Vitae Annual Report 2023-2024 Global leader in supporting the professional development of researchers www.vitae.ac.uk LinkedIn: @Vitae X: @Vitae_news © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited 1 Foreword from the CRAC Chair I am excited to see the many developments made by Vitae in 2023-2024. This year, three themes have guided the annual programme: Aligning researcher development with research culture; supporting diverse career pathways; and informing policy and practice. The year began with the Vitae International Researcher Development Conference in September 2023, Vitae’s flagship annual event for the research community. Over 350 participants with a stake in researcher development participated, representing 125 organisations and institutions worldwide, spanning 15 countries. Professor David Oswell, Chair of the Board of Trustees, Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) and Pro- Warden for Research, Enterprise and Knowledge Exchange at Goldsmiths, University of London. The researcher development community came together to energise and inspire each other, to forge new relationships and fortify existing ones. It really was a great event with many insightful takeaways from both a policy and practice perspective. © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited 2 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited Foreword from the CRAC Chair Research communities are shaped by research cultures. Vitae has strengthened its policy and advocacy work in this area this year, not least projects such as the REF People, Culture and Environment (PCE) indicators project. In partnership with sector organisations, Vitae has been co-developing indicators to be used in the assessment of the PCE element of the Research Excellence Framework (REF). Vitae is leading on the sector engagement component of the project, which consists of fourteen online workshops during May-October 2024. We are committed to supporting our global partners and members, including our European peers. Highlights of this year include Vitae’s incorporation into the COARA Boost Consortium, and the development of a COARA action plan to support institutions to achieve their research assessment reform objectives. As ever, Vitae champions researchers and researchers’ journeys. This is exemplified in the continuing refresh of the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF). Improvements build upon the researcher at the centre of the framework. 3 Foreword from the CRAC Chair The RDF demonstrates Vitae’s commitment to putting people first in the research endeavour, and this is nowhere more apparent than the Researchers at Risk programme in collaboration with The British Academy. The programme has given vital space and time to researchers from Ukraine to be welcomed and supported into UK institutions, to develop their research careers and to provide much needed reflection and support to their communities. Social impact is important in Vitae’s research and intelligence work. A project with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to analyse data pertaining to the cardiovascular research workforce will help to give the BHF a better understanding to make a stronger case for heart and circulatory healthcare provision. © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited 4 Foreword from the CRAC Chair Vitae’s exciting work is having tangible impacts across multiple areas of the research environment and the broader society. Vitae is investing in new developments, including the Digital Transformation Project, which will overhaul the ten-year-old Vitae website to replace it with an up-to-date, relevant, accessible and inclusive online resource. The intention is to modernise all of Vitae’s digital reach to have a greater impact on the research community, thus serving and giving back in better, more enhanced ways. With a new strategy to be in place from 2025, I look forward to seeing how Vitae progresses on its mission. © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited 5 Boards with Vitae representation 2023 - 2024 • All-Party Parliamentary Group for Skills, Careers and Employment • Career Development Policy Group (CDPG) • Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) now Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) Research and Innovation Workforce Survey Steering Group • National Institute for Career Education and Counselling (NICEC) • Prosper Advisory Board • Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) Advisory Committee on Degree Awarding Powers • Mary Academy External Advisory Board Reforming Research Assessment Stakeholder Assembly (Science Europe/EUA) • National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB) Researcher Career Mobility Taskforce • National Postdoc Conference Steering Group • Researcher Development Concordat Steering Group • Researcher Mental Health Observatory (REMO) Management Committee • R&D People and Culture Ministerial Coordination Group (MCG), for the Department for Science Innovation and Technology • Surrey Black Scholars • Technicians Commitment Advisory Board • The European Laboratory Research and Innovation Group (ELRIG) Board and Early Career Professionals (ECP) Panel • Transitions and Transformations Strategy Board • University Alliance Awards Panel • UKRN Stakeholder Engagement Group • UKRI External Affairs Network • University of Leeds Research Culture Awards Panel • EUA-CDE Thematic Working Group on Postdocs • Institute for Technical Strategy and Skills • Developing Business Aware Academics Advisory Board • UK Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment Chapter © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited 6 Helping researchers to realise their potential © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited 7 Evolution of the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF) The RDF describes the knowledge, behaviours and attributes of successful researchers. It is designed for doctoral researchers, members of research staff, those pursuing an academic career, and those looking to transfer the skills learned during their PhD to another career. VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited ‘It has been wonderful to witness the RDF evolve from a framework based on extensive interview data into a new configuration that has been designed and led by researchers and practitioners. As a result of the enthusiastic contributions and ideas of the members of the working group, the revised version now reflects the current research environment and has researchers at its heart.’ Dr Julie Reeves, Senior Teaching Fellow at the University of Southampton, Chair of the Vitae RDF Working Group The Vitae RDF Community Working Group have met regularly throughout 2024 to work on the refreshed Vitae RDF. The guiding principle of the group has been to review the RDF content through a range of different viewpoints, from researchers, supporters of researchers, and other key research and innovation figures. © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited 8 Evolution of the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF) Building on feedback from the Vitae conference and additional workshops, the language and content of the Vitae RDF has been updated to correspond with key themes of wellbeing and mental health, equality, diversity and inclusion, open research, digital and innovation skills, interdisciplinarity and environmental sustainability. There has been a focus on accessibility of the framework and user experience, with a view to streamlining descriptors to make the framework more manageable. The refreshed framework places the researcher at the centre, making the person the starting point for entry to the framework, to foreground researchers and their professional development before the research, and all that it entails. Additionally, there is a strong emphasis on the importance of teams and team working as essential to the collective research endeavour. It also recognises the range of people needed to support a strong research and innovation sector. VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited Future phases of work • Map the Vitae RDF against the Research Culture Framework • Explore potential for further digital development, reviewing the RDF Planner tool • Considerations of guidance and support for implementation of a refreshed framework. 9 Supporting Researchers at Risk VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited Working with the British Academy, Vitae are providing a programme of support for the professional and career development of Researchers at Risk fellows. The programme has been designed to support 180 Researchers at Risk Fellows, who have come from Ukraine, at over 70 UK-based institutions and help them to navigate the challenges of integrating into UK academic life and plan for their future and diverse career paths. The Vitae programme has enabled a sense of community and belonging to the displaced researchers and has given them the necessary space and time to reflect on their career journeys. The support tools, resources and guidance shared in sessions have been valuable for fellows to support their thinking and exploration, as well as hearing from those working in careers beyond academia, and who have shared their experiences of career transitions. ‘We now feel in constellations, rather than single stars.’ Iryna Starovoyt, Researchers at Risk Fellow 10 Vitae Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition 2023 In 2024, we look forward to celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Vitae 3MT® competition, with a special event for institutional winners including professional development opportunities and a suit of enhanced prizes from our new sponsors. VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited Since 2014, Vitae has proudly hosted the Vitae 3MT® competition for its members, bringing together finalists from across institutions, with 60 participating in 2023. The competition helps doctoral candidates build skills to effectively communicate their research and its potential impact on society, to engage potential funders, the public and future employers. In 2023, the Vitae 3MT® competition attracted interest from almost 4,000 visitors to watch and vote for their favourite of 6 finalists on the online voting platform, with a further 2,000 viewing on YouTube since the broadcast final. The Three Minute Thesis, or 3MT®, founded by the University of Queensland, is a research communication competition which challenges doctoral candidates to present a compelling spoken presentation on their research topic and its significance in just three minutes. 11 International focus: Vitae's wider impact © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited 12 International focus: Vitae's wider impact VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited COARA Boost In October 2023, the COARA Boost project was initiated to provide a secretariat and support to the operational capacity for the implementation of the agreement on reforming research assessment. Vitae are delighted to be part of this consortium with a focus on supporting a comprehensive programme of working groups considering different aspects of research assessment, as well as to Co-Chair the group examining impact on early and mid-career researchers. This is a five-million-euro project with over half of the budget being allocated to cascade funding projects and initiatives addressing research assessment reform. The Coalition on Reforming Research Assessment continues to grow and now has approximately 700 global signatories including research funding organisations, research performing organisations, national/regional assessment authorities, and agencies. National chapters continue to be established addressing issues unique to individual countries. Vitae is both a signatory and member of the UK national chapter. We are currently developing a COARA action plan which will focus on how we can support institutions in achieving their research assessment reform objectives. 