Developing a positive research culture at Bristol – our programme of work in 2024/25

Posted on by University of Bristol

By Yasmine Rhoseyn and Eirini Triantafyllou

Yasmine is Research Culture Strategy Manager at the University of Bristol. She supports the Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research Culture, Marcus Munafò in leading research culture activity across the university, and monitors the implementation of the research culture strategy. She also sits on the committee for the Research Culture Enablers Network based at Warwick, which is a solutions focused group dedicated to exchanging and challenging ideas to improve research culture and drive meaningful change.

 

Eirini is a Project Officer at the University of Bristol. She oversees the process of funding allocation to the Research Culture projects, monitors spending and offers support and guidance for all finance-related matters. Eirini also supports the Policy Support funded projects and Participatory Research projects in the same capacity.

 

 

Over the last couple of years, our research culture programme of work has been led by many talented colleagues and students from across the university, as well as partners and stakeholders beyond.

This academic year, we have a varied programme of different projects, aligned with our research culture vision and strategy that aims to support a positive research environment and culture here at the University of Bristol.

You can find a summary of the projects, and who is leading these below. More detail on project aims, outputs and impact can be found in this PDF or on our research culture sharepoint.

Promoting openness and transparency in how we work

In 2024, we funded the creation of an Open Research Community Manager role at the University to support open research training, work collaboratively with the UK Reproducibility Network and improve open research practices at the university. You can find out more about Lavinia Gambelli’s role and work in her recent blog.

Along the themes of openness and open research, a few of our funded projects focus on research ethics and these important processes and practices. Work has been undertaken to improve signposting to existing tools and practices, as well as co-design collaborative solutions when it comes to the ethics of public engagement (Dee Smart and team).

Another important facet is teaching research ethics , which Jo Rose and team have been exploring at the PGT level, including how change in teaching practice happens at a local level and lessons to be learned.

In terms of the research ethics process itself, Patricia Neville and team have been investigating where sustainability in research considerations could be made and incorporated into our online Research Ethics Management System, and what this would look like, which feeds into the wider UoB research strategy and its commitment to sustainability.

Empowering staff and students through effective leadership and management at all levels

We believe leadership can and should be encouraged at all levels (regardless of role title); to support this the Leadership Ethos framework has been developed. This framework is being embedded into leadership programmes and resources curated by the Staff Development teams, and this work is led by Izzy Frazer-Veli, Bethan Turner and developed by Nadia Soliman.

Relevant to the framework is the concept of transformative leadership – this has been a focus of Alf Coles and team who have developed resources and run workshops over the last couple of years. They are now focusing on adding this programme to the training offered by the Staff Development team, which includes development of a workshop accessible via Develop.

Leadership at postgraduate research level is crucial for developing skills and equipping our future leaders for success. Maya Al-Khouja and team at Bristol Students’ Union have developed a student research leaders programme looking at developing innovative solutions to local challenges and working with local mental health charity Changes Bristol.

To support postgraduate research culture, PGR supervisors play a critical role. At the heart of this is ensuring training and support for PGR supervisors is adequate and practical (Ros O’Leary and team) and that guidance exists to help supervisors navigate supporting their PGR students (Stephanie King and team).

Bristol Students’ Union staff and UoB students gather for launch of student research leaders programme

Providing a range of stable career opportunities for those involved in research

PEER LEAD aims to empower PGR students as trainers equipping them with new skills (coding and research ethics) themselves but enabling them to learn how to teach and support their peers in these areas, developing valuable skills for future employment (Harry Mellor and team). Similarly, Alice Ferns and team have been focusing on careers support for PGRs including development of An Insider’s Guide to Academia available via LinkedIn Learning and a video series about applying for a PhD.

In the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Emma stone and colleagues are establishing a community of Early Career Researchers, which includes connecting with Research Concordat Champions, and equipping ECRs with the skills and connections needed for career transitions through working with external partners. On the Researcher Development Concordat, Lydia Klimecki is putting together an engaging film to make the concordat accessible to staff across the university.

Ros O’Leary and team are providing more support to staff to engage in pedagogic research through training and a central hub of resources, which will in turn help this research culture to thrive and develop and retain staff talent. Staff and students are also being provided with retreats to help develop key skills necessary for their careers, with Claire Wrixon running retreats for black female academics participating in WHEN100 and early career researchers.

Embedding diversity in research and those involved in research

Several projects within this programme of work are looking at diversity and inclusivity across the university and beyond. Caroline McKinnon and Claudia Gumm are further developing and launching the inclusive research toolkit on external platforms to be accessed by the HE sector.

Inclusive Research Toolkit poster

Daniella Jenkins and team are investigating the lived experiences of people of colour among the PGRs and non-academic staff populations, with the view to develop actions to improve the research culture for these groups.

Winfred Gatua, Amanda Chappell, Lawrence Osei Owusu and Helen Natukunda are developing a PGR network for students of Black and White/Black dual heritage to foster community, develop links with Black alumni, showcase examples of academic innovation, enhance career relevant skills and address career trajectory inequities.

Research to Reward, led by Kit Bartlett and colleagues aims to improve commercialisation support for female and non-binary researchers and promote diversity in research innovation by providing funding and recognition for innovative ideas led by these underrepresented researchers.

Professional services staff contribute significantly to research, and Helen Curtis, Charlotte Verney and their colleagues are continuing their work to understand the research activities of these staff at Bristol, implementing some of the recommendations from their prior report to help professional services navigate and feel supported in conducting research.

Antonia Tzemanaki and team build upon the work of Jenny Crane and Erika Hanna to embrace parenthood in research and higher education, looking at three distinct strands 1) community, 2) implementation of positive change and 3) research collaboration.

