Actions and Achievements

Key institutional level successes since publication of the concordat action plan

While we have had to adapt and shift priorities due to Covid-19, progress against our action plan in Year 1 include:  

  • Clear communication of the expectation that researchers will engage continued professional development and what that means – see our Continued Professional Development webpages for more details
  • New online learning opportunities for researchers, PIs and supervisors
  • Pilot coaching and secondment programmes for research-only staff- learning from these will be embedded into future support and programmes
  • Recognition of the important role that research-only staff often play in PGR supervision: the UofG PGR Code of Practice was updated in 2021 to recognise this and we participated in developing and piloting the Associate Recognised Supervisor award via the UKCGE in Spring / Summer 2021 
  • New Q&A series with funders for researchers - see Events Series for more details
  • Initial analysis of research-only staff data to inform future initiatives and inform our work on precarity of research contracts  
  • Supported new networks for PGRs and research-only staff – e.g., the Late-career early-career network - view a selection of networks for PGRs and research-only staff on our Communities Webpages

Highlights of college level actions and achievements  

The Researcher Development Team lead on University wide actions, with local College actions being driven by different committees, forums and groups across the Colleges, Schools and Institutes. Actions and achievements in Year 1 include (but are not limited to):  

College of Arts

  • Hosted workshops for PIs on ‘PDRAs and Career Development’ – raising awareness of the Concordat and responsibilities for PIs plus an opportunity to discuss actions and support for both PIs and ECRs.  
  • Established CoA Network - bringing together ECRs and PIs from everywhere in the college on a regular basis to share resources and ideas for the support of postdocs' careers. 
  • Developed a Concordat Moodle site for ECRs - Arts Concordat Moodle – this will serve as a repository for useful resources for the career support of ECRs and PIs to easily access.  
  • Planned a series of Concordat workshops for ECRs on career development.  

College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences

  • Participation by ECRs in College management group meetings and regular dialogue with College leadership 
  • An ECR-led survey to understand concerns during the pandemic 
  • Liaison with central organisational units to ensure communications with ECRs and improved awareness of support 
  • A review of access to Promotion for research-only staff, resulting in a change to the promotions policy to allow ECRs to reapply if unsuccessful, as well as allowing more than one round of applications in a year.  
  • Identifying opportunities to adopt and develop College-wide approaches to mentoring 

College of Science and Engineering

  • Researcher engagement – the Dean of Research is working with PDRAs to identify areas where support is required, ensuring researchers are contributing to ongoing engagement to develop action plan. This is being fed into ECR committee meetings for activities going forward. 
  • Research Introductions Zoomposia - provide networking opportunities for new staff and ECRs.
  • Expanded the College’s Early Career Development programme, also integrating the PDRA Peer Mentoring Programme. All seminar/training sessions were recorded and made freely available. 
  • CoSE Fellowship Process - the College’s process for supporting fellowship applicants was revised in 2021.

College of Social Sciences

  • Developed a CoSS Concordat Action Plan to focus on College specific priorities and actions to support for ECRs and PIs 
  • Developed plans for piloting a ‘pool’ of research staff who would work on a number of projects as they come in, with a longer or open-ended contract, in the School of Education.  Evaluation of the pilot will include whether costs are covered and PI and researcher experience 
  • Co-ordinated a joint CoSS/CoA fellowship support programme for ECRs  
  • Focused on improving College level induction for ECRs – including developing a new induction moodle for ECRs and reviewing the communication of induction processes with PIs  
  • Developed guidance on ‘good research management’ for PIs to reflect all PI responsibilities which brings together information from a number of sources 
  • Delivered a workshop on ‘good line management practice’ and developed guidance for line managers/ PIs on good line management