13 International focus: Vitae's wider impact VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited The frameworks considered include: • Translation of the Recommendation on a European Framework to attract and retain research, innovation and entrepreneurial talents; • The revised Charter and Code; • Revision of the European skills, competencies, qualifications and occupations (ESCO) framework; • The new European Competence Framework for Researchers. The final output will be a Research Career Framework that integrates all these policies and initiatives. Vitae has been leading on best practice in tenure track-like models, having developed a set of draft principles for both researchers and institutions looking to implement a tenure track-like system accompanied by a series of case studies to demonstrate practical implementation. Additional case studies will be developed alongside a consultation on our guiding principles to be published in early 2025. SECURE – Sustainable Careers for Researcher Empowerment SECURE is a Horizon Europe funded project consisting of eighteen organisations that looks to build on existing frameworks to address precarity. 14 International focus: Vitae's wider impact VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited In a supporting role, Vitae regularly shares webinar held by The British Council on topics of interest to the network who support the mobility of international researchers. In addition, Vitae have won a small grant from EURAXESS to share practice, build connections and create resources to assist with support for researchers beyond academia. OPUS –Open Universal Science The OPUS project is a Horizon Europe funded consortium of institutions, funders, industry organisations, and experts in project management, public relations and open science. The project has developed a framework of indicators for research assessment with a focus on rewarding open science. Vitae has lead on the development of interventions to support implementation of these indicators. Now at the mid-point of this three- year project, the consortium have focused on piloting the indicators and interventions in a small number of Research Performing Organisations and Research Funding Organisations, which will subsequently inform development of a final framework. EURAXESS - partnership with the British Council As the UK Career Development Centre, Vitae support the British Council who currently deliver the EURAXESS programme in the UK. Following confirmation in September 2023 of the UK’s agreement to associate with Horizon Europe, there have been renewed efforts to bolster the EURAXESS network within the UK, including strengthening networks that link with other initiatives both in the UK and with EURAXESS European partners. Vitae continues to champion this great opportunity for practice sharing and mutual exchange in the support of researchers internationally. 15 International focus: Vitae's wider impact University of Luxembourg - individual coaching programme Since 2022 Vitae has provided an individual online coaching programme to 19 researchers at various career stages from the University of Luxembourg. During the programme researchers would regularly engage in safe and confidential discussions with their coach. While the programme offers the researchers the opportunity to participate in a fixed number of hours, the content, duration and frequency is agreed with their matched coach depending on personal preferences and mutual availabilities. Researchers used the individual coaching in preparation for their next career steps, opportunities, transition or to identify future aspirations. They worked on their leadership, team and management skills, increased visibility and impact on research community or managing the workload and establishing work- life balance. Cal-Bridge, University of California The Cal-Bridge programme creates opportunities for members of historically underrepresented communities to participate and advance in STEM fields, with the aim of increasing the number of first-generation scholars enrolling in PhD programs across these subjects in California, USA. VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited Working for the University of California, Vitae has continued to contribute to the doctoral component of Cal-Bridge. Vitae’s work involves the development of research leadership capabilities through targeted workshops, structured activities, and support for the professional development programme for doctoral researchers. 16 17 Recognition: membership and engagement © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited Vitae Membership programme 2023-2024 18 Our membership programme enables us to support and advocate for researcher development within and beyond the higher education sector. This year we have focused on delivering value for our organisational members, with a particular focus on expanding our network internationally. Key figures: • 138 UK organisational members, 23 Global and 8 Affiliate members, supported across the year • 8 new members welcomed to Vitae membership (5 Global, 2 UK, 1 Affiliate) • 251,507 users and 354,900 sessions on the Vitae website from 1 August 2023 - 31 July 2024 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited Vitae Membership programme for 2023-2024 VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited We have focused on: • Ensuring that members are more aware of member benefits through improved member communications and a new digital guide for new members of staff at member organisations • Building connections with our members by making it easier to book calls with us • Involving and empowering the member community through our working groups including the Digital Transformation working group, the Vitae Policy Advisory Group and RDF working group • Delivering greater value through our annual programme and events • Reviewing and improving the member on-boarding process for new members • Researching and understanding our key audiences to ensure that we develop a new Vitae website that works for all 19 Vitae Membership for 2023-2024 The Vitae Annual Programme was structured around three themes. VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited • 395 bookings across the year for our member-only events • 20 new researcher developers supported through Connections: Getting to