Policy Background

National policy

To ensure high standards in approaches to researcher careers and mobility a series of specific national initiatives have been taken, including:

• The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) Code of Practice sets out policy on researcher career and mobility issues in the UK. The QAA Code of Practice was revised in 2004 and a special review was undertaken in 2005-06.
• The Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers (The Concordat) was launched in 2008 and was signed by (among others) the funding bodies, research councils and Universities UK (on behalf of higher education institutions). The Concordat is online and the important seven principles are clearly stated.

The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) website - www.bis.gov.uk - is a good source of background information. It includes higher education and researcher sections.

Other national initiatives

There are many but the important ones include the Thrift Review and the Research Council UK's aims. The European Commission has also produced policy in this area.

The Thrift Review covers issues relating to research careers.

Recently, the UK National Action Plan on researcher careers and mobility has been made available at www.britishcouncil.org/new/PageFiles/7656/UK%20National%20Action%20Plan.pdf

Evidence for the impact of researchers in the economy more generally is collated by the Research Councils UK, which states an aim of its doctoral career pathways study as establishing the extent to which doctoral graduates help to drive forward innovation and growth and thereby contribute to UK society, culture and economy.

For a wider European scale, the European Commission's Charter for Researchers shows support for researcher career development opportunities in the European Research Area.

Background information about the European Science Foundation and its recent report about science careers in Europe is available at www.esf.org/activities/mo-fora/research-careers.html

The Researchers' Survival Guide from the University and College Union is thorough in detailing your duties and rights and those of your employer. The cartoons are excellent too.