In our Research Culture Uncovered conversations we are asking what is Research Culture and why does it matter? In the milestone 100th episode of the Research Culture Uncovered podcast, host Emma Spary and her co-hosts Ged Hall, Ruth Winden, Nick Sheppard, Taryn Bell, Emily Goodall, and Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths review a particularly eventful year.

The podcast celebrates winning the Vitae Impact Culture and Engagement Award, welcoming new team members, and the retirement of Tony Bromley. Each host shares personal highlights from 2024 and their predictions for 2025.

Each host shares personal highlights from 2024, including expansions in career support, successful fellowship programs, earning UKCGE accreditation and supporting others to apply, attendance at key conferences, and launching the University of Leeds Open Research Hub.

The discussion then shifts to predictions for 2025, with the main topics including:

• helping researchers to deal with the uncertainty around careers and encouraging them to spend time on their career planning
• the changes and challenges in the higher education sector funding landscape and the implementation of narrative CVs
• the implications of a new UK government for research
• a new researcher development framework from Vitae and the need for health, wellbeing and mentoring for researchers
• the role Open Research will play in REF2029
• the impact of AI in research
• the upcoming REF changes with the inclusion of the people, culture and environment statements.

Several links were mentioned in this episode:

• Vitae Impact, Culture and Engagement Award
• University of Leeds Fellowship Accelerator
• UK Council for Graduate Education Supervisor Recognition Scheme
• University of Leeds Open Research Hub
• AESIS Conference
• LIBER Conference
• Research Excellence Framework 2029

All of our episodes can be accessed via the following playlists:

• Research Impact with Ged Hall (follow Ged on LinkedIn)
• Open Research with Nick Sheppard (follow Nick on LinkedIn)
• Research Careers with Ruth Winden (follow Ruth on LinkedIn)
• Research talent management with Tony Bromley (follow Tony on LinkedIn)
• Meet the Research Culturositists with Emma Spary (follow Emma on LinkedIn)
• Research co-production
• Research Leadership
• Research Evaluation

Connect to us or leave us a review on LinkedIn: @ResearchUncoveredPodcast (new episodes are announced here)

Follow us on Bluesky: @researcherdevleeds.bsky.social (new episodes are announced here), @openresleeds.bsky.social‬ , @researchcultureuol.bsky.social

Leeds Research Culture links:

• Researcher Development and Culture Website
• Our Concordat Implementation plans and progress
• University of Leeds Research Culture Statement
• University of Leeds Responsible Metrics Statement
• University of Leeds Open Research Statement
• University of Leeds Research Culture Strategy - launched September 2023

[00:00:23] Emma: Hi, it's Emma. And a very warm welcome to 2025 and our 100th episode. Today I'm joined by all the hosts for an episode looking at our predictions for the next 12 months. But before we get there, the Research Culture Uncovered podcast has had a fantastic year. We won the Vitae Impact Culture and Engagement Award for the Research Culture through Researcher Development category.

We grew our host team by welcoming two new members. Emily and Heledd, but sadly for us, we also said goodbye to Tony Bromley as he starts his retirement on behalf of all the podcast team and our listeners We say a big thank you to Tony and wish him all the best And you never know he may make an appearance on the podcast as a guest soon.

So joining me today are Ged, Ruth, Nick, Taryn, Emily, and Heledd, and I have the best job of keeping them all under control and preventing podcast carnage. Can I ask all of you to unmute and on the count of three, we will do a collective hello. One, two, three.

[00:01:34] Emma: I think that worked. So before we start looking at 2025 and what that has in store for us, I'd like each of our hosts to share a highlight or a favourite episode from the last 12 months.

And I'm going to start with you, Ruth.

And that ties in with the N8 commitment that Leeds made in 2024. So the future is bright, more in careers. And that makes me as a career professional, obviously very, very happy.

[00:02:34] Taryn: Uh, so my highlight for 2024 is that, uh, we developed and ran the first cohort of the fellowship accelerator program, which is our program aimed at postdocs, helping them to think about applying for research funding.