Grips Aligning researcher development with research culture This theme focused on facilitating discussion and exploration on the part that researcher development plays within research culture. It included an online event on understanding research culture through CEDARS, concordat thematic sessions on smaller and specialist institutions, aligning the concordat with research culture and challenging ableism through the concordat. We also ran additional information sessions for senior leaders on the Research Culture Framework. Supporting diverse career pathways As well as including our work on the revised Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF), to which diverse career pathways is central, this included a well- attended online event on navigating the landscape of support around researcher careers beyond academia. Informing policy and practice Alongside our Policy Advisory Group meetings, we supported members to navigate key policy and practice topics via the Practice Pathways series of curated resources. We ran our popular Connections: Getting to Grips series in an expanded format, across three sessions on policy and practice, engaging researchers, and planning and delivering training. 20 Vitae Impact, Culture, and Engagement (ICE) Awards 2023 VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited We had a fantastic response to the call for nominations for the Vitae Impact, Culture and Engagement (ICE) Awards, with 55 nominations across the four award categories, which are: • Newcomer • Innovative and inclusive practice • Research culture impact through researcher development • Outstanding contribution The nominations were reviewed by a panel of people from across the research community, who spoke highly of both the quality of nominations and the review process. The resulting shortlists were then reviewed by a final panel including representatives from UKRI and Wellcome to determine the winner in each category. The awards evening was a great success, with 184 attendees representing a broad range of HE institutions, funders, and research institutes on the evening, hosted at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester. A video (with co-sponsor branding visible) was shown, with clips which introduced each shortlisted nominee shown before the announcement of the winner. 21 Vitae Impact, Culture, and Engagement (ICE) Awards 2023 VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited Sponsorship enabled us to provide the winners with a trophy and a £250 cash prize to be used either towards their own professional development or extending the impact of their work. All four winners have used the prize money to benefit the wider research and researcher development community, including running workshops for researcher developers, developing a website, and increasing awareness of key issues within their organisation. 22 The Vitae International Researcher Development Conference: Engaging community 23 VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited Vitae International Researcher Development Conference 2023 VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited The Vitae International Researcher Development Conference (#VitaeCon) is our annual flagship event. We welcomed over 300 of the global researcher development community in September 2023, to collaborate and share on the policy and practice of researcher development. Participants included researcher development and careers professionals, directors, managers and senior leaders, as well as academics and researchers. Thanks to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a number of researcher representatives from networks across the UK were able to participate via a new bursary scheme, which will be further extended in 2024. The multiformat conference was held across four days, with an online element, followed by two days in- person. The in-person element took place at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester, with increased capacity and an expanded programme. With the aim to be the most inclusive Vitae conference to date, this blended format consisted of keynote presentations, expert panels, roundtables, workshop sessions, networking opportunities, on-demand content, exhibition and novel engagement activities such as ‘fishbowls’. 24 Vitae International Researcher Development Conference 2023 continued VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited Overarching conference themes included: • Catalysts for transformational change in research culture • Innovation and practice in the professional and career development of researchers • Achieving equity in the research environment • Horizon scanning in researcher development A community reflections piece was subsequently produced to enhance engagement with Vitae members and the wider community, to gather and share perspectives, experiences, good practice and evidence from the conference. 25 26 Vitae International Researcher Development Conference 2023 continued Over 350 participants with an interest in researcher development joined #VitaeCon2023 Over 225 joined in- person and over 250 joined online Over 90% felt that the conference mostly or completely reached their initial objectives From 125 organisations and institutions worldwide, spanning 15 countries VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited Almost 90% had a good or excellent experience overall Policy and evidence 27 VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited UKRI State of the Nation on Research Culture project VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited Vitae worked in partnership with Shift Learning and the UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN) to map and establish an understanding of current and past activity to improve research culture. The collaboration included a broad stakeholder consultation to gather evidence and examples of good practice around research culture. The final report was published by UKRI in January 2024 which highlighted: the need for more effective cross- sector working including consideration of contextual factors relevant for understanding research culture in different settings; more robust evaluation of research culture initiatives; and mechanisms to curate and share existing, emerging, and future practices. As part of the project, Vitae developed a Research Culture Framework to map and understand the breadth of what is encompassed by ‘research culture’ across the sector. This describes 13 elements of research culture across four overlapping areas: • How research is managed and undertaken • How research ensures value • How people are supported • How individuals engage with others. 