Research Development Review: The NORDP Journal is the first journal solely dedicated to the profession of research development, a young but fast-growing profession focused on advancing research and researchers.

NORDP https://nordp.org/ is the National Organization of Research Development Professionals. NORDP was established in 2010 as part of a grassroots movement to build a community of Research Development professionals driven to enhance the research enterprise at their institutions. The organization grew from an informal network of individuals engaged in research development activities at universities and research institutions across the United States and is now more than 1,500 members strong, representing a diverse set of institutions and sectors, and including RD professionals from around the globe. The association’s mission is to increase the capacity for and impact of research, scholarship and creative endeavors by promoting excellence in the practice of research development. NORDP has members on the MCV and Monroe Park campuses at VCU.

“The new journal fills a huge gap in the scholarly literature in a growing field of specialization in academic institutions,” said VCU Research Data Librarian Nina Exner, Ph.D. Exner serves on the journal's board as Co-Managing Editor for Publication and Design.  

Research Development Review is published on Scholars Compass, VCU’s open-access publishing platform. The journal joins eight other peer-reviewed, open-access journals supported by VCU Libraries’ publishing services. Readers can download the issue or individual articles or read it online. The next issue will be published in fall 2026.  

Editor-in-chief Dave Stone who serves as  Vice President for Research at Oakland University, says the journal is a step forward. "Research development, whether at universities or more specialized institutes, helps shape and support research in all those domains. Having a journal that focuses on research development as a field of study, focusing on how we do what we do and why it matters, is a welcome step in our development as a profession." 

The inaugural issue features more than 130 pages of articles – case reports, commentaries, review articles, theoretical/conceptual pieces – and spans research development across a range of geography and practice. Articles in the inaugural issue include these: 

• “Out of Alignment: Grant Administrator and Principal Investigator Views on Internal Grant Success” 
• “A Systematic Review of Factors Supporting Early-Career Grant Success for Faculty in STEM and Medicine”
• “Moving Toward Better-Defined Research Support Roles: Piloting Postdoctoral Training for Research Development”
• “‘Investing in Mid-Career Faculty: A Strategic Approach to Research Excellence”
• “A Practitioner’s Guide to Systematic Analysis of Reviewer Feedback”
• “Academic Proposal Management: Expanding the Impact of Research Development”