Whole-university intervention to gain insights around research culture as part of the deliverables for the Declaration of Research Assessment (DORA) and to evidence the implementation of UKRI’s Concordat principles in each department.
The Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers was set up to enable an inclusive research culture where every researcher at every level felt valued and empowered. The ideas were to implement the guidance from the UKRI and conduct barometer type assessments to gauge their success. We designed the online assessment intervention at the University of Exeter and worked closely with their team to build capacity so that they could deliver the workshops to each department or set of departments independently.
Each workshop started with an ice breaker to gauge the career level of participants and ensure that every level or researcher. The next activity allowed participants to engage anonymously with a challenge wheel activity to assess how they felt about the support they were receiving with regards to culture, leadership, professional development and the like. Breakout rooms that encouraged a safe space were then formed where ECRs, mid- and senior- researchers could openly discuss their views and share experiences in confidence. All notes were anonymised as they were recorded, and the final report included a series of data visualizations that the University of Exeter team could use in their reporting and presentation of the results.
“We would not have been able to do this without your help and creation of the worksheets and guidance on using MURAL as a suitable online platform.” – Chris Wood, Head of Researcher Development and Research Culture
“Your facilitation has enabled us to fully embrace this activity and take it forward constructively.” – Chris Wood, Head of Researcher Development and Research Culture
“So many, many thanks for all of your hard work supporting us with these workshops, very much appreciated… you really have lived up to the name of your company 😊!!” – Chris Wood, Head of Researcher Development and Research Culture