Vidatum is Leiden University’s new research management tool for externally financed research projects. Vidatum is intended to provide optimal support for researchers and support staff in applying for, managing and accounting for externally financed research projects. The Vidatum tool includes functionalities for financial project control, the approval process and preparing grant applications (pre-award). Vidatum can also be used to draw up management reports, and there is also a module for time recording.

A significant proportion of the scientific research at Leiden University is carried out in externally financed research projects. The competition and complexity involved in applying for, managing and accounting for these projects is increasing. This added complexity calls for streamlined work processes and systems to reduce the burden of work on researchers and professional staff. Following a European tendering process, Leiden University has selected Vidatum as the new research management tool for research projects. This tool will assist in meeting the financial and non-financial requirements for project management and accounting

During an orientation phase, a comprehensive group of colleagues identified the organisation’s requirements and wishes. This was followed by a public European tender process where all potential suppliers of tooling were able to offer their solutions and services. After this, Leiden University procured a research management tool for research projects. Four suppliers applied for the tender and submitted bids. These tenders were evaluated by an assessment committee made up of representatives from different faculties, institutes, service departments and specialist areas.  In addition, all four tools were evaluated for usability in a test set-up by a broad group of potential users. The supplier Vidatum, with their tool of the same name, was chosen on the basis of these qualitative assessments combined with the price.

Using Vidatum, researchers will be able to meet the requirements involved in acquiring, implementing and accounting for externally financed research as efficiently as possible. Both researchers and research support staff will be able to do their work more easily and faster, for example because all project details and documents are stored in one location. Vidatum also offers project leaders immediate insight into the project budget, it reduces compliance risks and offers comprehensive management information. The implementation of Vidatum will also contribute to the process of achieving common processes and practices and sharing knowledge about them.

The first part of the new research management system for grants and research projects (Vidatum) will go live on 11 November to support and manage externally funded research projects. The Faculties of Science, Social and Behavioural Sciences and the Faculty of Archeology will be the first to use this system.  

A number of working groups and a sounding board group have been set up with representatives from different faculties and disciplines to determine how Vidatum should be structured. The implementation of Vidatum will take some eighteen months, and will be done in phases. Research support professionals from the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences and the Faculty of Science will be the first users of Vidatum in the second half of 2024.  

The first phase of the implementation will focus on the post-award financial project management of new projects. All financial aspects of these new projects will be managed in Vidatum once it goes live. Existing projects will be migrated Vidatum from the start of 2025. 

The system is undergoing extensive testing to ensure everything is working properly and any problems are resolved. A range of colleagues, including project controllers from different faculties, are taking part in these tests. Training sessions will also be held for the first users of Vidatum explaining how best to use it.    

In the next phases, functionality will be added to Vidatum to support grant application preparation (pre-award), digitalise approval processes (request for approval) and create management reports. The recording for research projects will also be possible in Vidatum from 2025. 

Everyone who is involved in acquiring, starting up and implementing externally financed research projects will have access to Vidatum. The relevant user groups will be informed about this automatically. It goes without saying that the confidentiality of information will be safeguarded. Users can log into the system with their own university account. 

Vidatum is linked to SAP, which allows researchers’ salary data to be included in project budgets in Vidatum, for example. It also tracks the actual costs (SAP entries) against the project budget. Once AFAS has replaced SAP, Vidatum will be updated to link to AFAS instead of SAP.

For questions and suggestions, you can contact Robbert Bosch, Vidatum implementation project manager (r.a.bosch@bb.leidenuniv.nl). 

The first part of the new research management tooling for grants and research projects (Vidatum) will go live on 4 November to support and manage externally funded research projects. The Faculties of Science, Social and Behavioural Sciences and the Faculty of Archeology will be the first to use this system.    
  
The first phase of the implementation will focus on the post-award financial project management of new projects. From 11 November, all financial aspects of these new projects will be managed in Vidatum. Existing projects will be migrated Vidatum from the start of 2025.   

The system is undergoing extensive testing to ensure everything is working properly and any problems are resolved. A range of colleagues, including project controllers from different faculties, are taking part in these tests. Training sessions will also be held for the first users of Vidatum (especially project controllers) explaining how best to use it.      
  
In the next phases, functionality will be added to Vidatum to support grant application preparation (pre-award), digitalise approval processes (request for approval) and create management reports. Time recording for research projects will also be possible in Vidatum

Questions?

If you have questions or would like more information about using Vidatum contact Vidatum project manager, Robbert Bosch.

Rogier Strijk, the project control coordinator at the Faculty of Humanities and a member of the Vidatum implementation sounding board shares his thoughts on the Vidatum workshop at the LRSN Conference:

‘As a member of the Vidatum implementation sounding board, I’m obviously fairly familiar with Vidatum’s features. But it was still useful to attend the workshop with research support colleagues from all over the university. We were given a quick introduction to the software to give us a taste of the dashboard and functionality. It was interesting to have a sneak peek at the layout and the visualisation of the different phases and processes. Great that Simon Cullen (Vidatum co-founder) was present. Then you feel that the vendor is taking you seriously as a university. We were also given an idea of the timeline until implementation in 2025. I think the phased approach is challenging: implementation starts at the Faculty of Science and of Social and Behavioural Sciences. This means other faculties won’t face the same start-up problems later.

There was plenty of time for interaction and questions during the workshop. The time recording module in particular was the subject of useful comments and questions. Once the system has been set up and we have a uniform working method, backup for your colleagues and handovers during holidays or absences, for example, will be much easier. I really look forward to that. Vidatum should also make it quicker and easier to produce the simple overviews for researchers that now have to be produced by hand, which takes a lot of time. And it will be much easier for project controllers to see where you are in the workflow. Whether and how the new system improves our processes remains to be seen but we are definitely looking forward to it at the Faculty of Humanities.’

In response to the tender for the selection of Research Management tooling for grants and research projects, four suppliers submitted proposals and provided quotations for their tools and services. 

The quotations from the suppliers were thoroughly evaluated by an assessment committee comprising representatives from various organizational units. Additionally, all four tools were tested in a trial setup by a broad group of potential users to assess their user-friendliness. 

Based on these qualitative assessments combined with pricing considerations, the supplier Vidatum emerged as the best choice. An agreement has been reached with this supplier, and the implementation is set to commence in January. Vidatum's tooling will be introduced collaboratively with the involved users of all faculties and institutes over the next one and a half years. 

More information about Vidatum and the implementation will follow soon. For questions or suggestions, feel free to contact Robbert Bosch (r.a.bosch@science.leidenuniv.nl) or Dennis Janssen (d.c.f.m.janssen@bb.leidenuniv.nl).