How do good researchers get good? TIME (plus mentorship)...

There is a wealth of untapped research and innovation talent in our universities, promising individuals are leaving the sector, and there is more pressure than ever on research funding. Here's why TIME may be the crucial lever for success.

In my more than 20 years in as a researcher and research manager, I have worked in range of different organisations, from Russell Group universities to teaching intensive institutions (via a national funding body). This gave me the opportunity to experience the best (and worst) of different cultures and practices, and fulfil my passion for creating environments which enable talented researchers to thrive.

As universities respond to Research England 's call to apply to participate in the People, Culture, and Environment pilot exercise, and Technopolis and CRAC-Vitae work to develop appropriate assessment indicators and processes, There's one area that I wanted to explore in more detail.

How to make the most of research time...

The small print...

I confess that my original plan was to delve into the murky waters of research workload allocation. Before I realised that:

a) it would be a very boring article,

b) I would be hopelessly out of my depth

Instead I propose to talk about how we can better work within the current systems to create environments and conditions that support researchers better utilise the time they have to reach their full potential in their research careers.

The challenge with time

As Einstein determined in his Special Theory of Relativity, time is relative, with the rate at which time passes depending on our frame of reference.

The same can be said for research time - all time is not created equal. For the many early career researchers on short term contracts, and future employment depending on performance or the next successful grant award, the next 1, 2, or 3 years will be viewed very differently compared with a seasoned professor on full tenure.

For lecturers trying to establish their research careers while juggling significant teaching commitments, that theoretical 20% time allocation for research often looks very different on paper than it does in practice.

And for early career researchers and lecturers working to establish themselves in their field, time is used very differently by those struggling to figure everything out on their own, versus those working within supportive research groups, centres, or institutes.

Given these differences, it's perhaps not surprising that many talented researchers either choose to leave the sector altogether, or struggle to fulfil their true research potential.

So how can culture help make the most of research time?

While the sector continues to work on better solutions for short term contracts and workload, there is a lot we can be doing right now - and there are already many universities creating supportive research cultures.

In the 2020 Wellcome Trust and Shift Learning report What Researchers Think About the Culture They Work In, respondents noted that:

"working culture is best when it is collaborative, inclusive, supportive, and creative, when researchers are given time to focus on their research priorities, when leadership is transparent and open, and when individuals have a sense of safety and security".

From my own experience working in, managing, and overseeing the funding of research, next to time, the one biggest contributor to culture and research success is effective mentorship and support.

Anybody who has been supported by a great mentor will appreciate how this can accelerate research performance, maximising the use of limited time, expanding opportunities, and building strong careers. Such mentors also create collaborative, inclusive environments which create a strong culture of peer mentoring.

Yet the quality of mentorship can vary, not just across the sector, but also within institutions. One contributing factor is that mentorship for senior academics is often not recognised adequately in metrics-based assessment systems which focus on individual performance. I'll cover this in more detail in a future article, however ensuring that mentors can be rewarded for the performance of their team as a whole could have a significant impact on culture, and the support of earlier career researchers.

In addition, truly effective research cultures arise professional services can play an integral part in working with academic colleagues to help them make the most of their research time, helping to navigate complex funding pathways, and working in partnership with early career researchers and mentors to maximise the chances of success. Thus saving countless wasted hours.

What difference can this make?

Imagine you're an early career researcher on (yet another) short term contract. Or remember back to those days in your own career.

You're not just thinking about establishing your research career. You're also worrying about job security which, in turn, can impact decisions on buying a house, or starting a family. All of which are dependent on you being able to do impactful research, create excellent research outputs, and secure high quality funding. All in just a few years until your contract runs out.

Now imagine that the whole environment and culture of your research group is designed around helping you do the very best research in that time. Providing you with the very best support to achieve your full potential. Giving you full credit and recognition for your work so you can establish a powerful track record. Helping you develop the collaborations you need to get to the next stage in your career.

Suddenly time seems less compressed, the journey less stressful, success more likely. And, perhaps, fewer additional hours needing to be worked.

The same applies for the lecturer who is juggling administration and teaching responsibilities, trying to manage limited research time in the best way possible. They may be supported to negotiate a better distribution of their research time, to make effective use of that allocation, and to develop the internal and external partnerships to maximise the impact of their research.

Now imagine you're the VC or the PVC Research, looking at research performance indicators going up and up as a result of these excellent, supportive cultures. Creating more external income, better performance in #REF, and freeing up more investment for research time in a virtuous circle.

A word about equality, diversity, and inclusion

So far I've talked in general terms about research time. However it is important to note the potential disparity in research time allocation for some individuals with protected characteristics.

While it is not possible to access the specific workload allocations for different protected groups, to some extent this can inferred from the official REF2021 Analysis of inclusion for submission, representation in outputs attribution and scoring report. While there were variations across panels, negative differences between the eligible and submitted population percentages were identified for disabled, black, and female staff, as well as those identifying their gender as not being the same as that assigned at birth.

Any work on research culture must have a strong focus on ensuring that talented researchers can be appropriately resourced and supported to fulfil their own research potential. I have confidence that this will be included in the People, Culture, and Environment assessment in #REF2029, and am looking forward to learning more about the initiatives already taking place to support greater #EDI.

In conclusion

We are almost a quarter of the way through the 21st century. With the scale and complexity of the challenges facing our planet and its population we need, more than ever, to be harnessing the full talent and potential of our researchers.

Committing to using culture to change time is something we can do right now that could have big impacts.

#Research #ResearchCulture #ResearchTime