RIS welcomes three new Directors
13 January 2023
Research and Innovation Services (RIS) recently welcomed three new Directors, marking an exciting new phase for our Division.
![UCL Portico building with banners spelling out welcome](https://www.ucl.ac.uk/research-innovation-services/sites/research_innovation_services/files/styles/large_image/public/ucl-portico-welcome-banner.jpg?itok=GTcx6IfR)
The arrival of our new directors marks the introduction of four RIS portfolios - Award Services, Contract Services, Planning, Insight and Improvement and Compliance and Assurance. You can find out more about our new Directors below.
Director of Awards Services
Daniela Amadio joined RIS on 3 January 2023 as Director of Awards Services. Daniela will lead our Pre-Award, Post-Award, the European Research and Innovation Office (ERIO), and Studentships teams, who provide end-to-end support services for UCL's academic community, from proposal development, costing, and submission to income classification, award setup, and active project management.
Daniela was previously Director of Research Grants at Kings College London and brings a wealth of experience in funding administration to the role.
Director of Compliance and Assurance
Gail Adams joined RIS on 9 January 2023 as our Director of Compliance and Assurance. Gail will lead our newly formed Compliance and Assurance team, which will manage and oversee key audit, due diligence, compliance, and assurance activities relating to research and innovation across UCL.
Prior to joining UCL, Gail was the Research Ethics and Governance Manager at Exeter University and comes with a huge amount of experience in developing and embedding institutional support for research compliance and assurance.
Director of Planning, Insight and Improvement
Sinéad Kennedy joined RIS as our Director of Planning, Insight and Improvement on 1 November 2022. Sinéad will lead a team responsible for partnering with the wider UCL community to identify and deliver on improvement opportunities, undertaking horizon scanning, participating in institutional business planning, and improving the research data we use to inform our business objectives.
Sinéad previously led the Research and Innovation Support Transformer (RIST), playing an instrumental role in the development of our new services, and has also held several roles at UCL as Director of the BEAMS and subsequently SLMS Research Coordination teams. Sinéad brings both leadership experience and a deep understanding of both institutional priorities and the academic perspective to the role.
Director of Contract Services: update
The search for our Director of Contract Services is currently underway. Whilst our search is underway, our Contract Services team is being managed by Claire Glen (Executive Director of Research and Innovation Services) until further notice.