Research management: An empirical study

The objective of our research is to obtain empirical evidence, from singular scientific and technologic research infrastructures, on the following questions: how do researchers manage research, what are the main problems that they identify and, how do they deal with the tension between productivity and creativity, in different types of research. The paper presents the limitations of project management methods when managing research, in relation with creativity, introducing emerging research lines on this topic. In this conceptual framework, it presents a case study of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, based on several indepth interviews to the director, the administration director and a research manager. The interviews focus on the stories about the creation of the center and on their views about managing research. The research reveals that both theoretical and applied oriented research projects are managed with the same methods which are close to project management. The explanation of this fact, unexpected from other empirical findings, is that research projects do not introduce new creative ideas, but are based on technological developments, whose stages can be predetermined. The scarcity of empirical studies on those topics justifies the present research. It is also valuable the contribution made on studying the paradox of managing research for achieving both, productivity and creativity management.