Researcher Development Survey 2024

Research Consulting and Vitae invite UK and Australian institutions to express interest in a benchmarking initiative for researcher development.

Why participate?

Benchmark your institution’s investment, staffing, and structures
Compare internal and external researcher development programmes
Identify effective approaches tailored to your institution type
Collaborate with peers to discuss results and share experiences

To learn more, please express interest or download the draft survey using the buttons below.

Research Consulting Ltd

Our Approach

Evidence-Based Insights

Our methodology combines robust benchmarking data with deep sector knowledge to help institutions understand their strengths and weaknesses, and pinpoint areas for improvement.

Sharing of Effective Approaches

We will facilitate the exchange of effective approaches between participants through case studies, and by exploring key areas of interest.

Bespoke Benchmarking

Participation is open to institutions from the UK and Australia, enabling bespoke benchmarking against selected peers, national averages and international comparators.

Research Consulting Ltd

Benefits of Participation

Strategic

Compare performance against peers in your region and by bespoke peer group
Compare with similar overseas markets
Understand the incentives in place for researchers to engage with learning and development and explore possible reasons for low engagement
Generate insights into wider trends and national drivers for researcher learning and development

Managerial

Identify examples of effective programme and delivery structures
Identify areas for improvement
Establish evidence for resource bids
Benchmark the level of resources, resource allocation decisions and frameworks
Enhance future researcher development programmes and provision

Operational

Support the development of efficient and effective researcher development programmes, and enhance researcher engagement
Understand how researcher development activities serve different staff groups and career stages
Explore activities, delivery mechanisms and visibility across the institution
Explore what systems are in place to support delivery and how metrics are used to inform researcher development

Pricing

Our standard rate of £6,000 + VAT (UK) includes:

Participation in our specialist benchmarking exercise

A bespoke performance report

A 1-to-1 consultation with our team to discuss your results

Attendance at an experience exchange event with other participating HEIs

For information on pricing for Australian institutions, please get in touch with Dr Mark Hochman.

Research Consulting Ltd

Small and Specialist Institutions

We recognise that small and specialist institutions and non-university research performing organisations have particular needs in the area of researcher development.

We are exploring the potential to offer an adapted version of the survey at a reduced rate for these organisations. Please contact us to let us know if this would be of value for your organisation.

What People Say

Testimonials

We worked with Research Consulting to enhance our understanding of the Professional Research Investment and Strategy Managers’ community, their needs, and experiences at the University of Nottingham. Research Consulting designed and hosted a survey and presented their findings to stakeholders through a workshop, highlighting the key findings and areas to focus on for next steps. It was great to work with them and I hope we can do so again in the future.

Research Consulting quickly analysed our needs and developed a project scope to evaluate the approach to relationship management at the University, and make a series of recommendations based on international best practice in the sector. They were proactive in their communication, kept to schedule and delivered on time. They presented a useful report which has formed the basis of changes we are implementing in the University. We are very happy with the outcome.

Researcher development is a core element of the University’s strategic plan and we aim to help our staff make the most of their opportunities...that’s why we are working with Vitae.

Rob Johnson

Project Lead

Peter Boddy

Head of Research and Evaluation (Vitae)

Rachael Nicholas

Membership and Engagement Manager (Vitae)

Mark Hochman

Australia Expert

Dan King

Quality Assurance

Angharad Roberts

Project Manager

Frances Palmer

Associate Consultant

Diane Revill

Marketing Support

When Will it Happen?

The full survey, which underpins the project, will be launched in November 2024, with preliminary findings to be delivered from March 2025 and a full report by June 2025.

How Do I Find Out More?

We are happy to answer any questions you might have. Please feel free to get in touch directly with any of us or via our contact page.