Research active staff urged to join focus groups

Research active staff are being invited, by the LJMU Concordat Steering Group, to participate in a focus group on the research environment and culture at LJMU.

Research culture encompasses the behaviours, values, expectations, attitudes, and norms of our research communities. It influences researchers' experiences and determines the way that research is conducted and communicated. Research culture can also impact factors including, but not limited to:

• Integrity of Research
• Diversity & Inclusion in Research
• Career paths of researchers
• Reward and recognition
• Open Science
• The ethos of collaboration

In short, a positive research culture can be hugely impactful, promoting excellence, creativity, and innovation.

We want to understand the current research culture at LJMU so that we can strive for the best possible research environment for individuals and teams. To do this, we need research active staff to come forward and engage in honest and constructive discussions throughout the coming months.

Our aspiration is to run a total of ten focus groups across the institution, equating to two per faculty (one for research managers and one for both researchers who are not PIs and fixed term research staff).

These focus groups will last for around 90 minutes, be conducted by an independent person, all data handled confidentially and analysed to identify themes which will inspire future action.

Dates, times, and mode (in person/online) of meetings will be determined by attendees of each group. If in person, lunch will be provided as an extra thank you for your time.

This work is being conducted as part of our efforts towards the Concordat to support the career development of researchers.

If you have any queries or would be willing to take part please email Dr Tori Sprung (V.S.Sprung@ljmu.ac.uk) and/or Kristin Minister (K.L.McGinty@2018.ljmu.ac.uk).