Support for research staff

Birmingham prides itself on both its world leading research and its dynamic and globally-oriented research environment. The University is therefore committed to supporting the development of its Research Staff, and to the principles of the concordat to support the career development of researchers.

Research staff smilingResearch staff at the University will have access to a dedicated webpage created by Research Staff for Research Staff, to give you access to resources that will help you to drive your own career development, support your research practices or encourage you to make a career here at Birmingham.

Who do we mean by ‘research staff’?

Our definition of research staff is drawn from the concordat, and defines researchers as:

  • ‘Individuals whose primary responsibility is to conduct research and who are employed for this purpose.’

We also recognise that ‘research staff’ refers to a wide range of staff including those with:

  • different disciplinary backgrounds
  • varying levels of training
  • a wide variety of different experiences and responsibility types
  • different types of contract (fixed or open ended, full or part time)
  • diverse career expectations

What support do we offer?

The University offers a comprehensive range of support for its research staff, this includes:

  • training and development opportunities supported by our departments of People and Organisational Development (POD) and HEFI
  • continually reviewing and updating the support and development available to researchers as part of our commitment to the principles of The Concordat and HR Excellence. The University is currently going through the HR Excellence in Research reaccreditation process
  • assistance in finding funding for your research, making grant applications and assessing the full economic cost of your research
  • vibrant research communities at a department, school, college and University wide level within the institution.

If you are interested in finding out more about the array of research staff support opportunities we provide our research staff with you can visit our intranet pages (link out here to UCMS site) and view a comprehensive list of available services and support.