SEB Bulletin January 2007
Leadership Development for Principal Investigators
Newly appointed Principal Investigators (PIs) have a tough job. Not only are they expected to lead and manage their new project and research team, they also soon discover that the role entails securing future research grants, liaising with stakeholders and responding to institutional issues and agendas. They also need to publish and continue to develop their own career and research expertise. Frequently they simultaneously carry out a range of teaching and administrative duties too.
In 2005 a HEFCE report Researchers in HE Institutions identified PIs as 'the key staff group to work with if they [institutions] are to elicit any real change in the career development of research staff'. The report also highlighted that PIs frequently have few training opportunities to develop leadership and management opportunities and rely on their own experience.
The Universities of Leicester, Cambridge and Loughborough in partnership with Imperial College London, the London School of Economics and University College London have recently undertaken a project to develop resources to help new PIs navigate the bewildering array of leadership and management responsibilities that come with the role. The project was funded by HEFCE's Leadership, Governance and Management Fund and supported by Research Councils UK, the Association of Research Managers and Administrators, the Higher Education Academy, UK Higher Education Researcher Development and the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education.
The nine month project commenced in February 2006 and used the results from a recent national survey of PIs and a series of focus groups to identify the main areas of training, support and development need. Over 1600 research leaders at fifteen institutions took part in the Careers in Research Online Survey (CROS) for Research Leaders between November 2005 and January 2006. 13% of respondents were from the biological and life sciences and 6% identified the BBSRC as their main funding body.
Respondents identified the following as the top ten areas of training and support that would be most useful in developing their leadership and management skills:
Focus groups were then held with both new and more experienced PIs at the three main institutions. These were used to drill down into these areas and explore the specific issues that PIs felt they encompassed. A key issue that emerged from these consultations was the need for tailored training and support opportunities that addressed the realities and specialised role of PIs, rather than generic leadership and management resources. The PIs also expressed the need for a 'one-stop shop' that gave them easy access to resources on a 'need to know' basis, in preference to more formalised training opportunities.
In response, the project team have produced:
(1) A template for institutions to use in benchmarking their current support for PIs and identify areas for future development. This template also provides a framework to help institutions produce a coherent directory/webpage to help PIs to navigate the wide range of different institutional agencies they need to work with. For example, personnel services, research offices, purchasing and finance and staff development.
(2) A website which provides PIs with guidance and support in five key areas:
- Leading a Research Team
- Legal and Ethical Issues
- Developing their Researchers
- Managing their Research Career
- Managing Research Finances
These online resources provide specific guidance and support on the leadership and management of research within the context of the UK higher education system. A key feature of the website is the use of case studies, scenarios and quotations provided by real PIs. These ensure the resources focus on, and exemplify the issues of direct relevance to Principal Investigators. The website is available at www.le.ac.uk/researchleader.
Although the initial nine month project has now finished the project team are hoping to secure further funding to enable the further development of the web resources over the coming year.
For more information about the project, please contact:
Jane Wellens
jw27@le.ac.uk
Educational Developer (Research)
University of Leicester