Details:
Name: Elisabeth Arweck (co-Applicant)
Job Title: Senior Research Fellow
Staff No: 0380543
Department/Centre/Unit/Faculty: Centre for Education Studies
Name: Mairi-Ann Cullen (co-Applicant)
Job Title: Senior Research Fellow
Department/Centre/Unit/Faculty: CEDAR
Departmental Administrator (name): Richard Sutcliffe, CES
Purpose / Objective of the Research Staff Network
The objectives of the Education Researchers’ Network (ERN) are:
(i) To provide a mechanism which creates a social network for researchers who work on educational topics, both formally (meetings) and informally (lunches, contact by e-mail or phone).
(ii) To support the professional development of education researchers across the footprint of education studies at the University of Warwick and to make space for sharing best practice
(iii) To complement the Centre for Education Studies’ Hub and Spoke operational model in providing further networking and development opportunities to support interdisciplinary working
(iv) To facilitate cross departmental research bids, in order to enhance research capacity
(v) To share findings, methodological knowledge and best practice in educational research
(vi) to create a forum where the voice of researchers is heard and where possibilities of research impact can be explored
Details of the Skills/ Development Activity(ies) (Max 500 words):
The Education Researchers Network will hold a monthly meeting for the remainder of the 2014/15 term. The format of these meetings will alternate on a monthly basis between a directive activity and a responsive activity. The design of this format is based on a brief survey of ERN members in Spring
2014, which indicated that network members valued the previous network model, but felt that a
Sandy Sparks, LDC Research Active Staff Network Funding October 2014

greater focus on solid outcomes would be beneficial to all involved.
Directive Activities
Network organisers will arrange sessions regarding some or all of the following topics:

Bid writing workshops

Strategies for interdisciplinary working

Research methods workshops

Thematic discussions around policy, topics or ideas;

Publication strategies

Early career researcher development

Equality and diversity in Research Careers

Skills for Impact and Public engagement
We will enlist expertise from across the university in designing sessions in these areas. For example, we would ask for assistance from RSS in terms of Bid Writing and the LDC/Vitae for Early Career
Researcher Development and other relevant support.
Responsive Activities
We will invite talks on particular research projects or research methodologies from members of ERN and other willing colleagues. This would be an open call for volunteers. This could be focused around a particular area, where we invite more than one speaker or a single speaker who will go into detail about his/her research or a research method.
We will hold 1.5 hour lunchtime sessions to include provision of food and hot drinks.
Date of your activity/event(s), if known: Monthly on Tuesdays (combine with Seminar?).
If you have a website, please give the URL: details are on the LDC website: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/ldc/researchers/community/networks/education/
Please state which events will be open to other University of Warwick Research Active staff or if relevant to a specific facility or department: All events will be open to any member of staff at
Warwick.
Is this a new network or existing network? New / Existing
Scope/ Evaluation / Impact of activity(ies) proposed
We estimate that the network will attract a regular attendance of 15 people. Previously, ERN attracted a regular cohort of 15 researchers and we expect that the agenda in CES, alongside the revised ERN model, will engage a similar number of researchers. As indicated, the survey of the ERN members showed that the network is valued and therefore members are keen to attend. CES has held thematic networking sessions which has attracted researchers from all three faculties at
Sandy Sparks, LDC Research Active Staff Network Funding October 2014

Warwick, including Psychology, WMS, Computer Science, Economics, Politics and International
Studies and traditional education departments such as CEDAR, CAL and CLL.
Success will be measured by:
1.
Number of attendees
2.
Breadth of departmental representation of attendees
3.
Number of research bids / teams emerging as a result
How do you plan to let Research Active Staff know about your events/meetings (LDC RAS website
or RAS e-newsletter can be used)? We will develop a website to disseminate materials and information regarding ERN. This will include an online forum to support discussions at face to face meetings, as indicated in our survey of members. CES will also continue to support events by maintaining an email circulation list.
How do you plan to share the learning / best practice with other University of Warwick Research
Staff Networks? We will have a short session / conduct a short survey at the end of the academic year to allow staff to provide feedback. This will form the basis of some best practice points that can be shared with other staff research networks. Organisers will attend the Research Staff Forum meeting to share best practice.
Benefit of ERN Activities
To the University: Holding a session on equality and diversity in research careers can contribute to the university/ faculty submissions to Gender Equality Mark and Athena Swan. It will assist in developing the skills to facilitate impact and public engagement, which is of increasing importance to the determination of QR and External Funding. ERN has at its heart a commitment to interdisciplinarity. As such, ERN will contribute to ‘delivering world-class research’ - Goal 2 of the
University Strategy ‘Looking Forward’.
To the Centre for Education Studies: ERN activity will provide a further way to support CES’s hub and spoke operational model, complementing other activities which are held to provide a forum for collaboration between researchers with interests in education from different disciplines (e.g. CES
Research Seminars).
Research agenda: ERN will benefit several research agendas across the university, by providing staff with wider skills related to generating and disseminating excellent research. It will also serve as a vehicle to promote new collaborations and sharing of methodology that could lead to new research foci and /or new applications of methods in different contexts.
Total amount of funding requested:
£950
Breakdown of funding requested (approximate):
£630 for Lunch (for 15 people at £6 pp for 7 meetings)
£210 for tea and coffee (for 15 people at £2 pp for 7 meetings)
Sandy Sparks, LDC Research Active Staff Network Funding October 2014

£110 for travel expenses for external speakers.
*Signature of Applicant: …………………………………………………………. Date: ………………………………...
Head of Department’s signature:
Head of Department: ……………………………………………………
(please print)
**Signed: ……………………………………………….…………….…
Please send your completed form either in hard copy or electronically to Sandy Sparks
( Sandy.Sparks@warwick.ac.uk
) in the Learning and Development Centre, University House.
If you have any queries, please contact Sandy to discuss (either via email at the above address or on extn 74121).
*You can either sign a hardcopy, scan in your signature or email the application which will be taken as your signature.
**Your HOD can either sign a hardcopy, scan in their signature or send an email to Sandy Sparks stating they support your application.
For LDC use
Approved by: ……………………………………………………..……..….
Amount approved: £………………………………………….……………
Date: ……………………………...
Date: …………………………….
Budget Code: ……………………..
Sandy Sparks, LDC Research Active Staff Network Funding October 2014

Report:
Funding awards are conditional upon a report being produced after the event or activity which reflects on the value and impact of the activity in order to share best practice. We ask you to do this by completing Part B of this form within 2 weeks of the event or by 31 July 2015 for a series of
events. (Please note that funding may be retracted where reports are not produced).
Please tell us:
 How you felt the event/activity went:
 How many research staff were involved in a) the organisational process:
and b) presenting at the event itself:
 How it has contributed to the Department/ University/ Research Agenda:
 What has been learnt:
 What would be done differently next time:
 Impact/results/benefits:
 Budget (provide breakdown of amounts spent):
£
£
£
*Signature of Applicant: ……………………………………………………… Date: ……………………………………….
Please send your completed report either in hard copy or electronically to Sandy Sparks
( Sandy.Sparks@warwick.ac.uk
) in the Learning and Development Centre, University House.
*You can either sign a hardcopy, scan in your signature or email the report which will be taken as your signature.
Report received (date): ……………………………….. Amount spent: £ ……………………………………
Sandy Sparks, LDC Research Active Staff Network Funding October 2014