D5 - Research culture: visions of 2035

Workshop overview: 

This is one of a series of workshops run by the Royal Society throughout the UK as part of its Research Culture work program. These are engaging with all those who influence, and are influenced by, the culture of research. Through the workshops we are constructing a bold and imaginative vision of excellent research culture, and exploring the interventions in key areas of insight that might help move towards that ideal.

We are focussing on how the many forces that shape research culture act in combination, not isolation. This encompasses systems of funding and evaluation, the different career paths that exist in the research environment, and the way researchers are enabled to collaborate between sectors and across borders. 

During the workshop we will use futures techniques to explore what an ideal research culture would look like. Futures is routinely used in government to structure thinking about uncertainty, complexity and the longer term. We have worked with artists and designers to generate a series of objects and a set of scenarios to provoke new and different thinking. We want to enable challenging perspectives to be explored, and encourage creative thinking about problems and solutions.

Workshop topics covered: 

• Research career paths: fluidity, intersectorality, braided careers, non-linear research careers
• Adjusting drivers to enable and promote positive contributions to the research ecosystem
• Skill provision in a changing research landscape

Themes covered:

• Meeting the future development needs of researchers for a wide range of careers in and beyond academia
• Attracting and retaining highly skilled researchers including global, European and UK policy developments

Workshop outcomes: 

By the end of the workshop, participants should: 

• Gain understanding of how their area(s) of expertise intersects with other forces that shape the culture of research
• Develop awareness of the role they can play in propagating good research culture
• Have the opportunity to challenge orthodoxy and reimagine existing systems within the research environment, to influence the Royal Society’s policy work

Format: 

Cabaret set up – small group round table discussion. 8-10 per group is desirable but will be impacted by the total number of participants.

We will be bringing materials with us, in addition to the laptop, data projector, screen, flip chart, coloured pens and Post-It notes provided.