Key Insights

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  Research operations teams have grown from lone practitioners to multi-person, multi-skilled teams typically scaling around one ops person to five researchers.

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  It is crucial to design processes into research ops rather than simply shifting researcher inefficiency onto ops teams.

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  Research ops supports the research function but is distinct from research leadership, which defines strategy and prioritization.

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  Scaling research ops teams early, as soon as you have five researchers, helps demonstrate value and manage workload effectively.

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  Effective research ops include managing participant recruitment, vendor relationships, tooling, knowledge management, and researcher experience.

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  Research ops roles often suit people with service industry backgrounds due to the service-oriented nature of the work.

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  Engagement and impact roles within research ops bring creative opportunities, such as branding, event production, and making research tangible in physical spaces.

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  Close collaboration across functions—legal, privacy, procurement, estates—is vital for a successful research ops practice.

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  Supporting not just researchers but also the broader group of people conducting research (e.g., product managers, designers) increases workload and requires clear prioritization.

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  Community building and sharing frameworks globally have helped research ops mature from theoretical concepts into practical and scalable practices.

Notable Quotes