I am delighted to introduce the University of Brighton’s new implementation plan for the 'Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers 2020-2022'.
Over the past ten years, we have made considerable progress in the provision of support for our research community. The launch of our Research and Enterprise Strategic Plan 2017-2021 gave us the opportunity to invest in and support staff to develop research and enterprise capabilities that will enhance our local, regional, national and international profile.
This implementation plan sets out how we will further strengthen our significant investment in research infrastructure support for staff at all stages of their research career. We will continue to enhance career support for our broad range of Early Career Researchers (ECRs) through our mentoring and peer support, by developing new strands of development activity related to enterprise and knowledge exchange, and by the provision of training support for those ECRs from professional backgrounds. We will enrich the understanding of academic quality, responsibilities in relation to professional integrity and enable ECRs to gain doctoral supervision experience and highlight their successes.
We will also focus on equipping our managers and leaders to enable them to deliver this agenda, providing training and networking opportunities. We are proactively supporting the progression of female and BAME into senior grades, through a new focused leadership programme that includes mentoring. Finally, we aim to formalise the enhanced representation of our ECR community through relevant committees, develop a more comprehensive web presence for staff at all career stages, and build up the external profile of staff by supporting them to participate in national and international roles.
Our planned actions will ensure that staff are able to fully realise their potential in a university that is inspirational and supportive.