Learning & Development
FOR RESEARCH
ACTIVE STAFF
JULY 2014
E-NEWSLETTER
SUPPORT
OVERVIEW
Learning and Development
support for all Research
Active Staff at Warwick
focuses on five main areas
of support:
 Career Development
 Enterprise &
Entrepreneurship
 Equality & Diversity
 Leadership
 Skills
Please contact Sandy Sparks:
Sandra.Sparks@warwick.ac.uk
with any queries or to discuss
your needs.
Visit the website for Research
Active Staff (below) for details
on current support.
The Learning and Development
provision for research active
staff (research, academic and
teaching) for 2014/15 is
currently being developed.
Research Staff Forum:
take part in the next meeting
The minutes from the most recent Research
Staff Forum, held on 21 May are now
available at:
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/ldc/researchers/
community/rsf/rsf_meetings/
Details of the discussions and comments from
representatives across the university are included, in
addition to the update from PVC Tim Jones on
pertinent developments in:
 Research Impact
 Open Access
 Research Data Management
 Funding
The next meeting is being held on 8 October
2014, 12-2pm in the Wolfson Research
Exchange.
Details about the forum can be found at: http://
www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/ldc/researchers/
community/rsf/
For further information or to book a place on
the next forum meeting please email:
reearcherqueries@warwick.ac.uk
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/ldc/researchers
NEW THIS
MONTH:
EVENT NEWS:
 Networking in the
region for research
staff
 Vitae Open Space:
Supporting
Doctoral Training
SUPPORT
UPDATE:
 Research Data
Management
FOCUS ON: RESEARCH DATA MANAGEMENT
All researchers produce ‘research data’ in the
course of their projects and investigations.
Without research data there is nothing to base
research outputs on and more and more the data
produced by a project can be seen as a research
output in and of itself. All researchers are used to
handling research data and disciplines have, over
time, developed best practices in dealing with
research data – be that data from a scientific
instrument , participant interviews or images from
a gallery. Research Data Management (RDM) is
vital to the success of a research project and as such
there are roles for each member of staff involved in
the project, from Principle Investigators and
Project Officers to Individual Researchers and
Research Technicians.
Research Data Management
has recently become a priority
for research funders, including
RCUK who have issued their
‘Common Principles on Data’
Policy (1) as well as the
Wellcome Trust (2) and
Horizon 2020 (3).
These policies set out an
expectation on researchers that
they register what data they
have created, where it can be
found and make it available to
other researchers as and when
required. So whether your
data stays with you or is shared with collaborators or is
destined for a disciplinary repository, the important
thing is that you know what it is, what you’re doing
with it and what will happen to it in the future.
The University of Warwick has a ‘Research Data
Management’ Policy (4) which has been created to
guide researchers in complying with the funders
requirements as well as to guide the development
of support processes and services in the institution.
As these services are finalised and launched we will
be rolling them out across campus and inviting
feedback to help develop them further.
But there is help available now:
Research funders are now requiring Data Management
Plans (DMPs) in their grant applications. These DMPs are
a good habit to get into even if you are not applying for
funding as they can help you plan the actions you need to
take at all stages of your research as well as being good
practice for grant applications. The Digital Curation Centre
has developed an online tool, DMPOnline (5), which walks
you through all of the stages of creating and
updating a DMP as you research.
As you create your DMP it is worth investigating the range
of quality storage options (6) available from IT Services for
people looking to ensure the security and long term life of
their research data. These options are designed to be
flexible and fit a range of use cases and needs, get in
touch if you want to explore these options further.
As part of the requirements for the research
councils as well as the Warwick policy researchers
need to‘register’ their datasets with the institution.
This can be done through WRAP
(http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk) in the same
way as you would give us information
about publications. Please get in
touch if you would like training in
how to register your datasets.
