Leadership role
Director of Research
Directs an organization's research or evaluation work.
Reporting and scope
Reports to the Executive Director / CEO, Chief Program Officer or VP of Research. Authority covers the research or evaluation unit and the standards it applies to studies across the organization.
Core responsibilities
- Sets the research agenda and chooses which studies to run
- Designs program evaluations and outcome measurement for funders and the board
- Writes research sections of grant proposals and manages resulting awards
- Oversees data collection, human subjects protections and IRB review where required
- Publishes findings in reports, briefs and journals
- Supervises research and evaluation staff and outside partners
How it differs
The VP of Research and Chief Science Officer set institution-wide research strategy above this level. A Principal Investigator leads individual funded studies, while the Director of Research manages the unit and its portfolio. The Chief Data Officer owns data infrastructure rather than studies.
By organization size
At a small advocacy or service group the role may be a one-person evaluation function. At research institutes and large foundations it leads a staff of researchers and a multi-million-dollar grant portfolio.
Filings from the last five years mapped to this role commonly report titles such as: Director of Research; Research Director; Director, Research; Senior Director of Research; Research Dir; Director of Research & Evaluation