A short guide to Research Culture and funding applications
Funders are placing increasingly emphasis on ensuring that their investments contribute to and strengthen a positive research culture environment. This guide covers areas for applicants to consider when developing funding proposals and signposts some relevant initiatives at the University.
Areas to Consider/Demonstrate
Building and sustaining a positive research culture
- Committed leadership and values
- Support for career development, training, mentoring and pastoral care
- Fair and transparent methods and incentives for reward and recognition
Team Science
- Effective communication and collaboration across multidisciplinary teams and stakeholders
- How the team will work together
- Consideration of whole talent pool – for early to senior career stages
Physical environment and infrastructure
- Commitment to sharing facilities and equipment
- Use of space to create opportunities for interaction and outreach
- Tools, platforms and shared facilities and equipment to promote and facilitate collaboration
Good practice and open research
- Approach to ensuring good research practice detailed
- Adoption of open research practices as the default way of working
- Alignment with the FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) data principles
Public involvement and engagement (PI&E)
- Integration of meaningful public involvement and engagement into research strategy and delivery
- Purpose of PI&E clearly defined
- Suitable people involved in the research at the right time(s)
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
- Integration of EDI into experimental design, all activities and governance
- Understanding that EDI is fundamental to good science
- Coherence with funder expectations / policies
Research Culture at the University of Glasgow
The University’s values set standards for the University community and recognise that research thrives when researchers feel part of an engaging, fair, and collegial environment in which people help each other to succeed.
In 2019, the University of Glasgow identified five research culture priorities: Career Development, Research Recognition, Open Research, Research Integrity, and Collegiality and established a Culture Action Plan to tackle these five areas.
This Action Plan can be found in the Institutional Strategic Priorities for Research Culture 2020-2025. Reporting takes place annually through an institutional statement on research culture.
A new Research Culture and Researcher Development portfolio was established in Research Services in 2022/23.
Examples of University research culture initiatives:
The Research Culture Commons – open to all members of the University research ecosystem and provides a framework for connecting colleagues to share insights and resources on research culture, develop solutions to the challenges we face and celebrate excellent practice.
Pathfinder - a collaboration between specialist developers, careers professionals, academics, alumni, and employers which aims to ensure the best support is available to staff as they navigate their careers.
The Talent Lab for Research Leaders – a cohort-based, strategic leadership development programme which aims to equip research staff with the leadership skills, knowledge and behaviours that will support them to lead research groups and win large-scale funding.
The People Make Research project – encourages postgraduate researchers and research staff to recognise and thank the people who contribute positively to the University’s thriving research environment.
InFrame – a Wellcome-funded collaboration with the University of Edinburgh and the University of St Andrews to explore how collegiality can be fostered, recognised and rewarded.
University policies and commitments:
Code of Good Practice in Research – applies to all individuals carrying out research at the University of Glasgow including PGR students and visiting researchers. The code adopts the five core principles of the Concordat to Support Research Integrity: honesty; rigour; transparency and open communication; care and respect; accountability.
The University has signed up to the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and Technician’s Commitment.
In signing up to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and the Hong Kong Principles, the University has committed to implementing inclusive and fair approaches to assessing research, as well as recognising and rewarding rigorous and open research practices.