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York Research Administrators Forum (YRAF)

York Research Administrators Forum (YRAF) is a community of Professional Support Staff who support the research lifecycle at the University of York. 

We provide a platform to engage in ongoing, purposeful exchanges to support the research community across a number of academic departments, faculty and central teams. This is done through organised in-person events, mailing lists and shared resources to build a network of colleagues and a supported community. 

Our main aims are:

• To strengthen collaboration and communication across teams and foster effective working relationships, ensuring a joined up and consistent approach to research support across the University.
• To exchange and share knowledge and expertise throughout the research lifecycle,  highlighting the specialised knowledge within our community and providing a space to share best practice, policy updates, research landscape and funder knowledge. 
• To build a safe and supportive community of colleagues where members can share best practice as well as challenges and lessons learnt. Helping to support the development of new knowledge and understanding of research support at the University of York. 
• To provide a two-way exchange on operational processes and effect change where change is necessary.

Next YRAF

Date & Time:  Thursday 4 June - 14:00 (TBC)
Venue: Ron Cooke Hub (TBC)

In-Person Events

The in-person events will run three times a year covering current topics and relevant themes. They will typically consist of short content sessions, including systems and policy updates, tutorials and lightning talks. There will be opportunities to engage in discussion groups on current topics and best practice. This will be followed by dedicated networking time. If you have a suggestion for a topic or would like to present, please let us know by completing the Google Form. 

You will automatically receive an invite to in-person events if you have subscribed to the mailing list.

Membership

Membership is open to any colleagues supporting research at the University of York. Our diverse membership helps to strengthen our community and there is currently membership from academic departments, faculty and central teams including Finance, IT Services, Library & Archives and faculty Research Operations.  We invite members to participate in discussions, contribute ideas, share knowledge, provide talks/guidance on specific topics and give feedback.

Joining YRAF

By subscribing to our mailing list, you connect with a network of peers across the University. We use this list to circulate essential operational updates, coordinate event logistics, and share best practice.

Who to contact

To be part of our community of 200+ administrators join the YRAF email list by contacting research-operations-hub@york.ac.uk

Mailing List

All members can use the YRAF mailing list. The aim of the mailing list is to share information relevant to the research support community at the University of York.

What the mailing list can be used for:

• To share information and opportunities that are of interest to the YRAF Community.
• All emails shared through the YRAF mailing list should be appropriate for the audience.
• If time-sensitive opportunities are being shared there should be adequate time to complete the actions.
• Reminders should only be sent two weeks after the original email.
• Do not submit multiple emails with the same content.  

Following suggestions from the YRAF Community to help categorise emails for our diverse community, we ask that you add a prefix to subject lines so they can be easily identified. This should be used alongside a meaningful email subject line. Some examples are:  Funding Opportunity: Rosetrees NEXT - New Exceptional Transformational Award (2026), Information: 'Words of Thanks' for Technicians, Learning and Development: Valuing Voice Training Opportunities. 

Further suggestions below:

• Funding Opportunity (To highlight funding calls and grant opportunities)
• Event/Workshop (For scheduled meetings, workshops, or group training sessions)
• Learning and Development (For information regarding Learning and Development opportunities or training)
• Policy/Process Update (To share changes or circulation of new or updated University or YRAF policies or processes)
• Feedback Request (For when input is needed from the community)
• Announcement (For scheduled YRAF group meetings or related stakeholder gatherings.)
• Information (For relevant information or news where no immediate action or response is required.)

This will be used for a trial period to assess the effectiveness and an opportunity to feedback will be given in due course.

Changing your Own Subscription Settings

Emails to the Google group are sent to all members. You are able to change your own subscription settings to manage the volume of emails. You can set up a daily digest to receive all YRAF emails in one message once a day.  To do this follow the Change your own subscription settings guide from Google Help.

The YRAF newsletter will be sent quarterly via the mailing list as a follow-up to our in-person events. Each issue will feature a Team Spotlight, Learning and Development updates from the Hub, and RSSH and Policy updates. We will also include upcoming training opportunities, "Good News" stories, and curated articles related to the research landscape.

If you would like to contribute please complete the Google Form.

Any relevant documentation from YRAF in person events, including presentations, is shared on the designated Google drive - York Research Administrators Forum available to all University of York staff.