What are the possible outcomes for researcher training and development activity? Broad and open consideration of questions such as these by the Rugby Team during the development phase of the RTIF led to the production of wide ranging lists of potential outcomes of researcher development activity. Full details are in the Rugby Team Impact Framework (Figure 2 p9, Figure 3 p10 and Tables A3 - A6 p21-24).
Table 1. Some potential suggested outcomes of researcher development activity taken from the RTIF
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Potential outcome
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Short term
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- better (more and broader) skilled researchers
- greater researcher wellbeing
- more contented/satisfied researchers, who have enjoyed a positive experience
- better focussed researchers, more self-aware and reflective, likely to be more productive (and sustainably so)
- more career opportunities available, because better skilled researchers are more attractive to a wider range of employees
- improved research output
- more and better quality publications
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Longer term
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- more satisfying and productive supervisory experience
- researchers are easier to supervise (more independent, confident, self-aware, better skilled)
- faster transition from HE to beyond for trained researchers
- growth of spin-outs and start-ups by trained researchers
- less ‘internal' company training needed
- more mobile workforce, moving in/out of HE
- more researchers contributing to innovation and knowledge transfer
- increased collaborative and interdisciplinary research
- better equipped and more highly skilled academic and research workforce
- ability to demonstrate value for money and justify government investment in research training and skills development
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