A Summary Description of OERC’s Research Funding Process

Abstract

The Office Ergonomics Research Committee (OERC) is a consortium of companies who work to advance ergonomic research and to disseminate research findings for use in designing and managing work places, systems, processes, and products. A unique aspect of OERC is its membership, which consists of both product designers and end-users. The resulting dialog between members results in a fertile interaction of ideas regarding gaps in the research base concerning computer-related work, which in turn shapes the OERC research agenda. During the past six years, OERC has funded 24 studies on various topics such as sit/stand work, mouse design, gestural input, lighting, and student computer use. In this presentation, the organization of OERC, its process for determining research priorities, the funding process, and the research that has been funded are described. OERC has proven to be an effective tool for the advancement and promotion of the human factors and ergonomics knowledge base regarding computer use.