The Systems Approach – Research or Research Management

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the management of larger multidisciplinary research projects in the existing agricultural experiment station framework. Through a recounting of changes occurring in agriculture and their implications for research, the need for research management is established. Next, systems analysis is introduced as a means for organizing the quantity and variety of resources involved in large multidisciplinary research projects. After a discussion of the requirements for engaging in systems analysis, suggestions are made for organizing research through the systems analysis approach. An example, with diagrams, is used to help clarify the discussion and to strengthen the argument that systems analysis constitutes a potentially productive tool – both for primary research and for research management.