Manage your professional development with the Vitae RDF Planner
How often do we find when getting ready for a progress review, or putting together a CV that we struggle to remember what we’ve achieved? Using the RDF Planner means that when you reach such a point, it’s already documented, held in one place and easy to lay your hands on.
The RDF Planner has been developed by Vitae as an interactive, straightforward way for researchers to manage their professional development. It is based on the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF).
If you are not familiar with the structure of the RDF, you can watch an introduction to it. Introduction to the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF) from Vitae on Vimeo. Or read the RDF overview
The Planner enables you to:
- keep a record of all your professional development activities in one place
- identify your current expertise and capabilities
- print reports for discussions with mentors, supervisors, career advisors etc.
- record your learning and development goals and monitor progress
- upload files such as CVs, conference details, testimonials to record your achievements
- view the attributes of successful researchers through different "lenses".
Scope of the RDF Planner
The RDF Planner is for researchers, from first-year doctoral candidates to research staff to principal investigators. It covers all aspects of their roles, for example research, teaching and learning, career development, impact and knowledge transfer. It allows individuals to take different routes through the Framework according to personal priorities and learning styles.
The RDF Planner enables you to record evidence to articulate your transferable experience to industrial and public sector employers, as well as to those in academia. The employers who contributed to the validation of the RDF recognised its value. Several noted a similarity between the RDF and their organisations' own professional development frameworks. The lenses on the RDF can also help you explore particular transferable skills relating specific professional areas.
Accessing the RDF Planner
If you are a researcher and you wish to explore the RDF Planner please check with your institution, in the first instance, to see if they have taken up a subscription. Alternatively you can subscribe to the Planner by individual subscription for £24 per year.
Once you are subscribed, you will be able to log on to the Planner from any internet-connected device to access your own plans and records. The Planner provides options to identify your strengths and professional development priorities and create plans to meet them. You can store evidence of your activities and achievements and generate reports for yourself and others. Within you can access resources to guide your planning. The Planner has been designed to be clear and easy to use and includes a ‘walk-through’ video.
The-new-Vitae-Researcher-Development-Framework-Planner from Vitae on Vimeo.
Indepth RDF Planner tutorial
If you are a researcher developer and you wish to use the Planner within your organisation for your researchers, please see further information or contact Vitae.
How are other researchers using the RDF?
View some researcher profiles to see a range of approaches.
Conditions of use
Conditions of use for the Vitae Researcher Development Framework