Helen Thomas Hughes continues her work on the experiences of mature PGRs by developing and implementing a comprehensive suite of resources to address challenges faced by this group and foster a more inclusive research environment. Stephen Gray also leads work on improving the experience of postgraduate students through implementing interactive 3D tours of key spaces on campus, supporting accessibility and the needs of neurodivergent students.

Encouraging internal and external collaboration and fostering innovative approaches

Collaborative and innovative ways of working are key to a thriving and positive research culture. Work is underway to develop and launch an action-focused, reflective framework – the Working Well Together resource – which has been co-produced with over 700 members of staff at the university and led by Sarah Campbell and team. Expanding on this, Alice Beck has been exploring utilising the developed resources among PGR communities and building upon these to develop resources to cultivate a positive research culture.

Attendees at Working Well Together launch, October 2024

Networks and research groups at the university play an important role in contributing to the wider institutional research culture as these create their own ways of working and positive practices. Pau Erola and team have been focused on developing a Health Data Research Network to drive innovation through collaboration by holding best practice workshops, events and sustaining a steering committee. Oscar De Mello and team have been focused on research culture in ‘The Sheds’, working with Artists in Residence and creative practitioners to inform operation of The Sheds so they are an open and collaborative space for relevant communities, and establishing working and business models that could be best practice exemplars for wider University hubs.

Creative thinking, idea generation and innovative practice is a key area of focus. Giovanni Biglino, Bec Gee and team have been building upon their previous work ‘The Department of Imagination’ and are developing research culture and imagination labs for early- and mid-career researchers, supporting them to explore innovative and imaginative approaches to research and the benefits this can have for collaboration. The Exploratory Facility Fund, led by Olivia Gaitonde and Anne Westcott provides access to Science and Engineering TRAC facilities to researchers facing barriers (ECRs, those returning from research breaks and those exploring new research areas) to help bring new and innovative ideas to life that wouldn’t have otherwise been possible due to a financial gap.

Working in partnership and developing collaborative links is fundamental to sustaining a positive research culture. Anthony Manyara and team have been exploring a more equitable partnership with Global South research partners and are creating pragmatic interventions to address visa and passport inequities, as well as promoting equitable budget spends and allocations for Global South research projects.

Focused on community engagement and community researchers, Sabi Redwood, Mari-Rose Kennedy and team have been supporting these researchers to build a community of practice to aid in co-produced research. They are developing training and support for community-based researchers and university-based researchers to facilitate more equitable and effective collaboration during research projects. Ruth Badru and team have also focused their efforts on community research, with their work focused on engaging the community and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration, through the lens of understanding the impact of transport disparities on socio-economic opportunities. They are working with local authorities, transport providers and community organisations to co-produce actionable solutions that can be enacted in Bristol.

Find out more and get in touch

As demonstrated above, there is a varied programme of ongoing work comprising of many different projects that are working to enhance the research culture here at Bristol and within the HE sector. This work is led by passionate and talented colleagues and students and we are excited to share more of their work, including outputs when these are developed over the coming months.

You can find more detail on project aims, outputs and anticipated impact on our research culture sharepoint site. If you have any questions about the projects, please do get in touch via researchculture-projects@bristol.ac.uk so we can support and link you up with the relevant leads.

So Long, and Thanks for All the Researchfish…

Posted on by University of Bristol

By Marcus Munafò

Marcus is Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor of Research Culture at the University of Bristol and incoming Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost at the University of Bath. He leads on research culture activity across the university, providing direction and vision, working across the institutional landscape, and identifying key challenges and opportunities. He is also institutional lead for the UK Reproducibility Network. 

 

According to MyERP, I officially started working at the University of Bristol on the 1st March 2005 – although I remember coming in a day early because 1st March was a Tuesday and what else was a young lecturer going to do with a Monday…? Not exactly the best role modelling by someone who would – many years later – devote much of his working week to improving research culture. 

And now, after almost exactly 20 years I will be leaving the University of Bristol. On the 1st May I’ll start a new adventure as Deputy Vice Chancellor and Provost at the University of Bath. It’s been an incredible two decades – I wrote grants (a few of which were funded!) and papers, built collaborations, made plenty of mistakes (and tried to learn from them), helped build a research group, and completed my fair share of Researchfish submissions… 

Most importantly, I made many friends. There are far too many to name them all, but my co-directors of the Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group (TARG) – Angela Attwood, Olivia Maynard and Ian Penton-Voak – have been the most important, simultaneously keeping my feet on the ground and keeping me sane. When we started to build TARG it was clear that it shouldn’t be critically dependent on one person. When I leave, it will barely miss a beat – the culture and structure we’ve developed will ensure that. 

Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group, University of Bristol

Which brings me to my role as APVC for Research Culture.

Back in 2019 I set up the informal Research Improvement Group, which brought together academic, technical and professional voices with an interest in reflecting on our research practices and identifying ways to improve these. This was partly in support of Bristol’s membership of the UK Reproducibility Network (which we currently host), but more broadly in response to growing sectoral interest in how academia can ensure the quality of the work it produces, and the health and vibrancy of the environment it creates to support that.

In 2021, our then PVC for Research and Innovation, Phil Taylor, was creating APVC roles to create a similar structure to the one that existed for education and give him more capacity to deliver against key agendas. One of these was research culture – and, given the natural proximity to my research improvement role, I applied. I formally began in the role in early 2022, and almost immediately we learned that we would receive an Enhancing Research Culture allocation from Research England (as did all English institutions that received REF funding).

That funding allowed us to constitute a research culture team, led by Yasmine Rhoseyn, with support from (variously – as people have moved in and out of roles) Sean Gilligan, Pat Humphries, Leah Jones, Gurjeet Kaur, Lumina Kemp and Eirini Triantafyllou. With that team in place, we got to work… Research Improvement Group became Research Culture Committee, eventually a formal sub-committee with delegated authorities in key areas such as open research, and we developed plans to spend our allocation.

