• About us
  • Contact us
  • Search

You are not logged in:

Deleted

Breadcrumbs

The Researcher Development Statement (RDS)

The Researcher Development Statement (RDS) summarises the knowledge, behaviours and attributes of effective and highly skilled researchers in a useful format for policymakers and research organisations who are planning the support and development of researchers in higher education.

The RDS is structured in four domains, which encompass what researchers need to know to do research, how to be effective in their approach to research, when working with others, and in contributing to the wider environment. Within each of the domains are three sub-domains and associated descriptors, which describe different aspects of being a researcher.

 

Domain A: Knowledge and intellectual abilities

The knowledge, intellectual abilities and techniques to do research.

 Domain B: Personal effectiveness

The personal qualities and approach needed to be an effective researcher.
Domain C: Research governance and organisation

The knowledge of the standards, requirements and professionalism to do research.

Domain D: Engagement, influence and impact

The knowledge and skills to work with others and ensure the wider impact of research.

The Researcher Development Statement is an evolution of the Research Councils’ Joint Skills Statement (JSS) and replaces the JSS as the key reference statement for the development of postgraduate researchers’ skills and attributes and researchers employed in higher education. All the skills and attributes of the JSS have been incorporated into the RDS and their distribution is identified in the table below. A two-way mapping of the RDS and the JSS is available on the RDF section of the Vitae website.

The Researcher Development Statement is derived from the Researcher Development Framework (RDF), a major new approach to researcher development, which aims to enhance our capacity to build the UK workforce, develop world-class researchers and build our research base.

The RDS and associated RDF aim to contribute to researcher training and development in the UK by providing a strategic statement (RDS) and operational framework (RDF) to support the implementation of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers , the QAA Code of practice for research degree programmes  and the ‘Roberts’  recommendations for postgraduate researchers and research staff.

For more information and to comment on the Researcher Development Framework and associated statement go to www.vitae.ac.uk/rdf