History

The Support Office for Large-Scale Education and Research Projects was established as a department under the direct control of the Executive Vice President (Research), adopted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) under the Project “Establishment of a Support System to Upgrade Education and Research” of the FY2009 supplementary budget.

The University budget was used to operate the Support Office for Large-Scale Education and Research Projects, and the Administrative Office for Large-Scale Education and Research Projects, Department of Research Promotion, was established as an administrative organization.

The URA team was established in the Support Office for Large-Scale Education and Research Projects, following the adoption of the MEXT's project “Establishment of the System to Develop and Secure Research Administrators (URA Establishment Project)”.

Osaka University was selected for MEXT’s “Research University Enhancement Promotion Project” (project period: August 2013 - March 2023), and six URAs were hired in sequence and assigned to the Support Office with the project funds.

The MEXT's project “Establishment of the System to Develop and Secure Research Administrators (URA Establishment Project)” was approved for continuation for two years, and the eight URAs who had been employed under this project were replaced by two employed under the same project, five under the university budget, and one with a concurrent position in another organization.

The Office of Management and Planning, Osaka University was newly established by integrating personnel engaged in research management and administration operations such as corporate planning, institutional research, research promotion, and evaluation. (The Support Office for Large-Scale Education and Research Projects was abolished as of March 31, 2016.)

With the establishment of the Research Planning Section to strengthen the management support system in the Office of Management and Planning, the Research Management and Administration Section was renamed the Research Support Division.

With the aim of synergistically combining URA and IR functions in the Office of Management and Planning, the three sections of Management Planning, Research Planning, and Institutional Research were merged into the Institutional Research Section, and the Research Support Section was renamed the Research Management and Administration Section.

The Planning Section was newly established for the purpose of analyzing information to improve research capabilities, systematization of URAs, including training and assessment, which are matters of particular importance in the management of the office.