Attendees gather at the Festival of Research Culture, 2024

Our early strategy had to be developed rapidly given that the funding had to be spent by the end of the University financial year in July. We identified some major areas of focus – such as open research and leadership – but a large proportion of the budget went into an open call to provide seedcorn funding for grassroots projects. We were struck by not just the number but also the quality of applications we received, and – as intended – this gave us a picture of what was already happening across the University.

Over the years we have continued this scheme, adding a separate call for continuation funding, helping to grow projects and support them either to completion or to the point where they can become self-sustaining. This also helped us to build a community that we bring together at an annual Festival of Research Culture. And this community was also central to the next phase of our activity – the development of a research culture vision and strategic plan to take us to 2030.

This vision and strategic plan is now in place, supported by an annual implementation plan that brings a tactical element – outlining what we will do this year that will move us in the right direction (and how we will know). It is the result of extensive development and consultation, and – I think – something we can collectively be proud of. The next step will be to bring this to life on the ground, by engaging the research and research-enabling community.

Front page of the Research Culture Vision and Strategy document

But why do we do this in the first place? Why does research culture matter? In my view, there are moral, pragmatic and selfish reasons. It is right to create an environment where people feel supported and are able to develop and thrive. But by creating that environment we will also create the conditions where people can do their best work. And in turn that environment will allow us to recruit and retain the best talent in a way that will ensure the long-term health of the University.

Bristol is rightly world-recognised for its teaching and research, but we should always be looking to reflect and improve. By maintaining a positive research culture, and an environment that supports this, we can become known for something else – the ways in which we support people at all career stages, across all career pathways, and from all backgrounds to excel in ways that are meaningful to them. In other words, we can be known not just for what research we do, but how we do it.

Making the most of the micro: distilling research culture through interactions and behaviours

Posted on by University of Bristol

By Dr Jess Pilgrim-Brown

Dr Jess Pilgrim-Brown is a Senior Research Associate and Lecturer at the University of Bristol and a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Oxford. She previously worked in professional services, in elite sports coaching, and as a consultant researcher. She focuses predominantly on the relationships between working-class professional services staff and administrative staff in UK higher education although her interests also include equalities agendas, cultures and behaviours in higher education, and expanding access to higher education for people from traditionally marginalised backgrounds. She fervently advocates for collaborative, supportive research cultures in higher education and university spaces.

Research culture in the UK

The notion of research culture and the relationship between research culture and higher education has become increasingly important over the course of the past twenty to thirty years. We often conceptualise research culture in a variety of different ways; the mechanisms, frameworks and administrative systems which are in place to either support or prevent positive research cultures; the volume, nature and standard of research outputs as being reflective of positive research cultures and environments; the formal behaviours, values and expectations that are often encapsulated through university legislation, concordats and agreements.

These kinds of manifestations of research culture might be considered ‘macro’, large scale actions and activities which are focused on the institutional or organisational level. Reporting research culture and research environment through these kinds of activities can be supported (as in the case of the Research Excellence Framework) through additional data collection activities including focus groups and surveys on research careers, staff satisfaction, mentorship practices and evidence and the presence and proliferation of policies around work-life balance as an exemplification of positive research environments. However, and what this blog argues, is that the manifestation of research culture can be examined directly and powerfully through the microscopic lens of personal interactions and behaviours; behaviours which not only magnify the status of hierarchy and position in the institution but that directly reflect the nature of research culture within an institution.

Research culture, relationships and different actors in the academy

From 2021-2023 I conducted research which focused specifically on the experiences of professional services staff and administrative staff in Russell Group universities in the UK. One of the key findings from this research was concerned with the nature of interactions between professional services or ‘non-academic’ staff and their counterparts working on academic trajectories. In this small-scale research project, the professional services group largely referred to their relationships with other professional services colleagues and management as supportive, whilst often referred to interactions with academics as ‘the worst part of my job’. In other instances, they explained that they were treated ‘like scum’, exemplifying examples of negative and demeaning behaviours, shouting, and an over-exaggeration of academic hierarchy in relation to their own career positions and career ambitions. Focusing on such relationships helps us to understand how negative policies, frameworks, legislation and formal practice collaborate with one another, resulting in the manifestation of such behaviours which go unchecked, uncontested and without retribution. At present, in some institutions and environments these kind of behaviours continue to persist (as they might have done some decades ago) despite changes to formal process and practice across the landscape of higher education in the UK (Pilgrim-Brown 20\24).

Moving forwards: addressing relationships at the heart of research culture

Attendees at the University of Bristol’s annual Festival of Research Culture, which is open to academic, technical, and professional services staff

It might be pertinent to suggest that often, in pursuit of completing statements on research culture and research environments, that universities largely conduct isolated, small-scale data (particularly concerning qualitative experiences) which fails to capture the extent, expanse, and full tapestry of phenomenon that exist within the university, faculty, department, or unit more specifically.  Collecting systematic data of this nature within our institutions on these kinds of interactions can serve to help us understand what the impact of policies and procedures, legislation and concordats really is on the people who work within research environments on a day-to-day basis.

To be effective, this needs to be ‘joined-up’, complimentary, and harmonised within the institution, across units and faculties; and to be analysed whilst considering the cross-tabulations between demographics, disciplines and career stages. In magnifying the micro in this way, the proliferation of research cultures and their impact, may be both easier to discern, to identify, and to resolve.  As such, a call for university management to create systematic, rigorous evaluations of the research culture as evidenced through such micro actions and initiatives is highly recommended.

Building an Open Research Community at the University of Bristol

Posted on by University of Bristol

By Lavinia Gambelli

Lavinia is the Open Research Community Manager at the University of Bristol, supporting trainers at UKRN Open Research workshops. She has ten years of research experience in microbiology across various countries.

