Concordat action plan

This is our current action plan showing the ten obligations, our gap analysis, and our steps to meet these. Please note this is likely to change as we progress with our actions.

This action plan demonstrates our public commitment to meeting our obligations under the new Researcher Development
Concordat. Please note, Obligation 10 is broken down into three components, i.e. 10 (a), 10 (b) and 10 (c), for ease of tracking.
The timeline information is intended as a guide to when our actions will be undertaken or completed by, including if these are to
be ongoing. Any ongoing actions as part of continuous improvement are marked with ‘Continuous’

#	Obligation	Gap analysis	Action undertaken / required	Action owner	Additional resource implication?	Timeline
1	Researchers and those who support their work must be aware of the Concordat and its implications.	Variable compliance across faculties.	Embed in all Faculty Research & Innovation (R&I) Committees ToR for onward dissemination.	ADs (R&I).	No.	From Aug 2021.
		Variable compliance across faculties.	Adapt new staff induction materials to enhance focus on Researcher Development Concordat.	People & Organisational Development (POD). PGR Framework Lead.	No.	From Feb 2022.
		Met.	Develop information briefings to be delivered as a short training session via ‘MyView’.	PGR Framework Lead.	No.	2021/22 academic year.
2	Institutional policies and practices should be inclusive, equitable & transparent with good mental health and wellbeing being promoted & supported. Research leaders & managers must be effectively trained in all of these.	Variable compliance across faculties.	Policies comply.  Line manager training to be implemented and monitored via PDR.	Deans.	No.	From July 2021.
2		Variable compliance across faculties.	Working group recommends University to sign collaborative agreement to implement Vitae ‘Culture, Environment & Development in Academic Research Survey’ (CEDARS).	DVC Research, Innovation & Engagement	No.	Questionnaire open from April - June in the next cycle.
3	Researchers must be aware of, and act in accordance with, the highest standards of research integrity.	Met	Via Committee for Ethics in Research and compliance with the Concordat to Support Research Integrity.	University Research Ethics Committee. University Research & Innovation Committee. Faculty Research & Innovation Sub-Committees	No.	Continuous.
4	The University must regularly review and report on the quality of the research environment & culture, including seeking feedback from researchers, and use the outcomes to improve institutional practices.	Ongoing.	Use ‘Culture, Employment and Development in Academic Research Survey’ (CEDARS) to collect researcher views to inform action planning. Outcomes will be combined with progress against UoB ‘Research Environment Statement and Action Plan’.	DVC Research, Innovation & Engagement.	No	From next survey roll-out. Reviewed annually in the research planning cycle.
5	Recruitment, recognition, reward or promotion must be open, transparent and merit-based, using fair and inclusive selection, appointment or promotion practices that recognise the full range of researchers’ contributions & the diversity of personal circumstances	Met. From Sept 2020 (roll out of ‘Bradford Academic’).	Via line manager training, implementation of Athena Swan action plans, implementation of ‘Bradford Academic: Career Journey’, and regular PDR and career development discussions. This also includes the ‘Responsible use of Research Metrics’ statement.	Deans. HR.	No.	Reviewed annually as part of research planning cycle.
6	Those new to research or new to the University of Bradford’s community must receive an effective induction, ensuring that researchers are integrated into the community and are aware of policies and practices relevant to their position.	Partially met.	Staff inductions will be adapted to include information related to the Concordat on new starter checklist delivered via ‘MyView’.	ADs (R&I). POD. PGR Framework Lead.	No.	2021/22 academic year.
6		Partially met.	New ‘Researcher Development’ SharePoint site will signpost to ECR-relevant policies and practice, including: ‘Good Supervisory Practice Framework’ ‘Supervisor Recognition Programme’ for research supervisors and access to PGR framework’.	New researcher developer.	Yes	Site under development, ready for launch in March 2022.
7	Managers of researchers, Heads of Department & equivalent must also be given access to training & development opportunities appropriate to the continuous improvement of their management skills.	Partially met.	Via existing POD policies and developmental opportunities.	HR. POD.	No.	Promotion of materials to PGR supervisors and managers of researchers from 2021-22 academic year. Monitoring of uptake of training and development from 2022- 23 academic year.
