Insights on the potential use, capability and readiness of AI in research management and administrative practices

Introduction: Artificial Intelligence (AI) has grown at a rapid pace, being used to resolve problems, increase operational efficiency, reduce repetitive tasks and facilitate innovation. There is a need for greater understanding of what AI is and what it isn’t, the utility and potential for AI implementation, the risks associated to AI such as ethics and governance, AI readiness, and the ability of AI to reduce administrative burden in the funding and management of health research.

Methods: A scoping review was undertaken to review and summarise the available evidence about the potential use, utility and consideration, capability and implementation of AI to address the following question: What does the evidence say about the use of AI (e.g., in use and in development) and what AI tools are available that could inform funders’ processes? Articles were limited to the last three years (2022-2024) and included two academic databases and three grey literature sources. A review of the web content of funding organisations was also conducted. Extraction, collation and summary of the evidence was carried out using a framework focusing on the utility and potential of AI and considerations and risks associated to the application of AI.

Findings and outcomes: The findings of the review will be presented under three themes: the utility and potential benefits of AI; considerations and risks; and reflections on ‘AI readiness’ and culture. Other themes (e.g., governance, ethics, security) identified from the literature also be explored. Key observations such as cultural issues and change in response to developments in AI, considerations about what processes and functions could be enhanced using AI, and where AI could add most benefit to those funding and managing research will also be a feature of the presentation.