Research Professional Futures: individual survey

Introduction to the Research Professional Futures individual perception survey

About the project:

The Research Professional Futures (RPF) project aims to reshape how research is delivered in the UK. It seeks to achieve this by focusing on Research Professionals (RPs) who are a diverse group of specialists whose skills are essential for delivering research.

They operate in various areas, including research development, governance and systems, public engagement, knowledge exchange, commercialisation, and library services and include staff from central teams, faculties, and those embedded within research groups, as well as third space professionals and individuals with lived research experience from within or outside the sector. The RPF project will continue to refine this working definition of Research Professionals and the emerging typology of 11 categories of Research Professional activity is shown below.

1. Research funding and research business development	7. Research compliance, governance and regulatory requirements
2. Research environment, culture and researcher development	8. Managing research portfolios: applications, awards, projects and income
3. Research systems, infrastructure, and management	9. Research project, programme and centre management
4. Library, collection and research information services	10. Clinical and NHS-linked research management
5. Research strategy, policy and planning	11. Research communications and marketing
6. Knowledge exchange, impact and commercialisation

The project will also co-create with the sector a strategic blueprint for both RPs and institutions to realise the full potential of this workforce, improve efficiency, and foster a more collaborative research culture.

The Research Professional Futures project is funded by Research England and will run for a period of 4 years until December 2029. This research has received a favourable opinion from School of Social Sciences Health and Law Ethics Sub-Committee at Teesside University, which is Chaired by Professor Nigel Copsey (ethics reference: 32735).

The next page contains more detail about the purpose of this survey and consent and data protection information.