Researcher Development Concordat and Training

Also known as 'The Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers', the Researcher Development Concordat is a statement of the expectations and responsibilities of researchers, their managers, institutions, and funders in developing Early Career Researchers (ECRs). It is a national document with three principles:

• Environment and culture
• Employment
• Professional and career development.

One of the York's responsibilities as a signatory to the Concordat is to produce an action plan to support the development of ECRs, and all Departments fed into the current action plan. The University also commits to providing:

• Opportunities, structured support, encouragement and time for researchers to engage in a minimum of 10 days' professional development pro rata per year, recognising that researchers will pursue careers across as wide range of employment sectors
• Opportunity and time to develop their research identity and leadership skills 
• Monitoring and recording of 10 days minimum professional development training and career development reviews 
• Training, support and time for managers to engage in meaningful career development reviews (not PDRs) with their researchers.

University training opportunities

The University's Building Research and Innovation Capacity Team aims to equip researchers with the skills, expertise, environment and culture in which they and their research can flourish. This includes a number of training courses and they also send out regular newsletters to researchers.

Looking Beyond Horizons provides resources to help ECRs make informed choices about their professional development and career needs, including the development of a Professional Development Plan (PDP).

Recommended courses:

• How to Write Your First Grant Proposal

• Leading and Chairing Meetings

• Facilitation Skills

• Partnerships, Networking and Communicating with Partners.

There are also other department-level courses around the university which may be of interest, such as coding workshops in the School of Physics, Engineering and Technology.

Research Support (environment-research@york.ac.uk) are happy to discuss research/Fellowship options (see 'Finding Funding').

External training

Vitae is an organisation that provides supporting the professional development of researchers. Vitae provides support and resources for your professional development and has four aims:

• Influence the development and implementation of effective policy relating to researcher development
• Enhance higher education provision to train and develop researchers
• Empower researchers to make an impact in their careers
• Evidence the impact of professional and career development support for researchers.

The Vitae Researcher Development Framework is for you if you are doing a doctorate, are a member of research staff, pursuing an academic career or thinking about applying the skills developed during your PhD in another career. The Framework can help you to plan your development to ensure that you are covering the range of skills needed for your future career.