Researcher Development Concordat Annual Report 2023-2024

The University of Dundee is committed to supporting the professional and career development of our researchers with a focus on academic excellence at all career stages. The University of Dundee became a signatory to the revised Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers in January 2021 (hereafter referred to as “the Concordat”) and has held the HR Excellence in Research Award (HR EiR) since 2010. The HR EiR award was renewed in June 2024, recognising the University’s continued commitment to supporting an enabling and inclusive research culture as well as a thriving environment for our researchers. The original HR-EiR also endorses the University’s commitment to the revised Researcher Development Concordats.

The following report provides an overview of progress to date in implementing the obligations of the Concordat - setting out key strategic objectives to support researchers and embed a positive and inclusive research culture for them at every stage of their career.

A key element of the most recent University strategy that ties in with Research Culture is the People and Talent Enabling Strategy, which highlights, among other things:

• A renewed commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI strategy launch Oct 2024).
• A determination to deliver “exemplary staff development programmes” for all staff.
• The pursuit of best practice in reward and recognition.

While our relatively large population of research staff constitute the immediate beneficiaries of our actions in implementing the Researcher Development Concordat, a key feature of our approach going forward is to be maximally holistic, linking interventions specifically aimed at research staff to broad institutional change to the benefit of everyone wherever possible.