D6 - Action on the wellbeing and mental health of research staff

Workshop overview: 

Recently, there has been increased interest in the wellbeing and mental health of students in higher education, particularly of undergraduates. Less attention has been paid to the wellbeing and mental health of doctoral researchers and even less to how these issues affect research staff. Not only do poor wellbeing and mental health have a devastating impact on individuals, they have the potential to affect researcher engagement, progression and retention, and disrupt the training and development of the new generation of researchers. To produce world-class research, we must provide a healthy and supportive research environment that allows researchers to flourish.

This interactive workshop will invite you to consider the key wellbeing and mental health issues for research staff. You will have the opportunity to share your experience and ideas on the support that research staff need and the actions around wellbeing and mental health required from four stakeholder groups; institutions, principal investigators, funders and researchers themselves. The resulting discussion will inform the revision of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers through consideration of how wellbeing and mental health can be embedded into the principles of the Concordat.

Workshop topics covered: 

• What are the key issues around the wellbeing and mental health of research staff?
• How can wellbeing and mental health be integrated into the Concordat?
• How can funders, institutions, principal investigators and researchers support the wellbeing and mental health of research staff?

Themes covered: 

• Research staff and supply of talent; strategies and practice, developing a pipeline of research talent through strategies to attract and retain researchers.
• Research environment and culture; shaping an inclusive research environment; wellbeing and mental health, gender equality and diversity research integrity and open research.
• Engaging research leaders, principal investigators and supervisors in professional development and nurturing the careers of researchers.
• Continuing professional development of those involved in the development of researchers.

Workshop outcomes: 

By the end of the workshop, participants should: 

• Have an enhanced understanding of the key wellbeing and mental health issues for research staff;
• Have had the opportunity to share existing practice and talk about support for research staff and actions around wellbeing and mental health for funders, institutions, principal investigators and researchers;
• Have had the opportunity to inform the revision of the Concordat.

Format: 

interactive session, sharing experience, ideas, and best practice