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Abstract: The role of research administrator requires highly efficient and collaborative project management to develop competitive, compliant and properly targeted applications for sponsor support. When problems arise, stress and time pressures may lead to maladaptive forms of manipulation and micromanagement between research administrators and principal investigators that resemble dysfunctional, codependent relationships. Using Karpman's Drama Triangle (1968), this article describes the loss of independence and the cognitive bias that precede the development of codependent thinking and behavior in the workplace, particularly as it relates to research administration. Discussion includes the incidence of "helicopter parenting" and its potential application to research administrators' attempts at risk-averse project oversight and security. The remainder of the article provides suggestions for avoiding workplace codependence within the research office, including specific strategies for engaging with principal investigators with greater clarity, effectiveness and respectful collaboration.
Keywords: research administration, codependency, helicopter parenting, Karpman's Drama Triangle
Navigating the Social Field of Research Administration
The role of research administrator has dramatically changed over the past two decades. Landen and McCallister (2002) foresaw profound changes in the field of research administration borne of rapidly advancing technology, sponsor emphasis on complex, problem-centered research, and ever increasing expectations for responsibility and accountability from all project stakeholders. While institutional assumptions and support for offices ofresearch have struggled to contend with the reality of their daily work (Cole, 2008; Landen & McCallister, 2002), research administrators have capably pushed the field forward, using their skill and expanding knowledge to maximize sponsored funding, despite shrinking office resources and sponsor payouts.
Cole (2008) suggested that faculty and research administrators comprise a "living system" with strong interdependency on one another, and much potential for reformation and growth. Research administrators and their faculty cannot achieve their common goal of successful sponsorship absent their individual contributions to a successful process. Yet as opposed to faculty who focus on the essential subject matter of each funding request, research administrators dynamically shift through a host ofdifferent roles and knowledge sets critical to the outcome of their work. Lehman (2017) observed that research administrators at times focus on an expansive set of legal, financial, and process information that they must fully understand to apply appropriately. At other times, research administrators rely on implicit knowledge and best practices that are...