RKE tools

Practical tools used inside the improvement work.

Focused tools that reduce repeated administration, make existing information easier to use and support a clearer human decision. They are enablers of improvement, not another system to feed.

Research operations colleagues working through evidence together

Our design principle

Technology should remove friction, not create another system to feed.

We begin with the task, the source information and the accountable human decision. Each solution has a clear route to review anything that needs judgement.

RKE Reconcile

Pilot walkthroughs

Turn grant reconciliation from a spreadsheet exercise into a clear view of the award.

RKE Reconcile uses finance exports and project information your team already holds to make spend, commitments, variance and reporting easier to see. It is designed to reduce repeated manual handling while keeping people in control of the review.

Explore the tool

Input: Finance system exports and award information
Work: Structured checks, reconciliation and exception review
Outcome: A clearer award position and report for the project lead

RKE Scout

Design partner programme

Connect relevant opportunities with the people and partnerships best placed to respond.

RKE Scout brings funding intelligence and researcher information together. The aim is not to send more alerts; it is to make opportunity matching more relevant, consistent and explainable.

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Input: Funding calls, research interests and organisational priorities
Work: Eligibility, relevance and expertise matching
Outcome: A focused set of opportunities and possible matches

RKE Companion

In use

Give people practical funder guidance at the point they need to act.

RKE Companion turns approved funder terms, policy and working guidance into a more accessible route through common research operations questions. It supports consistent decisions without pretending every case is the same.

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Input: Approved guidance, policies and funder requirements
Work: Question-led navigation with source-aware guidance
Outcome: A clearer answer, next action and route to human review

REF 2029 Assurance

Early partner conversations

Keep decisions, evidence and progress visible as REF work develops.

REF 2029 Assurance helps teams record decisions, responsibilities, supporting evidence and review activity in one controlled view. It is designed to strengthen institutional oversight without creating a parallel burden for contributors.

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Input: Plans, decisions, evidence, owners and review dates
Work: Structured tracking, prompts and assurance views
Outcome: A visible evidence trail and clearer progress picture

Explore a practical tool

Which part of the work is still taking too much effort?

Show us the task, the information and the decision around it. We will tell you whether one of our tools fits—or whether a simpler process change would help more.

Book a 30-minute operations review