Insights from PRIM&R 2025: Key Themes Shaping the US Research Landscape
Attending the PRIM&R conference this year offered valuable insight into the challenges and priorities influencing research administration across the United States. Here are the key themes that stood out.
Institutions are facing growing financial pressure
Political uncertainty, shifting federal priorities, and unstable research funding continue to put strain on universities. Many institutions are reassessing how they sustain research administration services and are under increasing pressure to justify budgets and recover costs associated with IRB and ethics oversight. The message remained consistent: teams are expected to do more with fewer resources.
With funding cuts persisting across the sector, research offices are seeking more efficient ways of working, while PIs feel greater pressure to submit stronger and more competitive applications.
Centralised systems are gaining momentum
Many organisations are still managing research operations through fragmented systems, spreadsheets, and manual trackers. Conversations across sessions highlighted a growing shift toward centralisation. A unified approach not only improves efficiency but also makes cost allocation more transparent and easier to manage.
Research security is shaping ethics workflows
A standout session focused on how IRBs and research security teams are adapting to new federal requirements related to foreign influence, disclosures, sensitive data, and dual-use research.
These developments closely mirror the UK’s Trusted Research and Innovation landscape. Although the UK operates under guidance rather than regulation, both regions face similar challenges around identifying risks early, standardising disclosures, and embedding security-aware decision-making.
This alignment presents a significant opportunity for platforms like Infonetica’s Research Flow to strengthen governance workflows and provide consistent oversight across both US and UK environments.
Standardisation is critical across multi-site organisations
Case studies highlighted how inconsistent policies, siloed systems, and staff turnover can create oversight gaps. Institutions that adopted centralised guidance and shared tools reported stronger governance programmes and reduced risk across complex, multi-site environments.
Congratulations to our prize draw winner
A special congratulations to Alexandra McGinley from Montclair State University, who visited our booth and won our PRIM&R prize draw.
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