New resource to support the leadership development of early career researchers and academics
Vitae is pleased to publish a new resource entitled ‘Developing the next generation: A guidance and good practice resource for the leadership development of early career researchers and academics’.
This downloadable resource is the primary output from a research project led by Brunel University London and Vitae, in partnership with four other UK universities and supported by funding from the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education under the Innovation and Transformation scheme.
The research project
Research leaders from different universities and disciplines were invited through interview to look into their everyday experiences within research communities. Through qualitative analysis and consultation with the sector, the interviews were distilled into their salient themes and messages for all stakeholders within institutions, including line managers of researchers, HR, staff developers, and senior management.
The outputs
The resulting resource includes a series of toolkits for use by staff developers and academic and research leaders, and a series of guidance and reflection sheets for use with and by early career researchers and academics themselves. The guidance throughout the resource provides recommendations about good practice in effective performance management by academic and research leaders in the development of early career academics and research staff, taking account of the steps to becoming a successful leader encapsulated in the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF).
What next?
At the coming Vitae event, Developing the next generation of research leaders, Dr Fiona Denney and Dr Katie Wheat will lead a workshop to introduce the final resource to the sector and showcase the resource in practice. This workshop is part of the continuing conversation around the resource, including the implications for leadership development in institutions, and recommendations for the future.
