One collegial framework for many contexts: testing a new model for creating culture change

Research Culture is complex, multi-faceted and context dependent. To succeed in developing more positive cultures we need every member of our community to speak, be heard, and act, and for those actions to count and be rewarded. Our project will amplify local actions and behaviours that create positive cultures. We will allow our research communities to teach us their positive leadership behaviours, and then feed their expertise into development and reward structures. We will provide access to funding opportunities for those outside privileged groups and pathways, thus democratising research leadership, unleashing creativity and new thinking. We will develop new leaders through a comprehensive programme which will generate new impact from new leaders. Our project acknowledges that a patchwork of local research cultures and approaches exists across our institutions. Rather than fight to overrule this, we seek critical cross-links between projects, reducing risk and duplication, and drawing together fragmented culture change activity. Our personal commitments to culture improvement have informed a novel experimental approach to forging connections, through the proposed Leadership Framework, Culture Catalyst Fund and Community Knowledge Hub. We are excited about the potential of these tools to underpin incremental improvements to research cultures across our three institutions and beyond.