Research Concordat

Introduction and Background

In June 2008 a new national Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers was agreed between the major funders and employers of researchers in the UK. The Concordat sets out a vision of working practices, roles and responsibilities which should further the attractiveness and sustainability of research careers in the UK.

The University welcomes the new Concordat and is committed to implementing the recommendations to improve working practices for our research staff. All academic and research staff have been sent a personal copy of the Concordat with a letter from Professor Nick Wright, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation:

Additional copies are available from Victoria.Beesley@ncl.ac.uk

We have conducted a review of our policies and practices against the principles of the Concordat. This review has documented how our current provision is already meeting many of the expectations contained within the Concordat and has enabled us to identify the areas we still need to work on to build on these successes.

Following the review, the University consulted with Heads of Academic Unit and research staff on an implementation plan for the Concordat. The implementation plan has now been finalised and approved by Staff Committee and University Research Committee, and work has already commenced on the actions contained within the plan. Progress updates will be posted on this website.

Staff Committee and University Research Committee have also agreed responsibilities documents which outline the roles and responsibilities under the Concordat for the following groups of staff:

  • Heads of Academic Unit
  • Principal Investigators
  • Researchers

The roles and responsibilities documents were formally launched at the Concordat event by Professor Nick Wright in May this year and can be found on this website.

HR Excellence in Researchhr excellence in research logo

A UK-wide process, incorporating the QAA Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes and the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, enables institutions to gain the European Commission’s ‘HR Excellence in Research’ badge, acknowledging alignment with the principles of the European Charter for Researchers and Code of Conduct for their Recruitment.