Who? Me?

Setting out the expectations and responsibilities of researchers, their managers, employers and funders, copies of the "Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers" were sent out to all Universities. But I am constantly surprised by the lack of awareness of the document by its intended audience. Even more, I am surprised by the lack of awareness of its principles.

Post-docs are notoriously difficult to engage because of their single-minded focus on the research in hand. This suits the PI and the researcher pushing forward their career, but there are drawbacks for all concerned.  All too soon, the money runs out, the next round of funding has to be applied for, and in the competitive funding world, if you are not equipped with the relevant skills and training, the options soon run out. From the funders' point of view, this is a huge waste of resources and opportunities.

Take the principle that employers and funders should recognise the importance of retaining researchers with the highest potential to achieve excellence in research. What is your institution doing towards this?

Individual researchers share the responsibility to engage in their own learning and development. What are you doing towards this?

I'd like to hear your experiences of these principles in action - or in their absence!

If you didn't get a copy, download one from http://www.researchconcordat.ac.uk/. And if you insist you don't have time even to read the 24-page glossy picture document, then read about it here. I'll try to get through it all in 'spare-moment-while-my-simulations-are-running' sized chunks.

Got a question or a problem? I look forward to chatting to you about it here.