The Researcher Development
Framework for career development
of research degree students
Alison Mitchell
alison.mitchell@vitae.ac.uk
Vitae®, © 2011 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited
Aims of presentation
About Vitae
The UK Researcher Development Framework
Using the UK Researcher Development
Framework
Researchers
Staff supporting researchers
Institutions
Discussion
Vitae vision and aims
For the UK to be world-class in supporting the personal,
professional and career development of researchers
Build human capital by influencing the development and
implementation of effective policy relating to researcher development
Enhance higher education provision to train and develop
researchers
Empower researchers to make an impact in their careers
Evidence the impact of professional and career development support
for researchers
Researcher development in context
The UK is committed to the development of worldclass researchers.
Researchers are critical to economic success
Researchers’ careers span a wider variety of
employment sectors
Strong UK commitment to
researcher development
The Researcher Development
Framework (RDF)
Major new approach to researcher development
Builds the UK research base
Develops world-class researchers
Enhances the personal, professional and career
development of researchers
Developed through UK-wide interviews
with successful researchers in a range
of disciplines
Led by Vitae in collaboration with the
HE sector and other stakeholders
The Researcher Development
Framework (RDF)
Framework of the knowledge, behaviour and attributes of
successful researchers
Enables self-assessment of strengths and areas for further
development
Common framework across institutions in the UK
Universal language for
communicating researcher
capabilities
The Researcher
Development Framework (RDF)
The professional development framework to realise
the potential of researchers
The RDF development
Literature survey
definitions of research and research roles
Literature review – competency frameworks
academic and related occupations
Empirical data
experienced researchers
audio-recorded, semi-structured interviews
>100 interviews
range of experiences, institution types, geographical context,
disciplines, demographics
>1000 characteristics and variants, clustered into common
groups
Broad consultation
242 sector responses
Employer validation
Advisory & Project groups
The Researcher Development
Statement (RDS)
The Researcher Development Statement (RDS) is the
strategic statement of the RDF:
for policy makers and research organisations
endorsed by 26 stakeholder organisations including the
Research Councils, QAA, UUK and the funding councils
an evolution of the Research Councils’ Joint Skills
Statement (JSS)
The RDS and RDF together provide:
strategic statement (RDS)
operational framework (RDF)
Using the RDF and RDS
Researchers:
identify strengths and priorities for
professional and career development
Managers, supervisors and employers of researchers
fundamental to planning researcher development
Staff supporting researchers in HEIs
underpins strategies for researcher development
Policy makers, employers and other stakeholders
realising researchers’ potential for all sectors of the
economy and society
4 domains
12 sub-domains
63 descriptors
The Researcher Development
CPD tool
Choose a domain to develop
skills
Click on the relevant additional
buttons to access report,
guidance notes and useful
resources for personal and
career development planning
Choosing areas for development
Assess your skills/knowledge
Lens on the RDF
Clusters of knowledge, behaviour and attributes
Identified using a special lens methodology
Intrapreneurship
Public engagement
Enterprise
Teaching
Leadership
Information handling
Intrapreneurial Lens on RDF
Example:
mapping 1 section of Intrapreneurial capabilities
RDF Domain
RDF Category
Intrapreneur
capability
A1.Persistence and
resilience
B1. Environmental
scanning
B
Perseverance
B
Preparation and prioritisation
D
Networking; Interdisciplinary
awareness
C1. Maintains contacts
out of academia or own
discipline
D
Enterprise
D1. Impact and
influence
B
Self-confidence
E1. Self awareness
Researcher feedback
‘It was very good for me to reflect.
I realised that nothing is stopping me
but myself. The sky is the limit.’
‘The RDF will encourage me to be more
proactive about my career development
as it provides me with a framework (list
of milestones).’
‘I’ve always thought of myself as being
quite ambitious, driven and focussed on
what I want, but the framework made me
realise I can have a much larger vision.’
‘It put career development back into
the forefront of my mind as it can often
slip back when you’re engaged in what
you’re doing day to day.’
Links and resources
RDF: www.vitae.ac.uk/rdf
RDS: www.vitae.ac.uk/rds
RDF profiles:www.vitae.ac.uk/rdfprofiles
Downloadable CPD tool: www.vitae.ac.uk/rdftool
Contact: rdf@vitae.ac.uk