28 Policy and evidence Research culture landscape survey pilot 2024 The Research Culture Landscape Survey was developed with a sector working group in 2023-2024 and was piloted with nine higher education institutions (HEIs) in May-July. It gathers the views and experiences of all those involved in research in HEIs, with a focus on research culture—the conditions in which research takes place and how those involved in research are supported and recognised. The survey aims to capture a snapshot of how research culture is experienced in institutions, to compile a view of research culture across the UK, and to support institutions in the ongoing development of positive research cultures. VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited The results from the pilot have now been analysed and 'next steps’ will be explored during the in- person element of the Vitae conference in September 2024. 29 Policy and evidence REF People, Culture and Environment (PCE) indicators project Vitae are working in partnership with Technopolis UK and a range of sector organisations to co- develop indicators to be used in the assessment of the People, Culture and Environment (PCE) element of the next Research Excellence Framework (REF). Vitae is leading on the sector engagement component of the project, running 14 online workshops in May-October 2024. The approach is informed by the INORMS SCOPE Framework for Responsible Research Assessment and is divided into three phases, allowing for reflection and iteration with the sector. Phase 3: Two final review workshops will consider the full draft list of indicators and draft questionnaire, probing these for unintended consequences, gaming, discriminatory efforts, and comments on the cost and feasibility of data collection. Phase 1: An initial series of four scoping workshops explored what the sector wants the indicators to do, the aspects of PCE that most effectively support high-quality research and impact, how these aspects might be evidenced, and any potential discriminatory effects. Phase 2: A series of eight thematic workshops are now probing more deeply into different aspects of PCE and allow participants to collectively test the reliability and robustness of potential indicators and assessment options. VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited 30 Policy and evidence Research and intelligence: The foundations for innovation 31 VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited Research and intelligence: The foundations for innovation VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited Evaluation of Professional Internships for PhD students scheme (PIPS) Launched in 2012 by The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), PIPS aims to develop transferable skills, improve doctoral students’ understanding of different employment cultures, and increase awareness of the wide spectrum of career opportunities. In collaboration with the International Centre for Guidance Studies (iCeGS) based at University of Derby, CRAC conducted survey-based research to capture the outcomes from PIPS Placements, and perceptions about them from students, graduates, and a range of other stakeholders as part of an evaluation of the scheme. Building a theory of change, the evaluation distilled insights about the impact of the scheme, the extent to which PIPS is delivering on its objectives, and overall operational effectiveness. 32 33 Research and intelligence: The foundations for innovation VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited In its response to the consultation findings, UKRI committed to review the current provision of what it termed ‘careers advice’ to doctoral researchers and identify how career- related learning and related skill development during doctoral study in the UK could be enhanced. Read the full piece via the CRAC website. Embedding career learning into doctoral programmes CRAC was commissioned to provide a ‘think piece’ for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), specifically focusing on how career-related learning could be enhanced and better embedded within doctoral programmes. One quarter of all the responses to UKRI’s call for input on the New Deal for Postgraduate Research related to careers information, advice and guidance to doctoral researchers, including that it was insufficient and/or not of high quality and/or too heavily focused on academic careers. In many of the responses current doctoral researchers expressed views that there should be greater focus in doctoral training on developing a wider portfolio of skills beyond those needed for their research, including skills that would increase their employability in different sectors. These are aspects of careers support, which should also help doctoral researchers to recognise the skills they have and how to articulate them. Research and intelligence: The foundations for innovation British Heart Foundation (BHF) Cardiovascular research (CRV) workforce CRAC has been commissioned by The British Heart Foundation (BHF) to contribute to a project which looks to create an evidence base for influencing key stakeholders to tackle the major challenges in heart and circulatory healthcare. As part of this work, CRAC has analysed data on the cardiovascular research (CVR) workforce, exploring the extent to which there is under-representation of certain groups, or other issues of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) that impact on participation and progression, drawing out trends over time and creating projections of the workforce profile by 2030. VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited User Research - Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering commissioned CRAC to undertake user- focused research to develop insights and make recommendations, to help broaden the diversity of the Academy’s industry focussed Research Programmes. OxCam Close the Gap Close the Gap is a joint project between Oxford and Cambridge universities. The objective of the project is to address underrepresentation in postgraduate research in the UK from historically marginalised groups. CRAC is contributing as a partner in Close the Gap, providing expert inputs on inclusive selection methods for testing with academic departments and advisory input to evaluation. 