Reflections on Research Excellence in SASS: Strategic Goals and Implications for the Future

1. SASS Research Away DayFebruary 2nd 2017 Research in SASS: Reflections on the last year Flis Henwood DHoS (R&E)

2. Research and Enterprise Strategy • 7 strategic goals • R&E excellence To enhance our capabilities and performance in areas of current and emerging research and enterprise excellence • R&E Impact To improve our research and enterprise reputation and to deliver maximum benefit to society and to the economy from our activities • R&E Staff To invest in and support staff to develop research and enterprise capabilities that will enhance our regional, national and international profile • R&E Engagement To increase the number of staff and students engaging in and/or generating income from research and enterprise activities in all Schools • R&E Sustainability To establish an environment that sustains a balanced portfolio of research and enterprise activities • R&E Partnership Strategic Goal 6: To establish ourselves as a key partner in research and enterprise collaborations at regional, national and international levels • R&E, Next Generation To increase the number of our excellent postgraduate research (PGR) students and enhance the quality of their experience

3. ‘Coming soon’ and implications for SASS • Operationalising the 5 Brighton ‘Futures’ • Creative, Radical, Responsible, Healthy, Connected • External and internal purpose, including partnership working, promotion of interdisciplinarity, and promoting the formation of new R&E Centres of Excellence • Activities include- conferences and workshops, sandpits, partnership events, Alumni events • Review of Research Centres to form fewer ‘Centres of Excellence’

4. Some indications of plans around strategic objective 1- R&E excellence • Establish and align resources and support to UoB Centres of Excellence in R&E • Establish R&E Development Fund to support initiatives that contribute to strategic plan • Formalise a system to raise the quality and ambition of both content and choice of outlet for publications • Invest in areas of strategic importance

5. What we’ve been doing in SASS • Research Leadership • Appointment of DHoS (R&E) as in other schools • Appointment of 3 AL roles to support R agenda: • Enterprise (Carl) – define, map and develop- presentation at next year’s Away Day?? • PGR (Lesley)- strengthen links with BDC to improve recruitment and completion rates; ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership • Research integrity and ethics (Nikki)- oversees SASS Ethics Committee and leads on keeping school up to date on Research Integrity and ethics agenda- Update today! • Research cluster leaders – regular meetings to share and support- encouraging more strategic approach • Professoriate- role in mentoring and researcher development in SASS and UoB more widely • Support staff to attend the Research Leadership Programme

6. What we’ve been doing in SASS • Research mentoring developments • 51 staff signed up to scheme, 15 mentors • Typically join scheme on induction (Flis sees all new staff) • Review this year (last reviewed 2015)- ok to change; our needs change, not advisable to have same mentor for more than 2 years • X SASS staff trained in Mentor + Game • 10 staff (one per school) now trained to facilitate workshops for mentors and mentees • Getting the most out of mentoring relationships – workshop for mentors 23rd Feb; more soon for both mentors and mentees

7. What we’ve been doing in SASS • Early Career Researchers • ECR rep on SASS Research Strategy Committee- 5 put names forward; RSC invited all to be members and take turns to attend, share insights and contribute collectively • Led to development of SASS ECR network who are leading last substantive session today • Continual support for publications, bid writing and research plans (both within and outside mentoring scheme)- e.g. Stuart,Yvonne and Pete’s sessions today • UoB’sResearcher Development Programme- very extensive including: • Becoming an independent researcher • Planning your research career

8. What we’ve been doing in SASS • Postgraduate research students • Successful application to be become ESRC Doctoral Training partnership with Soton and Portsmouth (Andrew C and Mark E) • Focus on Social Policy (broadly defined!) • 3 of the 5 thematic pathways to be led by SASS: • Citizenship, governance and security (Pete) • Learning, Knowledge and behaviour (Phil) • Population change, health and wellbeing (Gillian) • Great way to grow our research through recruitment of academically strong , fully funded studentships • First students start 2017-18

9. What we’ve been doing in SASS • Time for research • 0.2 R&SA time- all • Univ. sabbatical scheme- competitive and limited to Research and £10k worth of teaching buy out • Rising Stars- prioritises ECRs- allows teaching buy out • Bid for external funds- as appropriate to career stage and experience; some cover teaching buy out, not all • New internal SASS scheme - to support research, as well as enterprise or learning and teaching practice developments • For discrete activities that fit individual’s plan and wider school/univ agendas in above areas • Allocated alongside other activities as part of forward planning/workload planning, starts April each year • Call just out; proposals by end Feb • Decisions made by RSC (for research activities) and SMG for others

10. What we’ve been doing in SASS • Sharing what we do-Our new EduBlog • https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/sassresearch/

11. Questions and comments?