 

 

 

In the summer of 2024, the University of Bristol introduced an updated suite of open research policies designed to make open research practices more accessible and actionable. These policies aim to provide a clear, practical guide for researchers and research enablers, while also emphasising the University’s role in supporting the adoption of these practices. Key to this support is the commitment to providing the necessary infrastructure, funding, and training to embed open research skills into the professional development of staff and students, ensuring these practices become an integral part of academic life.

In March 2024, my position as Open Research Community Manager was created to help share these practices and policies through building a community of Open Research trainers. Being part of the Research Support Team within Library Services and serving on the Open Research Working Group, I have a unique vantage point. I’m involved in strategic conversations shaping open research and research culture at the University, while also staying connected to the grassroots efforts led by our trainers. This dual perspective highlights the importance of aligning top-down institutional strategies with the on-the-ground realities faced by researchers and trainers alike.

UKRN Open Research Programme

As the Open Research Community Manager, one of my key responsibilities is to recruit staff for open research workshops and support them throughout the process, from their initial training to the delivery of their own sessions. As part of the Open Research Programme, an initiative led by the UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN), we offer training on a variety of open research topics.

This programme follows a train-the-trainer model: staff who attend a UKRN workshop become open research trainers themselves, enabling them to deliver similar workshops at the University. This approach not only amplifies skill-sharing but also fosters a culture of collaboration and continuous learning. Upcoming workshops delivered by our open research trainers are shared on the Open Research Training SharePoint site and on the dedicated Develop page.

Once they have attended one or more UKRN workshops, trainers join the University’s Open Research Trainers group. This network offers ongoing peer support, particularly during the development and delivery of their workshops. Trainers and all University’s staff and students have access to resources such as slides and materials developed by previous trainers (accessible through the Open Research Training SharePoint site), fostering a sense of collaboration and continuity.

Now in its third iteration, the training programme has been met with interest and engagement from across the University community. By integrating open research practices into daily work, participants not only enhance their professional workflows but also unlock valuable opportunities for career development. Trainers can improve their training skills, gain recognition for their contributions to the development of colleagues, and bolster their promotion applications with tangible evidence of their impact on research culture.

Carlos Ayala who attended the UKRN workshop titled “Data Management for Reproducibility”, said:

“[The training is] very interesting and valuable for research projects in terms of implementation, impact and dissemination”

“This workshop has supported my role as Data Manager within the research project I am currently coordinating.”

Become an Open Research Trainer

Since the first series of workshops in spring 2024, 25 staff members have joined the Trainers group, delivering six sessions across the University so far. If you’re keen to join this training but missed the latest recruitment round, don’t worry! We’ll soon be seeking new trainers for another series of workshops this summer. Be sure to keep an eye on the SharePoint site for the latest announcements and updates, or contact me if you’d like to receive an email when the registrations open – we’d love to have you on board!

This sunburst chart illustrates the uptake of UKRN Open Research workshops in 2024 at the University of Bristol. Inner circle: represents Faculties, Professional Services, and Research Institutes. Outer circle: represents Schools, Professional Services, and Research Institutes within these groups. Numbers in brackets: indicate the number of workshops attended by each group.

Other opportunities for you to get involved

The UKRN open research workshops are just one part of the open research training opportunities available to you at Bristol. A variety of sessions – independent of the train-the-trainer model – are offered throughout the year by professional services teams (such as the Library, People Development, and the Division of Research, Enterprise and Innovation) and academic departments (including the Bristol Medical School and the Jean Golding Institute). Whether you’re a beginner or looking to deepen your expertise, there’s plenty to explore to expand your knowledge of open research.

To further strengthen this growing community of open research practitioners, we hosted our first in-person lunch with the inaugural cohort of open research trainers in autumn 2024. This was an opportunity to exchange ideas, reflect on experiences, and build connections within the group. As the trainers’ network expands, there is significant overlap with the Bristol Reproducibility Network – the local network of UKRN – which shares a similar ethos of fostering open and transparent research.

Back in February, we took part in the first-ever “Open Research Community Event”, bringing together members from both groups. It was a fantastic turnout, sparking plenty of insightful conversations. One of the highlights was the session in which our guest speakers shared real-life examples of how embracing open research practices has boosted their careers. We also explored ways to strengthen open research at Bristol, gathering valuable feedback and fresh ideas. Have a look at Richard’s event highlights if you’d like to read more about it.

Picture taken at the Open Research Community Event in February 2025.

As we look to the future, our focus remains on expanding the open research community, fostering collaboration, and ensuring that open research practices are accessible and beneficial to all. By building these connections and investing in skills development, we’re not just promoting open research—we’re creating a culture where it can truly thrive. What role will you play in advancing open research at the University? With so many training and collaboration opportunities available, now is the perfect time to get involved and help us make a difference.

Listening – and hopefully learning…

Posted on by University of Bristol

By Marcus Munafò

Marcus is Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor of Research Culture at the University of Bristol. He leads on research culture activity across the university, providing direction and vision, working across the institutional landscape, and identifying key challenges and opportunities. He is also institutional lead for the UK Reproducibility Network.

 

For the last two years we have asked colleagues to provide us with suggestions on how we can improve research culture, through a “dropbox” – an online form where any comment, large or small, can be submitted (anonymously, if preferred). Since our internal review of research bureaucracy, we have also had a second dropbox focused on issues of research bureaucracy. These have fundamentally been an exercise in listening, and in providing better connectivity between different parts of our institution.

The comments we have received have highlighted challenges and frustrations related to research support, university bureaucracy, and resource allocation. The issues raised include practical challenges (research support staffing, HR processes, research infrastructure) as well as cultural challenges (leadership, recognition of technical staff). Of course, the nature of the dropboxes means that we are more likely to receive negative comments than positive ones. But this is important. We cannot improve if we shy away from these challenges.

