Concordat Writing Group
Up-to-date information relating to the Concordat can now be accessed via this new self-contained website. This page is under review and will be revised shortly.
“A revised Concordat will not only help sustain the UK’s research excellence, but through a supply of highly talented researchers also bring benefits to the health, economy and well-being of our society”
“If our collective input helps create a better future environment for researchers then it is surely time well spent” from the HEPI blog”
The revised Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers has presented an exciting opportunity for the Concordat Writing Group.
The many stakeholder views gathered from the consultation that the Concordat Strategy Group (CSG) launched in October, will be used to inform the revision of the Concordat.
The role of the Concordat Writing Group is to:
- agree the format of the revised Concordat to ensure it is kept current
- draft the new text incorporating the findings from the consultation
- identify good practice examples using the outcomes from the consultation
The group was set up in January 2019 and consists of 11 representatives from a variety of roles including, researchers, principal investigators, senior institutional management, researcher developers, HR specialists, funders, professional bodies, and non-HE employers.
A draft of the revised Concordat was delivered to the CSG at the beginning of May 2019, at which point it was shared more broadly with specific sector groups. The feedback from this period of reflection was taken into account by the CSG who subsequently guided the direction of the Writing Group in finalising the new Concordat throughout the summer of 2019.
The new Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, known as the Researcher Development Concordat, will be launched on 12th Septemeber 2019.
Dianne Berry, Chair of the Concordat Writing Group has commented on the developments being made:
‘As chair of the concordat writing group, I thought I’d update you on our progress to date. I’m fortunate to have a team of ten working with me on the group, who come with a diverse range of skills and experiences, as active post-docs, senior researchers, research development managers, HR professionals, E&D leads, and senior managers. We are supported by three experienced staff from Vitae, two of whom sit on the Concordat Strategy Group.
We have spent our first six weeks reading and considering the Review Group report and the various responses to it. We have found the 593 responses from organisations and individuals to the consultation on the review group recommendations particularly helpful, and are very grateful to all who took time to make such informed and thoughtful contributions.
We have now drafted some revised principles, together with explanatory text, and are currently finessing these, in addition to thinking about the various expectations for the key stakeholders. This will then go to the Concordat Strategy Group for their consideration and feedback.
We hope to be testing out some of our initial thinking with the wider community in early Spring, and we very much look forward to your further input.’ February 2019
