C8 Workshop summary and outcomes

Creating leaders and managers for the future

Dr Liz Kemp, Professional Development Advisor and Ann Rooke, Training and Development Manager, University of Newcastle

Overview

The early career researchers of today are the principal investigators (PIs), vice-chancellors and chief executives of the future. The challenge for institutions is to develop our researchers as effective leaders and agents of change, even before they are in positions of formal authority. This workshop examined the approach that University of Newcastle is taking to develop leadership and management skills in researchers at all stages of their careers and gave the opportunity to discuss how other institutions are addressing this challenge.

This session covered:

• the qualities and skills demonstrated by successful research leaders and managers: a framework for development
• the first steps to developing future research leaders
• outcomes and future developments.

Presentation summary

Participants first discussed ideas on the qualities of a successful research leader and were then asked how these matched to Newcastle's framework, which is organised under four headings: inspiring others, looking to the future, working together and taking responsibility.

The University of Newcastle's leadership and management development programme begins with provision for the early career researcher (including introduction to management and leadership workshops and researcher summer schools) and continues through to development centres for strategic leaders. The workshop focussed on describing provision for early and mid career research staff:

• Principal Investigator development: an open programme for new and aspiring PIs
• Faculty futures: for experienced research staff and early career academics
• Development centres for research leaders.

Participants opened a discussion around the merits and demerits of accreditation for these types of programmes. Although there are obvious advantages for status, take-up, CV-building and so on, accreditation leads to a loss of flexibility for the HE institution. Any course would need to run number a of times to check that it works before having it accredited. Researcher development in institutions needs to be constantly changing, developing and responding - accreditation would hinder this.

There was also discussion of the mentoring scheme between research staff and volunteer senior academics at the university. Mentors (who attend compulsory training) and mentees are matched across discipline areas. The scheme is mentee driven and after the initial agreement between mentor and mentee, there is no recording of the confidential meetings. The pilot was launched in one faculty in 2005 and after one year there were 24 mentor/mentee pairs. The university is rolling out the scheme across the institution and is planning to test the scheme with early career research staff as mentors and third year postgraduate mentees.

Discussion outcomes

Participants demonstrated an awareness of qualities of successful managers and leaders in research and discussed the development of a behavioural framework which reflects these qualities.

The session demonstrated the key role for a developmental ‘route map' which meets the needs of individual researchers at all stages of their career.

The workshop enabled an investigation of different activities which can address developmental gaps, such as mentoring schemes and development centres.

View the  C8 presentation slides

View Anne Rooke's handout