One difficulty is that, understandably, those who submit comments want to know what is being done to address the issues they have raised. Where a name was provided, we have tried to respond – in many cases connecting the person with someone able to discuss the issue they raised (and perhaps help solve it, although that isn’t always possible). But we do read all the comments. They are discussed at Research Culture Committee and, where appropriate, picked up by the appropriate person and explored further.

Our annual Festival of Research Culture provides another opportunity to engage with research culture at the University

Change can be slow, but having a better understanding of the reality on the ground, and the challenges being faced, ultimately helps foster better situational awareness and a culture of continual improvement. We are keen to maintain this. However, in order to simplify the process we have now reverted to a single suggestions dropbox. The hope is that we will continue to receive concerns and complaints but also, where possible, potential solutions. Often those directly affected by an issue are best placed to suggest a solution.

Our culture programme (and my role) is approaching the end of its third year. I think we have made progress – we have supported a range of exciting projects, large and small, and launched our vision for 2030, together with a strategic plan for achieving this. But I have always believed that our research culture is, fundamentally, a reflection of ourselves. It is not something imposed on us, but created by us. That includes being able to offer (and hear) constructive challenge. Please keep the comments coming! Get in touch.

Postgraduate Research Stories: Dr Tingfa Liu and Shahin Huseynli

Posted on by University of Bristol

By Anna Wallace, Claire Parnall and Alice Ferns, Bristol Doctoral College

This is the first of a series looking at research culture stories within the postgraduate community.

While many postgraduate research (PGR) students at the university thrive as part of their research environment, sometimes at the Bristol Doctoral College we encounter PGRs who struggle to connect with the broader community. This can be for a range of reasons, as every PGR journey is different, but common factors can include: the solitary nature of some research; lack of an identifiable cohort; the intensity of work demands or the ongoing impacts of Covid-19 on collective working.

In 2023, the Postgraduate Research Excellence survey revealed that only 54% of postgraduate researchers (PGRs) at the University of Bristol knew about chances to get involved in the wider research community outside their department.

To inspire staff across the university to address this, we have collected some examples of where schools and faculties have made a positive impact for PGRs.

The individuals showcased in these cases have used their initiative, creativity and community spirit to develop activities or events help PGRs connect with the broader research community at Bristol, and enhance their wellbeing, research and student experience.

We hope you are inspired by these examples to think about the ways we can all make a difference for the PGRs who work at Bristol.

This blog series was curated by the team in the Bristol Doctoral College as part of work on enhancing research culture.

Reconnecting after Covid: A conference of postgraduate research in Civil Engineering

In July 2023, Dr Tingfa Liu, a lecturer in Geotechnical testing and Shahin Huseynli, a 2nd-year PhD student from the School of Civil, Aerospace and Design Engineering (CADE) felt there was a need to organise an in-person event for researchers and PGRs to reconnect with their wider research community, after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Faculty of Engineering PGR Cohort Fund (which supports cohort-building activities) was used to fund the event, which was the first big post-COVID research and social event for the Earthquake and Geotechnical Engineering Research group (EGE) in Civil Engineering. Four sessions were held throughout the day, each beginning with a mini seminar from an academic staff member. These offered the PGRs advice and academic insights, on subjects like “10 suggestions for a novel PHD thesis” (Professor Anastasios Sextos) and “Social media usage reveals recovery of small businesses after natural hazard events” (Professor Flavia De Luca).

Professor Flavia De Luca, an attendee and speaker at the conference explains:

“The conference of postgraduate research in Civil Engineering was a fantastic event to reconnect the community. The students had the opportunity to present their research in an “away day” environment, creating the space for personal and professional development and connecting the community across all levels through the participation of postdoctoral researchers and staff members. The focus on the presentations was about research results, but also on disciplinary cross-pollination of skills at peer level for the civil engineering PGR community”

Benefitting the broader Civil Engineering research culture

The conference was a great chance for researchers from across the School of Civil, Aerospace and Design Engineering to share knowledge, learn about different projects, spread their ideas, expertise and reconnect with other researchers who had also missed in-person interactions due to the pandemic, helping to build a stronger research culture.

Numan Aloko, a graduate teacher in Civil Engineering and attendee at the conference highlighted:

“Events like this conference are helpful and crucial for maintaining a lively and connected research community. They offer a platform for students and faculty to share their work and make personal and professional connections that are very important for long-term academic and research success.”

The conference successfully brought the Civil Engineering research community closer together. Dr Tingfa Liu summarised:

“For me it is important that we celebrate the successes of our postgraduate researchers as a community of colleagues and friends. Our PGR students work so hard, often behind the scenes. The conference was a chance to shine a light on all their efforts and ensure they can share their research with the broader community, which benefits our own research too.”

What’s next?

Building on the success of the July 2023 conference, Dr Tingfa Liu and his team have invited PGRs to present their research projects and findings during their monthly Research Group meetings. This new initiative started in September 2023 and has proven successful, with plans to continue.

 

Shahin shared;

“The PGR presentations at our monthly meetings have really boosted the research, professional, and personal growth of the PGRs, helping them get ready for wider recognition and impact.”

Tingfa has been both, impressed and inspired by the PGR projects and noted that the support from the School and Faculties has been crucial in making this event, and any future ones, a success.

If you’re looking for advice on setting up something similar for your PGRs, feel free to reach out to doctoral-college@bristol.ac.uk with the subject line ‘PGR research culture case study’.

 

Dr. Tingfa Liu
Lecturer in Geotechnical TestingSchool of Civil, Aerospace and Design Engineering

 

 

Mr Shahin Huseynli
2nd-year PhD student
School of Civil, Aerospace and Design Engineering (CADE)

Understanding precarity

Posted on by University of Bristol

By Marcus Munafò

Marcus is Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor of Research Culture at the University of Bristol. He leads on research culture activity across the university, providing direction and vision, working across the institutional landscape, and identifying key challenges and opportunities. He is also institutional lead for the UK Reproducibility Network.

