Research Staff Training Programme

What is the rationale for doing this?

How does it fit with institutional strategy?

What are the main features of the provision?

What are the aims and expected outcomes?

Since 2006 Lancaster has increased its provision of professional and personal development of research staff. We have gradually built up our capacity to deliver the workshops including engaging external consultants and tapping into internal expertise.

Alongside career advice, this central training provision forms the core activity for Research Staff Development. It is an important part of the University’s strategy for addressing the Roberts Agenda/fulfilment of the Concordat.

The aims and outcomes are multiple according to the area of training provision. Generally the aim and expected outcome is an increase in the skills, knowledge, competence and confidence of research staff regarding the area of focus within each programme.

Outcomes include increased sense of responsibility on the part of research staff for considering and responding to their own development needs, development of transferable skills and increased  productivity in current post.

Are there any pre-requisites for engagement, e.g. levels of skill, years of experience, essential pre-activities?

How many participate in each 'activity'?

None presently.

Specific training programmes for Researchers tend attract between 6 to 10 participants, depending on the topic and the time-of-year.

How do you monitor effectiveness?

Who do you seek feedback from?

Do you have benchmarks?

Feedback suggests that research staff gain in various ways including an increase in their: transferable skills, personal confidence, careers and employability awareness, feeling they are part of a wider research community, and networking with peers and senior academics. The institution is supportive of the range of activities on offer to meet the needs of research staff.

Promoting and delivering this service to a constantly shifting population is hard work. Trying to use every communication channel at our disposal is one of the methods to try and manage this challenge.

Sustaining the provision is the current main focus for the future (both from the perspective of financial resources and also from the perspective of securing viable numbers of Researchers participating in the provision), as well as long-term cultivation of a culture of support and development for Researchers across the institution.