A recent study, carried out for the 1994 Group of research intensive universities, endorses the importance of Roberts Funding for enhancing skills training and career development opportunities for postgraduate research students and postdoctoral researchers.
A summary report on the outcomes of this survey was launched at the Neil Stewart Associates Postgraduate Conference on 29 January 2009.
Overall, the study shows that, as a result of Roberts' funding, skills training and related support for early career researchers are now firmly embedded within institutions, and that the amount, range, and quality of training and other support has improved considerably.
For example, the survey demonstrates that, in 1994 Group institutions, the Roberts' funding has:
- increased financial resources available for skills training of all postgraduate research students and postdoctoral researchers
- promoted more effective resource management and planning
- improved coordination of training provision
- widened scope and extent of training programmes
- motivated engagement of researchers with skills development
- enhanced support for Supervisors and Principal Investigators
- assisted provision of Researchers' Induction
- improved personal development planning and record keeping practices
- encouraged researchers' feedback and representation
- facilitated better inter- and intra-university collaborations
- stimulated researcher-led innovations
- extended networking and mentoring within the research community
- raised awareness of and skills in knowledge transfer
- broadened employer engagement and researcher-specific careers' advice
The survey provides good evidence that Roberts' funding is achieving what it set out to do. It is helping universities to improve the provision of generic development opportunities for early career researchers and to enhance their personal, professional, and career management skills. Allocation of Roberts' funding is also having wider beneficial effects by encouraging universities to develop innovative approaches, collaborations and projects to i) enhance the generic development of early career researchers, ii) improve their awareness of and skills in knowledge transfer, and iii) facilitate better employer engagement and researcher-specific careers' advice.
As a result of the provision of Roberts' funding, institutions have invested, sometimes considerable, amounts of their own financial and other resources to support the expansion of training provision, the employment of new support staff, and the development of Graduate Schools. Quality Related (QR) research funding, for example, is proving to be a vital avenue through which institutions can fully support the breadth of their early stage research communities.
However, although institutions have invested a significant amount of their own resources to supplement Roberts' funding, there is clearly a need for this funding to continue. This would enable the excellent innovations that are being put in place, many still at early or conceptual stages, to be fully developed and implemented for both the benefit of our early career researchers and of the wider UK research community.
Professor Dianne Berry
Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Reading and Chair of the 1994 Group Research and Enterprise Policy Group
NOTES
The 1994 Group represents a combined community of nearly 17,000 PGRs and nearly 5,000 Post-Docs. Almost half are scientists & engineers (60% at Post-Doc level), and one-third social scientists. 1994 Group members receive a combined total of nearly £4m annually from the Roberts' fund. This comes from all 7 Research Councils, but almost half from EPSRC.
Members of the 1994 Group are: University of Bath, Durham University, University of East Anglia, University of Essex, University of Exeter, Birkbeck University of London, Goldsmiths University of London, Royal Holloway University of London, Lancaster University, University of Leicester, Loughborough University, Queen Mary University of London, University of Reading, University of St Andrews, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of Surrey, University of Sussex and University of York.
The survey was undertaken by Dr Ruth Neiland and a research team at the University of St Andrews GRADskills & Research Policy Office. Responses were received from all eighteen 1994 Group universities to a questionnaire on the use and impact of Roberts' funding. Seven institutions also provided additional information in the form of the annual Summary Report submitted to RCUK in 2007.
Press release on the summary report by Group 1994