The Researcher development framework consultation - Have your say!

Many of you are probably familiar with, or have at least heard of, the Joint Skills Statement, produced by the UK Research Councils in 2001 to outline the skills that PhD students would be expected to demonstrate or develop during their research training. This document is now undergoing a major review, and is likely to be renamed "The Researcher Development Framework". This document will not only cover the skills a researcher should gain during a doctoral degree, but will be widened to include a longer period of the research career and will also describe skills, knowledge, behaviours, qualities and attitudes.

At the moment this document is in a consultation period, and Vitae, who are managing the project, are very keen to hear the views of as many researchers as possible on the proposed framework. Details of the document and the consultation can be found here. There is a special set of questions for individual researchers to respond the the consultation.

The deadline for responses is 11th December, and I would encourage anyone to have a look at the proposed framework and voice your opinion on the questionnaire. Once the document is finalised it will have a strong influence on the way institutions support researchers and on the way researchers are viewed by employers, so it is important that Vitae get it right, and that it reflects the views of the researchers themselves.