In a higher education environment where no less than six research related concordats compete for attention, putting the aims of the Researcher Development Concordat (RDC) of 2019 into practice remains beset with challenges.
For those not up to scratch with the Researcher Development Concordat, the initiative is a sector-wide agreement between institutions, funders, and researchers, aimed at improving the latter’s career prospects and working conditions.
Proposed improvements in the twenty-page document range from specific policies, such as ensuring ECRs have access to effective careers guidance to guaranteeing every researcher a minimum of ten days of protected professional development time, to rather more amorphous aims that although laudable are difficult to define and capture, such as creating a supportive and inclusive research culture.