 

Over the years, the University of Bristol (like many institutions) has worked hard to address staff concerns about fixed term and hourly paid contracts. As a signatory of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, it has made significant progress in moving many of its researchers onto open-ended contracts with fixed funding, going from a peak of 62% of researchers on fixed-term contracts in 2014-2015 to 20% in 2023-2024.

Making further progress has required innovative thinking with a range of initiatives employed to reduce the uncertainty inherent in the academic career path, including career development support and promotion for Research Associates and Senior Research Associates, support for career transition to independence beyond early career through initiatives like Bristol Clear, exploring new ideas for retaining and developing research talent, as well as targeted use of University fund (e.g., piloting a career development fund for researchers), reviewing and improving the institution’s academic promotions framework at all stages in the academic career path, and focusing on providing researchers with the skills and development opportunities they need to transfer to core roles, to enable them to make sustainable employment choices.

Institutions also encounter distinct yet comparable challenges in supporting their teaching staff. Since 2019, the University of Bristol has decreased its reliance on hourly-paid teaching staff (Teaching Support Roles) in favour of more secure fixed-term contracts. Clearly progress has been made. But no one institution has been wholly successful in addressing the challenges that uncertainty of employment brings for academic colleagues and their institutions. In many ways Bristol is ahead of the majority of the sector, but we need to go further to challenge the underlying causes of this problem and find the innovative solutions that can help ensure that academic careers are increasingly secure and rewarding for future generations.

It was in that spirit that we held an event in July on “understanding precarity”, intended to foster an honest and constructive debate to identify potential solutions to a range of challenges collectively described as precarity. As noted, the word “precarity” cannot capture the subtle but important distinctions between, for example, contract status (zero hours, fixed term, open ended) and source of funding (core, external), and the event began with a discussion of what these terms mean and why they matter.

Whilst an open ended contract with external funding offers important benefits over a fixed term contract, it still brings the fundamental problem of a burning fuse – the funding will run out on a specified date, bringing a redundancy process. This issue is harder for universities to address because the problem is baked into how funding is awarded (primarily for research) and how it is used (on a specific project that then ends). This is distinct from core funding (e.g., income from students, REF-related funding, etc.), which is more predictable.

What can we do? Longer grants, and therefore longer periods of external funding, do not change the fundamental problem of a burning fuse (i.e., a fixed end date to funding) and also – given a fixed amount of available funding – would mean fewer grants and positions. The discussion was intended to generate proposals that could either be considered internally by the University, or proposed to organisations such as UKRI and other research funders. The goal was to co-produce potential solutions with those directly affected by precarity. The discussion, whilst often robust, was always constructive and positive.

Below are brief summaries of some of the themes and proposed solutions that emerged from the discussions. It is important to note that these are preliminary ideas intended to stimulate discussion and the further exploration of any ideas that may be tractable. In all cases, the pros and cons of each proposal will need to be considered, including any potential EDI impacts (positive and negative). In some cases, the proposal is not entirely within the gift of the University and may require discussion with, for example, funders to explore whether it could be workable.

It’s important to note that fixed term contracts will never be eliminated completely simply because in some cases (such as maternity cover) these are entirely necessary. Consequently, all of the proposals outlined below offer some scope to mitigate precarity further but none of them, alone or in combination, will ever remove it entirely.

Use funding for teaching to extend the funded period

One broad topic of discussion centred around teaching, and how this can be used to support Pathway 2 staff. Whilst funding available for teaching cannot be used to provide additional pay to those on full time contracts, it could in principle be used to extend the funded period. Funders typically have relatively generous terms that allow for a certain amount of teaching by those employed on a grant. However, this would require teaching opportunities to be advertised and allocated fairly, and for teaching to be captured on a workload model (meaning that Pathway 2 staff should be included on those models). Our Teaching Policy for Pathway 2 staff captures some of this, but requires comprehensive workload models at the School level and effective, proactive line management.

Include costs on grants to support a bridging fund

In some Schools and Faculties, “Pool Technician” costs are included on grants, proportionate to the total value, to support technician and other roles critical to the smooth running of facilities and other research infrastructure. Including specific costs for bridging funding could in principle be used to allow Schools or Faculties to have ring-fenced funds to extend the funded period for Pathway 2 grants, for example if they are waiting for a decision on a grant or fellowship. One challenge would be that the funding requested would probably not be used to support staff on that particular grant, but rather other staff whose contracts are coming to an end on other grants. Perhaps more of a challenge is that this would require funder approval and may require discussion with them to be workable, as this isn’t something that is allowed under most funder rules currently. There has been a lot of work ensuring the technician costs (via directly allocated costs) are fully TRAC (Transparent Approach to Costing) compliant, and this would need to happen for this proposal to be viable.

Create a new family of core funded roles

At the micro-level, grant funding is unpredictable – some grants get funded, some don’t. However, at a macro-level our grant income is reasonably stable. In principle, this could be used to underwrite core-funded Pathway 2 roles in specific areas – for example, data science – where the skills can be applied to range of grants across a range of disciplines. Individuals in these roles could be redeployed across Schools and even Faculties to support grants as they were awarded. Discussions indicated that this might be an attractive option for those Pathway 2 researchers who would like to continue to work within a University environment, but do not aspire to being a PI or Professor. In this way, it could complement the “conversion to core” model.

Offer more opportunities for “conversion to core”

Bristol Medical School has been offering a scheme whereby early career researchers can apply for conversion to core – moving to core funding and a Pathway 1 position. This is typically predicated on securing a major personal fellowship, as evidence of longer-term ability to secure grant funding (effectively under-writing part of their own salary). The process is highly competitive and best suited to those aspiring to research independence and an eventual Professorship, but creating mechanisms that allow for this transition could represent an attractive option among a wider mix of possibilities. However, the extent to which this model will work across Schools of varying size and research intensity will need to be explored fully.