			Personal development plans developed within PebblePad eportfolio (researchers) and objectives within PDRs (managers) will identify specific training needs.	Deans. Heads of School.	Yes.
			Development of new training to support PGR supervision practice through the Good Supervisory Practice Framework and UKCGE Supervisor Recognition Programme.	PGR Framework Lead. DPGRs	No.
8	Excellent people management must be championed throughout the organisation & embedded in institutional culture, through annual appraisals, transparent promotion criteria, & workload allocation. Appraisal activities should involve career development reviews. Researchers should have access to professional advice on career management, across a breadth of careers. The University should seek to improve job security for its researchers.	Partially met.	Via PDR and implementation of ‘Bradford Academic: Career Journey’.	HR. POD. Deans	No	September 2020
			Training of mentors.	POD. ADs (R&I).	No	From 2021-22 academic year.
			Career management and development advice will be available to researchers through trained mentors, outside line management/supervision team and via Career and Employability Services (CES) consultations and training sessions.	CES. POD. External experts.	No Expenses for any external experts.	From 2021-22 academic year.
			Invitations for keynote speakers in a range of careers to present at annual ECR celebration	ADs (R&I).	Expenses for any external experts.	From 2022.
			Opportunities through SURE fund for fellowships to retain our most talented ECRs, enhancing job security.	DVC Research, Innovation & Engagement. RaIS.	No.	From September 2021.
			Via existing policies and procedures relating to the management of fixed-term contracts and support through the redeployment process.	HR. Deans. Heads of Schools.	No.	Continuous.
9	Researchers (as well as managers) should be treated as key stakeholders within the institution and we should provide formal opportunities to engage with relevant organisational policy and decision making around research.	Met.	Via DVC Research Leadership Group; University and Faculties’ Research & Innovation Committees.	DVC Research, Innovation & Engagement. ADs (R&I).	No.	Continuous.
10 (a)	Opportunities, structured support, encouragement and time for researchers to engage in a minimum of ten days professional development pro rata per year should be provided. Such activities need to offer space for researchers to develop their research identity, decolonisation of themselves and their research and broader leadership skills.	No formal policy or practice currently in place.	Line managers via PDR and Training Needs Analysis identify individual researcher career aspirations and support professional development.	Deans. ADs (R&I). Heads of School	No.	Development and implementation during 2021-2022 academic year.
10 (a)		No formal policy or practice currently in place.	Career and Employability Services workshops to be offered on e.g. CV development, self-assessment, professional networking skills for researchers, researcher identity development	CES. RaIS. HR. POD.	No.
10 (b)	Such provision should recognise that researchers will pursue careers across a wide range of employment sectors and that this can bring benefits to researchers and the future of excellent research.	No formal policy or practice currently in place.	Invitations for keynote speakers in a range of careers to present at annual ECR celebration.	ADs (R&I). New researcher developer.	Yes.	End of 2022.
10 (b)		No formal policy or practice currently in place.	Opportunities for ECRs to engage with stakeholders via Business and Community Engagement sub-strategy.	DVC Research, Innovation & Engagement. RaIS.	No.	End of 2022.
10 (c)	Our institution should monitor, and report on, the engagement of researchers and their managers with professional development activities, and researcher career development reviewing.	No formal policy or practice currently in place.	Implementation of CEDARS will enable monitoring of management of researchers, early career researcher professional and career development, the research environment and culture.	ADs (R&I). N	No.	Next cycle of new survey.
			Staff questionnaires to collect data for Athena Swan to include relevant questions for ECRs only.	ADs (R&I). ADs (EDI)	No.	End of 2022.
			Line manager training to be developed in mechanisms to support our diverse researcher community (for example, in reasonable adjustments and a refresh of temporary contract management).	HR. POD.	No.	End of 2023.