Um, so we've completed the first cohort, we've looked at all the feedback and it was all really positive. And that means we're running a second cohort next year. Um, so it's been a real highlight and just actually really lovely to work with such a lovely group of postdocs and help them develop their ideas this year.

[00:03:10] Ged: So I guess my highlight was going to the AESIS. That's A E S I S. I'm not going to do what it stands for because I'll be here all day conference in Dublin in June and meeting loads of people that I'd only really interacted with in the online space. So it was great to have a good natter with them and, you know, There's an episode about that and also there was a follow up episode.

So I'm kind of doing my plug for mine just to try and catch Ruth up in, uh, in the amount of downloads she's got.

[00:03:47] Heledd: Hello. Hi. So to be honest, this whole year has felt like one big highlight for me.

Uh, if I think back to this time last year, I was in the lab working as post doc. I was measuring mitochondrial respiration in monocytes from the blood of people with cystic fibrosis using a machine called a seahorse, which is one of my all time favourite pieces of lab equipment. That and a bijou. If you know, you know.

But one of the skills I developed during my research career was as an associate supervisor and mentor. It's a role that so many postdocs and technicians take on without much formal guidance or recognition. So when I began my role as a research department advisor, I discovered the UKCGE Recognised Associate Research Supervisor Award.

Or as I like to call it now, RARSA, because I can't for the life of me remember the order of the words and I always mix it up. But this award really celebrates the contribution of associate supervisors and that really kind of instantly resonated with me. So I saw it as an opportunity when I started to kind of gain some recognition for the role I played in supporting so many researchers over the years.

So this year, my highlight is that I've not only earned this award. My own accreditation, but I've also had the privilege of supporting other researchers through the process and a pilot scheme that I've set up. And I've also continued to develop this pilot into my first official support program to help even more researchers gain accreditation.

And this kicks off this January. So I'm excited about that.

[00:05:27] Nick: All right, well, um, like Heledd, I suppose I've had quite a few highlights, uh, this year. One sort of collective highlight that I think Emily's going to talk about, so I'll leave that to her.

But from a personal point of view, um, was a trip to the LIBER conference in Cyprus. I don't often get To travel that often with work, uh, certainly not as far afield as Limassol in Cyprus on that occasion. Um, so yeah, that, that, and again, like Ged, I won't try and say what Libra stands for not least because it's in French, um, and I can barely manage, uh, English on the podcast.

So yeah, I won't, uh, but the, the Libra conference was, I was actually there on a panel talking about, um, indicators for open research. And also interviewed a couple of colleagues from that panel, um, for the podcast as well. So that's also available. So yeah, that was probably my highlight, um, along with the one that I know Emily's going to talk about.

[00:06:33] Nick: That, well, yes, but although that wasn't actually the same occasion, so I was on holiday then, um, in Croatia, in fact, so that wasn't the occasion of, uh, it was, uh, abroad, but yeah, I did record a portion, I'd forgotten about that, at the top of a mountain in Croatia.

See,

[00:06:49] Emily: And Emily,

[00:06:52] Emily: Hello, I think my highlight for the year is going to be launching the Open Research Hub. So that's what Nick's been talking about in his highlight. So this was a really big collaborative effort. And I just wanted to say thank you to everybody who was involved in putting that hub together.

The hub is a website that's openly available on the Leeds website, and It's a place to gather all the information about open research. There's a huge amount going on in that space. We really want it to be the default, but we also recognize that researchers need a bit more information and guidance. So we want the hub to be really practical and useful.

And I hope our listeners find it useful in the months to come.

So Ruth, I'm going to come back to you.

And so I think my prediction is that we will be spending more of our energy really in looking at ourselves, supporting colleagues who might be affected by redundancy. And also helping our next generation of researchers adapt and make time for those conversations because I think there is a lot of uncertainty in the sector, and not just in the sector also beyond the sector, and so that is a concern for me how can I support colleagues at the University of Leeds.

[00:09:12] Emma: Thank you very much, Ruth. Um, Taryn, what do you think 2025 holds for us?