Review the existing Pathway structure

The existing Pathway structure was created to offer opportunities for promotion to Professor across teaching-only and research-only careers, as well as the more traditional academic career (i.e., mixed teaching and research). However, currently the mix of open ended and fixed term contracts, and core and external funding, is strongly patterned by Pathway (e.g., Pathway 1 staff are typically core funded on open ended contracts, Pathway 2 externally funded on open ended contracts, and Pathway 3 core funded with a mix of open ended and fixed term contracts). Discussions included creating more flexibility to move across research and teaching roles, and breaking down the hierarchy that implicitly places Pathway 1 at the pinnacle.

Increase the precarity of Pathway 1 staff

Perhaps the most challenging discussion centred on the implicit differences in esteem (and explicit differences in job security) between Pathway 1 and Pathway 2 staff. It is not uncommon – rightly or wrongly – for Pathway 2 staff to feel that they are performing at a higher level than a Pathway 1 colleague next door, but their Pathway 1 colleague has the golden ticket of an open ended, core funded position that effectively means they have a job for life. The lack of movement of Pathway 1 staff created by this (excessive?) job security means that relatively few Pathway 1 positions open up for Pathway 2 staff to apply for. Of course, job security and stability is critical for genuine scholarship, but have we got the balance right? Exploring this will require bravery and trust, but again there are examples of good practice across the University, such as clearly articulating the expectations on Pathway 1 staff, and effective (and supportive) line management.

Looking towards the future of research culture at Bristol

Posted on by University of Bristol

By Yasmine Rhoseyn

Yasmine is Research Culture Strategy Manager at the University of Bristol. She supports the Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research Culture, Marcus Munafo in leading research culture activity across the university, and monitors the implementation of the research culture strategy. She also sits on the committee for the Research Culture Enablers Network based at Warwick, which is a solutions focused group dedicated to exchanging and challenging ideas to improve research culture and drive meaningful change.

The people that are involved in research activity at Bristol, and the environment that they work in, are critical to our success.  

The University of Bristol’s vision and strategy for research, enterprise and innovation can only be successfully delivered if it can support the people involved in the research process and create an enabling and supportive research environment. The commitment to fostering a positive research culture is reflected in the creation of the position of Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research Culture, Research Culture Team members and the establishment of a Research Culture Committee, a formal sub-committee of University Research Committee. 

Pictured: Attendees gather at the Working Well Together event in October 2024 (an initiative funded through our research culture programme).

Here we set out our aspirational, medium term vision for research culture at the University of Bristol – the end state we hope to reach by 2030. We also describe our work to date, much of it supported by our Research England Enhancing Research Culture allocation. 

Read the vision 

To move us forward towards realising our vision, we are publishing an annual implementation plan that will include specific areas of focus for that year, and how success will be measured against pre-defined criteria. This annual plan will be overseen by Research Culture Commitee, which will review progress against these objectives at the end of the year, and approve the plan for the next year. This will allow us to constantly refine our approach and update our objectives and indicators of success as we as an institution progress and the sector evolves. 

Read the implementation plan  

The process to put together this vision and implementation plan was very much a collaborative effort – we spoke to hundreds of staff and students in research relevant roles across the University on what ‘good’ research culture looks like, the barriers to achieving it and how we can move towards a more positive culture at Bristol. I would like to thank all the staff and students involved in this process for their valuable time, perspectives and insight, it was truly an eye-opening experience.

Future Research Leaders and stakeholders gather at Bristol SU – Future Research Leaders is a joint initiative with Bristol SU funded through our research culture programme 24-25). Read more on Bristol SU’s blog.

Get in touch

If you have any feedback on the vision and implementation plan, and how this is relevant to your area of work, please get in touch – y.rhoseyn@bristol.ac.uk

How our new redeployment process helps to retain skills and knowledge

Posted on by University of Bristol

By Liam Taylor

Liam is Head of Resourcing at the University of Bristol and is responsible for hiring strategy and delivery across the institution.

Liam has previously worked in the energy sector for both the big 6 and the energy regulator, Ofgem in a range of talent focused roles.

 

The University is committed to the delivery of research and education of the highest quality. Continuity of employment is an important element in achieving this.

Effective reallocation of work and/or redeployment retains valuable skills and knowledge within the University, contributes to the creation of a positive work environment and meets the University’s moral and legal obligations. It should also provide the University with means to achieve a broader skills base and a more flexible workforce in the longer term, whilst accepting the need to create/recruit new skills and talent where appropriate.

What is redeployment?

Redeployment gives employees whose jobs are at risk the chance to find a new job at the University. All organisations have a statutory obligation to provide priority access to new vacancies for employees at risk of redundancy.

Who it applies to and when;

Redeployment applies to employees who are either:

  • at risk of redundancy
  • needing to be redeployed for a non-redundancy reason

The University Redeployment Pool (URP)

When you’ve been formally notified that your job is at risk, you’ll be added to the university redeployment pool. The pool permits access to our redeployment job board, and visibility of all new job openings before they are advertised more widely.

Changes to the redeployment process

We launched a new process for redeployment at the end of January this year, with two main drivers for this change.

Firstly, feedback from staff told us that the experience of being a redeployee was falling short of our own expectations. Some key themes covered limited access to vacancies, poor support during redeployment and a clinical feel to the redeployment journey.

Operational efficiency was the second factor. The resources required to deliver the pre-31st January process were too great when compared to the number of individuals who submitted applications. A helpful way to highlight this is the pre-existing matching process, where redeployees would be sent roles deemed relevant to their existing skill set. This generated an application rate of just 3.3% – a figure far too low considering the amount of effort required.

