Embedding professional development of researchers

Using the Researcher Development Framework in your institution

Use the Researcher Development Statement as a basis for aligning your institutions strategy with relevant UK policy such as the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, the QAA Code of Practice, the REF and the European Commission's HR Excellence in Research Award.

Inspire and empower researchers to engage with their professional development by using the Researcher Development Framework in your own institution to:

• build a strategic and operational framework for provision of formal and informal development opportunities for researchers, extending the legacy of the Joint Skills Statement to all researchers
• enable researchers to identify, articulate and evidence the transferability of their skills and make informed career choices
• encourage researchers to prepare for progress reviews, appraisals and career development conversations
• work with researchers to use the Researcher Development Framework Professional Development Planner to highlight personal development needs and create action plans.
• communicate researcher development and researcher capabilities to wider audiences including potential researchers, employers and the public

Practical ways to use the Researcher Development Framework in your institution

• Provide the Researcher Development Statement and briefings to key stakeholders and institutional committees to facilitate strategic planning for researcher development. www.vitae.ac.uk/rds
• Use the Researcher Development Statement to inform future training and development strategy within research degrees
• Map your institutional provision to the Researcher Development Statement and Framework; identify opportunities to build on existing training and development activities. www.vitae.ac.uk/resources
• Use the Vitae Database of Practice and Database of Resources which are already mapped to the Researcher Development Framework for ideas and benchmarking. www.vitae.ac.uk/resources
• Promote the Researcher Development Framework Personal Development Planner to researchers, through induction events, development activities and to researcher organisations and networks. www.vitae.ac.uk/rdfplanner
• Encourage colleagues with line management or supervisory responsibility for researchers to use the Researcher Development Framework in developing researchers. www.vitae.ac.uk/pi and www.vitae.ac.uk/supervisors
• Use the Researcher Development Framework as a way of communicating and raising awareness about researcher skills to researchers themselves and employers. www.vitae.ac.uk/employers