Which phase is considered the benchmark for a postgraduate researcher (PGR)?

The Researcher Development Framework (RDF) is about highlighting to individual researchers the knowledge, behaviours and attributes that a successful researcher could develop to be better researchers. It is not designed to be ‘competency' framework against which performance is measured, and therefore does not identify a ‘benchmark' for a postgraduate researcher. However, the statements from the Joint Skills Statement (www.vitae.ac.uk/jss) are located within phases 1 and 2 of the RDF, which provides a rough indicator of the doctoral level requirements.

The phases represent distinct stages of development or level of performance within each descriptor. The RDF recognises that individuals will be at different phases of development for different descriptors depending on their experiences and abilities. Relevant phases (selected for their current and aspirational capabilities) are personal to the individual researcher.   

The RDF researcher profiles (www.vitae.ac.uk/rdfprofiles) illustrate the variation in experience and phase mapping between researchers at an early stage of their career.