We’re an organisation that takes its responsibilities towards redeployment seriously. The experience of redundancy can be a highly personal and anxiety-inducing experience, often impacting individuals who stay with the University as much as those who leave. In either circumstance, we strive for the experience of redeployment to authentically embody our commitment to mitigating redundancies, rather than an exercise in simply meeting an obligation.

Armed with this goal, the re-designed process has:

  • Increased visibility of all new vacancies across the organisation through a new redeployment jobs board, restricted to redeployees. This aims to give individuals a greater degree of control over their redeployment journey through an ability to pursue opportunities outside of their current domain. A wider cross-pollination of skills is valuable for the University and the volume of opportunities for redeployment is increased.
  • New dedicated support for staff in the redeployment pool. Our Resourcing Business Partners play an active role in supporting staff to find a new role. This involves providing guidance on policy and individual circumstances and advice on application writing, transferability of skills and interviewing. Our aim is to craft a more human-centred experience for redeployees that fully considers individual needs at each touchpoint and reduces uncertainty wherever possible.
  • Improved guidance for redeployment, including information targeted at recruiting managers, outlining their responsibilities in considering applicants from the redeployment pool, the use of trial periods and the assessment of training needs for redeployees to transition successfully into new roles. This information can be found here.

So, have the changes had any impact in the first 6 months? In short, yes. The number of applications through the redeployment process which resulted in successful outcomes has increased to 28%, an increase from 18%. However, it’s still too early to make a full assessment – this will take place with one year’s data in hand, during February 2025. We will look at the core rate of redeployment – the total number of individuals successfully redeployed as a proportion of those put at risk of redundancy, as well as a breakdown by certain staff populations, including Pathway 2.

Redeployment as a process will continue to evolve, and we’ll use our improved data and user experience feedback as the evidence base for future change. We hope that a more iterative approach to change will help us in fine-tuning a process that has great impact on the individual, as much as the institution.

Improving our research culture: it starts with Working Well Together

Posted on by University of Bristol

By Professor Marcus Munafò

Marcus is Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor of Research Culture at the University of Bristol. He leads on research culture activity across the university, providing direction and vision, working across the institutional landscape, and identifying key challenges and opportunities. He is also institutional lead for the UK Reproducibility Network.

 

Last month we welcomed colleagues from across the University to the Bristol Beacon’s Lantern Hall to learn more about the Working Well Together resource, as part of this year’s Enhancing Research Culture event series.

So, what is Working Well Together?

Dr Sarah Campbell, part of the Working Well Together team, introduces the resource

The Working Well Together (WWT) resource is designed to support teams, and the people within them, who work effectively in an HE context and enhance their team culture. It helps to create an environment in which everyone can thrive, and which enables high quality, reproducible research. The approach is inquisitive, starting with where teams are, identifying approaches which are right for them, and continuing to ask questions along the way.

The resource is designed to help teams do more of what they are doing well, and to support them in areas that are more challenging. It focuses on identifying some quick wins, but offers no quick fixes. The aim of the resource is to offer groups the tools and expertise to develop a culture that can help its members respond to the evolving challenges of their work.

Professor Jack Mellor stands on stage to discuss his experience of using the Working Well Together resource
Professor Jack Mellor discusses his team’s experience of using the WWT resource

Groups that have used the resource have found it an enjoyable way to take stock of how things are going, and start some of the harder conversations they need to have. They say it’s given insights into challenges they weren’t aware of, and helped remind them of what is going well and how to do more of the things that have a positive impact. Others have found it has equipped them with the skills needed to work well together, and started the process of making time to reflect and review as a group.

Teams / groups are invited to pilot the resource until the end of January 2025. When we talk about teams / groups this can include anyone who is part of, and supports, research activity, so may include academic staff, technical staff, professional services staff and research students. If you are interested in learning more about a pilot, please complete this form.

The WWT resource is about building stronger, more supportive teams in order to work more effectively together and create a more inclusive working environment.

Event attendees discuss how their teams could use the WWT resource

From the Enhancing Research Culture allocated we receive from Research England, to the new People, Culture and Environment (PCE) assessment category in the next Research Excellence Framework (REF) assessment, it is clear that the organisations that shape the higher education system are emphasising the importance of a robust, equitable and inclusive research process from start to finish, rather than focusing solely the outputs of our research.

Panel discussion and Q+A: Looking ahead to REF 2029

To delve into this new REF category and what it means for the research landscape, I was joined by Dr Helen Young (Associate Director of Research Excellence, University of Bristol), Dr Caroline Jarrett (Faculty of Science and Engineering Technical Manager, University of Bristol) and Dr Faith Uwadiae (Research Culture and Communities Specialist, Wellcome Trust).

Our panel answer questions from the audience during the event

Over the course of an hour’s discussion we covered a lot, but some key points and highlights are summarised below;

  • There was recognition from both academic and technical colleagues in attendance that the culture within research is improving, but there is still a long way to go
  • Funders are already considering, and in some cases requiring, grant applications to consider people, the environment they work within, and the culture they create.
  • The REF measures research outputs, which are naturally downstream from the work involved in setting up research or project teams, and carrying out the work.
  • Positive changes to how we approach project setup and delivery therefore have an impact on our research outputs.
  • Investing time and energy in building strong groups and ways of working pays dividends down the line, but currently this time and focus is often not prioritised.

The move to include People, Culture and Environment in REF2029 highlights the importance of the work that we have been doing both at an institutional level and within our own professional circles and teams to improve our research culture, and I thank all of you who have been involved over the years.

I’m reminded of a quote from one of our first ever Research Culture events, the talk on The Joy of Failure with Annie Vernon, who won Olympic silver in the Women’s Quadruple Sculls at Beijing 2008. Success doesn’t mean we did everything right, and failure doesn’t mean we did everything wrong. Together, we can continue to build on our success whilst recognising there are still areas to improve.