Sheffield – Examining Research Culture

The University of Sheffield is a leading Russell Group university, striving for research excellence. As part of their 2020-25 vision, the university wants to support their growing research community and culture to ensure both great research outputs and positive wellbeing among their staff. As such, the University of Sheffield commissioned Research Consulting to carry out a review of the how staff and PGRs currently view the culture surrounding research at the universities, the elements which work well, and the areas for improvement.

In order to do this, Research Consulting gathered opinions from throughout the university, from a variety of different career levels and faculties. A total of 9 interviews and 7 focus groups were carried out, with 53 staff from throughout the university consulted. We also carried out desk research, reviewing a number of documents related to university policy and processing.

Through this project, we were able to highlight some key areas where the research culture had been successfully developed, particularly in the areas of collegiality and a collaborative working environment, a supportive environment for PGRs, and recognition of its continued improvement in terms of equality, diversity and inclusion. Areas for potential future investment were also highlighted.