There's no doubt about it. Unfortunately, researchers are more dependent on research funding than ever. You know, some of the big research councils are closing schemes, and we don't know when they're going to open up again, um, from speaking to research managers at different universities. We also know that due to the cost of certain schemes, universities are increasingly not supporting those, uh, those schemes, which, which again is a real challenge.

I think particularly if you're in the arts and humanities, it feels at the moment that there are fewer and fewer sources of funding available, which, It's just really, really rough. Um, but there are some positive signs on the horizon as well, because obviously anyone who knows me will be unsurprised, uh, to hear me talk about narrative CVs again, for what feels like the millionth time this year.

Um, but we've seen a lot of, uh, we've seen a lot of, you know, Research councils and funders worldwide taking up the narrative CV, uh, so the Canadian research councils have just announced that they're moving to one. You know, we know that they're used widely across the UK, but also in Portugal, Switzerland, Ireland, Luxembourg, and I think this is only going to continue.

So good things and bad things in the funding landscape, but definitely overall the picture is one of change. Great. Thank you very much. And

[00:11:15] Ged: Yeah, I think as, uh, as, as both Ruth and Taryn have said, um, you know, it's, it's tough times, uh, probably coming to us in, in 2025, especially, um, around the UK. So I think, um, a lot of the section work we're doing this, At the moment, it leads is starting to work out how we can essentially make ourselves look a great ally of the of the new government in the UK.

So, you know, just just at the beginning of December, we got more detail. Um, From the prime minister about what their missions really are and how they might be, um, assessed. And I think a lot of universities will be spending time thinking, how do we tie into that to kind of try and protect ourselves from some of that uncertainty, um, that, uh, that Ruth and Taryn mentioned.

[00:12:20] Emma: Thank you. And I'm going back to Heledd, please.

So the updated framework, you know, shows, reflects changes, not only at a national level, but also internationally. It's aligning with global trends in research training, collaboration, and also career preparedness. And I'm really pleased to see that the framework has been refined to make it more accessible and user friendly.

Now that initiative was a success. a real highlight for me in it because I feel like it really strengthens peer support networks and it also enables the potential for cross disciplinary collaborations. It enhances the overall research culture for our PGRs and it's such a powerful tool for professional growth and it's something I really want to develop into our other faculties and to really kind of ensure that our researchers are supported to achieve their potential.

I'm also really keen on supporting this support. But the wellbeing and mental health of our researchers, which is another huge part of the, of the framework is something that I'm really keen to kind of bring into a core part of our, um, PGR programme, that quest, which we have, um, moving forward.

And our, uh, keen listeners will notice that Heledd threw in another highlight in that section as well. So she got two for the price of one. Nick over to you.

So if it's not, um, too sort of contrived, my prediction is more collaboration. I think, uh, you know, that's the watchword of open research and, you know, Emily's already mentioned the open research hub. So that's a big part of what we've done this year and be using for advocacy around open research next year.

Along with that, we'll also be working with, um, the DORI's, the directors of research and innovation as open research champions. Um, and a big part of that work is to try and develop more discipline specific guidance around open research, obviously again in the context of collaboration, you know. So the other thing obviously that listeners and you all will be aware of is my interest in Wikimedia.

Um, which again is a hugely collaborative, uh, platform. And, uh, actually I'm throwing in another highlight now insofar as this year, um, we've managed to recruit what we're calling a Wikimedia and Open Knowledge Advisor, um, who will be starting just after Christmas. Already starting to plan a few events around Wikia.

In fact, straight after this, I'm talking to colleagues about, um, a potential edit a thon for LGBTQ history month in February. Also looking at an edit a thon for Africa week. So that's some. Exciting stuff coming forward. So yeah, that new colleague will be joining us in January and certainly have an episode with her to get her on the podcast, uh, Dr.

Lucy Hinnie. I will just mention her name. I know she won't mind. I know she's looking forward to joining us. Um, and also another episode that I'm hoping to do is with Kikachukwu, who's another new colleague of ours, another highlight, am I allowed to say that? Three highlights, um, who's, uh, uh, joined us this year as, uh, another Open Research Advisor supporting, um, the Open Research Champions and working with Emily and I on the Open Research Hub.

