What is the Research Assets Inventory?
Research Assets Inventory (RAI) is a structured way for a researcher, or a group or researchers, to get a better understanding of what kind of assets you have, how they connect with the research and how these assets may be utilized. RAI can also be a help in understanding how your research relates to UNs Sustainable development goals and how to communicate with different stakeholders.
In practice, the RAI is an activity where the participants are guided through a set of exercises where they reflect over their research and document what they have done in terms of what assets they have created over the past few years.
This method also makes it easier to communicate these assets to others such as funding agencies, partners, stakeholders, potential users, research colleagues and industry.
Why should anyone participate in an RAI activity?
The main reason is to get a better understanding of your research project and finding new ways of utilizing it or parts of it. Knowing and constantly track the assets that are generated in the research project makes you ready to react when an opportunity presents itself.
It will also make it easier to introduce new research team members and collaborators to and communicate your research. It is even going make it easier to writing different types of agreements since you for instance have a better understanding of what background material you bring.
Who is it for?
Any person involved in research (phd-students, post-docs, researchers, research assistants, principal investigators, head of the department, etc.) would benefit from participating in an RAI activity.