Research Staff Futures

A suite of four resource-light professional and career development programmes to use with research staff.

Vitae, with the support of Research Councils UK, UK higher education funding Research Staff Futures logobodies and Hub host universities, has developed a suite of resource-light training and development programmes to support the professional development of research staff (e.g., postdoctoral research associates and fellows) during the early years of their career. These programmes offer flexible materials that can be run as a linked series of events, run independently, or adapted to complement existing provision for research staff.

About the programmes

Research Staff Futures: Enhancing Professional Effectiveness

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A one-day course, which aims to help new research staff make an effective start. It focuses on two important themes during the transition from doctoral candidate to employee; being more effective in the face of diverse and competing responsibilities, and working more effectively with others.

New research staff have to hit the ground running, often in the face of competing time pressures from multiple research projects and responsibilities. They might be primarily employed as researchers, but their responsibilities can be diverse and demanding, such as supervisory roles and managing collaborative research. Making an effective start and transitioning into the role quickly and smoothly can be essential to delivering results within a fixed-term contract.

The programme aims to boost personal effectiveness by giving research staff the opportunity to:

  • create a personal action plan
  • acknowledge the challenges of being a researcher
  • learn some task and time prioritisation methods
  • identify how to work more effectively with others
  • consider the impact of culture on working more effectively
  • recognise personal working preferences and those of others
  • understand how to have more effective conversations and collaborations
  • consider motivations for doing research and the best parts of doing research.

RDF learning outcomes:

Audience:

  • Research staff (e.g., postdoctoral research associates and fellows), within the first 3-12 months as contract research staff
  • Researchers at a later stage in their career, such as their second research contract or first established academic position may also benefit from this programme, particularly if they are taking on new supervisory roles, taking more responsibility in collaborations, or aspire to be more effective in managing competing priorities
  • This programme is not suitable for doctoral candidates

Logistics: One day or two half-days; 16-32 participants; one large flat room; one or two facilitators

Please note: This programme will not cover getting funding, writing research bids, or academic writing

"A very well thought-through programme that highlighted the complexities, joys and difficulties of being a research active staff member"

Research Staff Futures: Introducing Impact and Engagement

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A one-day course, which introduces research staff to the current ‘impact’ context and enables them to identify and engage with stakeholders, and to recognise the benefits and impact of research.

Research staff are increasingly expected to demonstrate their contribution to research excellence and impact, as well as communicating their research to varied audiences. Demonstrating the value of research can be crucial in many contexts, such as, in grant applications, during interviews, and in reports to funders.

During this programme research staff will have the opportunity to explore impact through:

  • building awareness of the potential impact of communicating with colleagues and stakeholders
  • understanding the wider research context
  • identifying the benefits and beneficiaries of research
  • increasing capability for communicating research
  • considering the economic aspects to research impact
  • building the necessary resources for successful and impactful research
  • taking responsibility for a personal action plan.

This programme draws on the current UK agendas of research impact, demonstrated by the funding bodies and grant holders, with a specific focus on applications for the individual researcher.

RDF learning outcomes:

Audience:

  • Research staff in their first or second contract
  • May be adapted for doctoral candidates or more established researchers with little experience of impact and research communication

Logistics: One day or two half-days; 16-32 participants; one large flat room; one or two facilitators

"It's a golden opportunity to really come to grips with what you're doing in a real-world perspective, and also a rare chance to try to explain it in simple terms"

Research Staff Futures: Progressing Your Academic Career

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A highly successful interactive one-day event, which explores the question of how to succeed in a competitive and complex research environment. This programme includes the opportunity to hear from successful academics about their career paths and aims to uncover those elements for success that are not always immediately obvious or transparent.

A research career, like most other careers, requires many elements in order to develop successfully. These elements are not always immediately obvious or transparent. This one-day programme explores the question of how to succeed in a competitive and complex research environment. Established and senior academics will present their career stories, give advice, and answer questions on advancing in an academic career.

During this programme research staff will have the opportunity to:

  • consider their own intended career path
  • consider the career choices available
  • meet with successful academics from a range of disciplines to hear how they advanced their academic career and to seek career advice
  • consider how to balance the requirements of improving skills and achievements with building a professional profile
  • review the current higher education environment
  • develop a strategic career action plan
  • network with fellow researchers.

RDF learning outcomes:

Audience:

  • Research staff
  • Suitable for those who aspire to a career in academia and those who are considering their options elsewhere
  • May be adapted for doctoral candidates
  • Can be delivered to research staff working in similar academic subjects or to researchers from a mixture of disciplines

Logistics: One day; 20-40 participants; one large flat room; up to five facilitators

“The event helped me to identify priorities and gain great insights into the complex nature of academia and the criteria for progression/advancement”

Research Staff Futures: Managing Your Career

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An interactive and intensive one or two-day programme that provides research staff with the opportunity, skills and tools to help them proactively engage in their own career development.

This programme enables research staff to gain a sense of direction and progression in their career by widening their understanding of what a career is and applying their own strengths, motivations, values and talents to their career planning.

A career in academia is far from the only or most common career option open to research staff. This programme offers participants the opportunity to:

  • broaden their horizons to career possibilities within and beyond research and the higher education sector
  • reflect more clearly on their career so far
  • consider where they would like to be in the future and make a plan to get there
  • widen their understanding of what a career is
  • develop tools and techniques to explore your strengths, motivations, values and talents and apply these to your career planning
  • consider potential jobs to explore further
  • consider what makes an effective CV
  • commit to an action plan for their personal and career development.

RDF learning outcomes:

Audience:

  • Research staff
  • Researchers who are looking ahead to their future career opportunities within or outside of academia
  • May be adaptable for late stage doctoral candidates

The programme is modular in design which allows individual institutions the option of running it as a two-day programme, two one-day programmes or four half-day sessions. It can be delivered to research staff from a mix of disciplines. One facilitator and breakout room are needed per 6-8 participants.

“The course isolated key issues about what was important in choice of a career”

How to access the resources and run these programmes

The Research Staff Futures packaged programmes are available to download by Vitae members from the library of resources, subject to the conditions of use

Please for information and support to deliver these programmes in your institution.

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