So, yeah, as I say, not really predictions other than more collaboration. I suppose the other thing we're obviously waiting for is, um, what REF has to say on Open Research. So we're all waiting on REF. I can't believe nobody's mentioned REF yet. So that's obviously hopefully coming in, um, 25 as well and we'll find out a bit more about what REF will be looking at.

In open research. So yeah, loads going on and hopefully we'll continue to collaborate on this podcast and with any colleagues that are listening. Brilliant.

[00:16:48] Emily: Oh, I had a few lined up as well.

So industry, public, private sector, and even third sector organizations that undertake research. And I think that's a really good thing because it's going to kind of Break down those barriers and really works in collab, more on collaboration, as Nick was saying, but having a really, a shared understanding of what good research practice looks like is, is a really good thing going forward.

And then I can't believe I know no one said this yet. Uh, AI, of course, artificial intelligence. I don't think we can ignore that. It's. Uh, potentially a disruptive technology, but it's also something that we're really trying to get to grips with. How do we use it ethically and how do we balance the benefits that we can get from AI and the need for researchers and others to be AI literate with the, uh, Environmental impacts and the ethical questions around artificial intelligence.

[00:18:34] Emma: Thank you very much.

Thanks Ruth. Um, I suppose. It wouldn't be me if I didn't say REF, people, culture and environment, um, it is coming and I think it has the potential to bring both benefits and challenges for us as an institution and as a sector. I'm really looking forward to seeing what is included in some of the metrics and how, as an institution, we are already moving towards that and perhaps giving us some ideas for where we might need to do more work.

But I think ultimately, I really hope that. This change to the REF process will be done with an ethos of shared learning and not as a competition where we're all pitted against each other. I may be overly hopeful. Go on Ruth.

What is REF?

Anything that is going to be linked to funding is by definition going to become a competition between institutions, but the PCE, the people, culture and environment part, we really hope will open up the doors to that shared learning, thinking about what institutions are doing and how we can learn from that rather than Making it competitive and trying to repeat what has or hasn't worked in other institutions.

But if we want a proper definition of REF and what it means, we have to go to our research impact guru. So over to you, Ged.

And I think that was one of the, from last year, one of the big changes, because in New Zealand, there was guidance about what their research assessment process would be. And then that was pulled. Um, and, and that was after Australia had paused there. Um, regular assessment process and we still don't know what that's going to be replaced by.

So, you know, it's interesting. It just feels like, you know, we were moving towards more assessment and now maybe we're moving further away from assessment and actually trying to, trying to be more about changing the activities. So there's also, you know, the things that Taryn mentioned about changes in funding is actually.

about changing behaviours, isn't it? That's, that's one of the big levers. So I think, I think that's where we're moving to where the funding streams and what they're, what they're for. So for instance, just recently in New Zealand, they've dropped arts and humanities and social sciences out of their big funding streams.

Marsden Fund, which is one of their biggest, um, competitive funding sources for what were all disciplines, you know, that's, that's really interesting in terms of what the behaviours will be about universities being influenced by funding rather than assessment.

[00:22:35] Nick: Yeah, I just wanted to sort of comment on a, from a library perspective as well, from what Ged was saying.

So, Open access compliance has always been a huge part of the REF, almost certainly will be again. We don't yet know as we were saying earlier. Um, and that is obviously an important aspect for us in the library in terms of ensuring open access to research papers, but it's only a Small part of the full picture in terms of open research and where we're trying to move towards Transparency and openness throughout the entire research life cycle and also how that relates to research culture more broadly as well And again, we're expecting something along those lines in the environment strand of the ref But all of this is a little unknown but it's interesting how it all sort of ties together in terms of the different perspectives that we're all coming from in our respective roles around the university

And finally, I also predict that my amazing team and colleagues will continue to deliver this podcast. They will continue to deliver work in their respective areas, and they will continue openly sharing everything we do across the sector. So with that, I would like to ask them all to unmute again. And on the count of three, we're going to do a collective goodbye.

One, two, three.

And please share with a friend and show them how to subscribe. Thanks for listening, and here's to you and your research culture.