The visibility of researcher development in UK higher education institutions’ strategies
Oxford Research & Policy was commissioned by Vitae to conduct an independent review of higher education institutions’ publicly accessible commitments to researcher development.
The study investigated the visibility of researcher development in UK higher education institution strategies in UK HEIs, identifying commitments and resources which are easily accessible on individual HEIs’ websites. The websites of 40 HEIs, including all the Russell Group institutions (20), 1994 group institutions (12), and others with relatively high numbers of postgraduate researchers (PGRs) and/or research staff (8), were reviewed in December 2010. Institutional strategy documents, research strategies, human resources strategies, and specific resources for the training and development of research staff and postgraduate researchers were examined.
The objectives of the study were to:
- Identify HEIs’ visible strategic commitments to researcher development and the Concordat through their institution, research and Concordat implementation strategies;
- Compare institutional strategies for future researcher development to inform the sector and national stakeholders;
- Review how UK HEIs are profiling researcher development to inform a strategy for promoting internationally the benefits of undertaking research in the UK.
