Challenges and opportunities: Challenges: financial pressures; technological changes; understanding and meeting audience needs; institutional positioning. Opportunities: positive contributions to research culture; using AI in development; collaboration.

In a challenging landscape opportunities include making a difference to research culture, using AI in researcher development and collaboration with other institutions. Read more from the #researcherdevelopment public report with @Vitae-news.bsky.social: buff.ly/76YyQRl #VitaeCon #VitaeCon2025

Programmes and delivery: Programmes for research students and staff cover a wide range of topics; opportunities for professional and technical staff are more limited. Most activity is delivered through synchronous sessions.

Most activity is delivered through synchronous sessions, although asynchronous delivery is more frequently used for delivery to research students. Read more from the #researcherdevelopment public report undertaken with @Vitae-news.bsky.social: buff.ly/76YyQRl #VitaeCon #VitaeCon2025

Engagement: Barriers are lack of recognition in workload and limited awareness of opportunities. Engagement is strengthened by embedding reflections in performance reviews, targeted communications and senior leaders’ support.

Critical barriers to engagement are lack of recognition in workload allocation and lack of awareness of available opportunities. Read more from the #researcherdevelopment public report undertaken with @Vitae-news.bsky.social: buff.ly/76YyQRl #VitaeCon #VitaeCon2025

Structures: Responsibility is shared across institutional units, reflecting specialisation and proximity to researchers. Roles involve high levels of fractional input: staff balance researcher development with other duties.

Responsibilities for #researcherdevelopment are shared across different parts of institutions, reflecting specialisation and proximity to researchers. Read more from the #researcherdevelopment public report undertaken with @Vitae-news.bsky.social: buff.ly/76YyQRl #VitaeCon #VitaeCon2025

Strategy: Only a minority of institutions have dedicated researcher development strategies. Research Committees are the key governance route for researcher development.

Only a minority of institutions have a dedicated researcher development strategy and research committees are a key governance route. Read more from the #researcherdevelopment public report undertaken with @Vitae-news.bsky.social: buff.ly/76YyQRl #VitaeCon #VitaeCon2025

Evaluation: Evaluation is used to assess impact, inform programme development and share good practice. Key challenges include gathering longitudinal data and granularity of evaluation.

Researcher development study illustrates the importance and challenges of effective evaluation. Developing robust approaches to evaluation are key areas for development. Read more from the #researcherdevelopment public report with @Vitae-news.bsky.social: buff.ly/76YyQRl #VitaeCon #VitaeCon2025

Challenges and opportunities: Challenges: financial pressures; technological changes; understanding and meeting audience needs; institutional positioning. Opportunities: positive contributions to research culture; using AI in development; collaboration.

In a challenging external and internal landscape opportunities include making a positive difference to research culture, using AI in #researcherdevelopment and collaboration with other institutions. #VitaeCon #VitaeCon2025 7/7

Programmes and delivery: Programmes for research students and staff cover a wide range of topics; opportunities for professional and technical staff are more limited. Most activity is delivered through synchronous sessions.

Most activity is delivered through synchronous sessions, although asynchronous delivery is more frequently used for delivery to research students. #researcherdevelopment #VitaeCon #VitaeCon2025. 6/7

Engagement: Barriers are lack of recognition in workload and limited awareness of opportunities. Engagement is strengthened by embedding reflections in performance reviews, targeted communications and senior leaders’ support.

Critical barriers to engagement are lack of recognition in workload allocation and lack of awareness of available opportunities. #researcherdevelopment #VitaeCon #VitaeCon2025 5/7

Structures: Responsibility is shared across institutional units, reflecting specialisation and proximity to researchers. Roles involve high levels of fractional input: staff balance researcher development with other duties.

Responsibilities for #researcherdevelopment are shared across different parts of institutions, reflecting specialisation and proximity to researchers. #VitaeCon #VitaeCon2025 4/7

Strategy: Only a minority of institutions have dedicated researcher development strategies. Research Committees are the key governance route for researcher development.

Only a minority of institutions have a dedicated researcher development strategy and research committees are a key governance route #researcherdevelopment #VitaeCon #VitaeCon2025 3/7

Evaluation: Evaluation is used to assess impact, inform programme development and share good practice. Key challenges include gathering longitudinal data and granularity of evaluation.

The study illustrates the importance and challenges of effective evaluation, and developing robust and effective approaches to evaluation, including longitudinal evaluation are key areas for future development #researcherdevelopment #VitaeCon #VitaeCon2025 2/7

Infographic showing the main findings from the researcher development study, covering aspects of evaluation, strategy, structures, engagement, programmes and delivery, challenges and opportunities.

At #VitaeCon2025 we launched the report from a researcher development study in partnership with @Vitae-news.bsky.social with 14 UK & Australian universities, supporting 40,000 research staff and students. See the infographic & public report: buff.ly/76YyQRl

#researcherdevelopment #VitaeCon 🧵1/7