The most important thing for
researchers to do at this stage
it to be aware of the best
practice in your discipline for
research data management as
well as any requirements you
or your research students may
be under. We are developing
training at the moment for
researchers wanting to learn
more, which will be available
soon, but in the meantime if you have any
questions, do not hesitate to get in touch with us at:
researchdata@warwick.ac.uk
Reference Links:
(1) http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/research/datapolicy/
(2) http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/about-us/policy/policyand-position-statements/wtx035043.htm
(3) http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/
h2020/grants_manual/hi/oa_pilot/h2020-hi-oa-datamgt_en.pdf
(4) http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/rss/
researchgovernance_ethics/research_code_of_practice/
datacollection_retention/research_data_mgt_policy/
(5) https://dmponline.dcc.ac.uk/
(6) http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/its/
servicessupport/datastorage/
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/ldc/researchers/
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ACTIVITIES AT WARWICK AND IN THE MIDLANDS
Research Awards:
Energy Global
Research Priority
Academics are invited to
apply for funding to support
research activities in the field of energy.
The awards aim to provide funds for modest
support for research activity specifically
related to any activities in the field of energy
and/or pump-priming support for the
development of new research initiatives
Applicants may apply for funds up to
£20,000 and the scheme closes on
11 July 2014. For further details visit:
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/research/
priorities/energy/news/researchawards
=========================
Windows on Warwick
Gender Equality Charter Mark (GEM)
8 July 2014
This introduction to GEM will be
particularly useful for those interested in or
thinking of applying for GEM in the future.
For details visit: http://ww2.warwick.ac.uk/
services/ldc/development/wow/gem1
========================
WMS Book & Journal Club
The final book club meeting for this year will
be held at: 11am to midday on 29 July
Room A-030 (WMS)
‘Mathematics vs. statistical
modelling in infectious diseases.’
Lunch will be provided after the meeting.
For more information please visit:
http://warwick.ac.uk/wmsbookclub
======================
PGA in Technology Enhanced
Learning: Recruiting for September
The course is open to all staff with a role in
teaching, development or learning support.
Further details can be found at:
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/ldc/
development/pgatel
Midlands Research Staff Association
Career Development and Networking event
10.00am—4.00pm on 17 July 2014
University of Nottingham
Warwick has a strong network of staff associations across the
institution, but for research staff who are interested in looking at
more regional networking opportunities, you may be interested in
signing up to the Midlands RSA (no strings, just a mailing list/LinkedIN
group for useful activities and job opportunities) and attending this
event.
The aim is to draw together research staff in the Midlands for the
following:
 to attend a morning career development skills session giving
guidance on unconscious bias (awareness in the research
environment); interview success; career progression and career
change outside academia.
 participate in a networking afternoon to shape the direction of the
MRSA going forward to meet individual and collaborative
researcher needs across the region.
Expert careers consultants and researcher developers will facilitate the
day. The event is free to attend, including refreshments and a
buffet lunch.
Contact Lisa Lavender for more details (L.Lavender@warwick.ac.uk) or
visit the event booking site at: https://www.vitae.ac.uk/events/midlandsrsa-career-development-networking-event
The latest Vitae Midlands Hub blog explores the recent Vitae Open Space
event at which students, researcher developers and leaders of doctoral
training in universities discussed the following theme:
“How can we, together, support researchers, ensuring an
equality of professional development provision for all, in
light of the changing structures for doctoral education,
such as doctoral training centres?”
Discussions were thought-provoking, with ideas from a range of
institutions on models that could be adopted or adapted elsewhere.
Amy O’Reilly, a PhD attendee from Warwick commented, “… In DTCs,
there is a more defined training element to the course, with a cohortbased approach - the advantages of these aspects of DTCs were
discussed at the Vitae event and how all postgraduate research (PGR)
students could benefit from the ethos that comes with DTCs. It was
really interesting to hear these issues discussed from the viewpoint of
the professionals working to support PGR students and what they do to
continually aid the development of researchers."
To read this and other blog posts in full visit:
Vitaemidhub.wordpress.com
Follow us on twitter @MidlandsHub
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/ldc/researchers/
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