchers are already familiar with the research funding database Research Professional and it has given researchers access to thousands of calls for applications since spring 2017. From national foundations to Horizon 2020 and calls under the American medical and health science research centre the National Institutes of Health, NIH.

Contracts will now be signed to make the trial of the American-owned Research Professional permanent, while AU and AUH will at the same time take the opportunity to discontinue using Researchfunding.net.

“We initially made Research Professional available as a supplement to Researchfunding.net, but now the external database is being updated with the national grants which were previously only registered here by us. So there’s therefore no longer any reason to operate two systems,” says Pernille Hamburger Grøngaard, who is super user and librarian at the Research Support Office.

Remember to save your lists

She also points out that researchers should remember to save their settings and lists before Researchfunding.net is discontinued at the end of March 2019, so that settings can be manually recreated in Research Professional. In connection with this Pernille Hamburger Grøngaard notes that Research Professional has a number of tutorials with tips and tricks to utilise its many options. However, it is not possible to electronically transfer lists from Researchfunding.net to Research Professional.

"Research Professional is readily accessible for anyone on an AU computer, but as a researcher you should create a personal profile. Then you can generate lists and download, save and not least share search results with colleagues in a way that you can’t in AU’s own system," says Pernille Hamburger Grøngaard.

She adds that both departments and smaller research groups are welcome to contact her if they need further information or help to transfer databases. This also applies to researchers who require access from AUH or one of the regional hospitals.

Market development

Ole Steen Nielsen, who is vice-dean for research, welcomes the fact that researchers will in future only have to visit one site when searching for calls for applications from foundations. Also without compromising quality and at a lower cost for the university.

"Research Professional is intuitive and easy to use with very strong coverage, so it’s gratifying to see so many researchers embracing the system. It’s hardly strange that an external database with many users in different countries can offer something different and more than a locally-based solution – this is just a result of a natural market development," says Ole Steen Nielsen.

AU and AUH where first movers, but ...

Researchfunding.net was introduced in 2010 at a time when similar tools with subscription options where very limited around the world. Eight years ago, approx. 1,700 AU employees were given access to the system, and the number of users has subsequently increased annually with around 600-700 employees per year.

Similarly, for many years the number of annual calls for applications also increased, from approx. 10,000 in 2011 to double so many in 2014, before falling to approx. 15,000 calls in 2017.

As of October 2018, no new profiles were created in Researchfunding.net as the Research Support Office instead began to refer people to Researchprofessional.com. You can create your own profile here. ResearchFunding.Net's last day of operation is 31 March 2019.

Contact

Librarian Pernille Hamburger Grøngaard
AU Research Support and External Relations, Research Support Office
Email: phg@au.dk
Mobile: (+45) 3058 7940