RESEARCH MANAGERS TRAINING: NEEDS AND IMPACT

Abstract

In the present study, the assessment of training needs for three kinds of research managers of EMBRAPA - Brazilian Corporation for Agricultural Research showed that these needs may be different, according to the manager's role. For the three roles (Research Unit head, adjunct-head and vice-head) studied, however, the knowledge area called "Technology Evaluation and Transfer" was the greatest training priority. Each training priority was then considered as a dependent variable in regression models, where the hipothetized predictors were personal and organizational features concerned to each manager. Testing of these models has suggested that the manager's needs, besides depending on their roles, also depend on their academic degrees; kind of link with the corporation; research experience time; research management experience time; interest for management courses; and, finally, previous enrollment in research management courses. This last evidence was extremely relevant for evaluating the impact of training on the manager's performance. Therefore, besides resulting in data for course planning, the assessment of training needs used in this study was useful as an independent method for the external validation of a manager training program already finished.