Somewhere I remember Frank saying the research level was combination of designer (other designers later on when we are familiar with the concept), number of people assigned to it and past knowledge. So I guess it is possible to exceed your designer's rating.
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I wrote this at exactly the same time as Robert's. I would go with what he says

At the moment though, as we are being eased into this, I understand that we are all at or near the designer's level.