34 Research and intelligence: The foundations for innovation VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited Future Leader Fellowship (FLF) scheme evaluation An exceptionally popular scheme, FLF seeks to develop world-class research and innovation leaders through outstanding support. Due to demand, a management cap was introduced, so many institutions had to select and support only some of the applications they received. Partly to assess the impact of demand management on the overall diversity of applicants, UKRI commissioned CRAC to conduct research about institutions’ selection practice within the Future Leaders Fellowship (FLF) Scheme. CRAC evaluated how inclusive host institutions’ processes were and made recommendations that could enhance inclusivity during selection. This was done through analysis of the inclusive selection statements written by institutions submitting FLF applications, and deeper research in a sample of universities to examine their practice. 35 Research and intelligence: The foundations for innovation Career Pathways - The Royal Society The Royal Society commissioned CRAC to deliver a second iteration of the ‘Career pathway tracker’ project that follows the progress of alumni of three fellowship schemes: University Research Fellowships, Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships and Sir Henry Dale Fellowships. This updated evaluation follows the inaugural career tracker project and evaluation of the URF and DHF schemes in 2017/18 and an evaluation of the SHD scheme in 2019.The project will continue to provide insight into the careers of scientists in receipt of these prestigious awards, designed to accelerate them to positions of independent research leadership. Shape Survey - the British Academy The British Academy commissioned CRAC to conduct a large-scale survey to gather views and insights on questions related to researcher identity and mobility across the SHAPE (Social Sciences, Humanities and the Arts for People and the Economy) research community. The survey is part of the SHAPE Research Careers project undertaken by the British Academy to explore the three core themes of identity, mobility and porosity, with a focus on the careers and trajectories of SHAPE researchers to better understand their experiences. VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited Career Tracking – the British Academy The British Academy has commissioned CRAC to conduct research tracking the career pathways of its early-career researcher funding programmes Postdoctoral Fellowship (PDF) and British Academy Rising Star Engagement Award (BARSEA), to provide insights into the careers of award holders and evidence to demonstrate the impact of them on academia and society. 36 Looking to the future 37 VITAE ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited Looking to the future The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) has been supporting the development of researchers for almost 60 years. As we prepare to develop and implement a new five-year strategy from 2025, the year 2023-24 is a transition point for CRAC and Vitae. There continues to be strong alignment between the research and intelligence activities of CRAC and the ongoing impact and evaluation, and policy and advocacy activities of Vitae. Our established membership programme and associated engagement with a strong, passionate community of professional practitioners, all serve to make Vitae the home of researcher development. © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited Our ongoing activities and areas of focus have been broadening in recent years, adapting to the wider research culture agenda as sector priorities have evolved. This is complemented by our management and evaluation of learning and development programmes, both within the UK and internationally. We have taken time to reflect on our charitable mission and what this means for the future of the Vitae programme. 38 © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited Looking to the future Our vision for the future is for careers in research - across all sectors - to be open, rewarding, and inclusive. This matters because when all individuals are included and recognised in research, they are empowered to succeed, and research becomes more innovative, creative, and impactful. Looking ahead, we will continue to advocate for the conditions that enable individuals to thrive in their careers, whilst playing a key role as an independent and trusted provider of evidence on all aspects of careers in research. A collaborator and partner who acts with integrity, we will be dedicated to ensuring equitable, inclusive, and sustainable professional and career development for all. In our role at the heart of the researcher development community, we will act as a convenor and community builder, catalysing and influencing positive change for individuals, whatever their role, background or career aspirations. 39 We are a non-profit programme, part of the Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Ltd with over 50 years’ experience of enhancing the skills & careers of researchers Global leader in supporting the professional development of researchers Published by Vitae, © 2024 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited Registered Charity No. 313164 Vitae: www.vitae.ac.uk CRAC: www.crac.org.uk/home Vitae Membership: membership@vitae.ac.uk LinkedIn: @Vitae X: @Vitae_news 40