A report outlining the findings from a cross-sector review of concordats and agreements across the UK’s research landscape was published last month. The Technician Commitment is one of the initiatives reviewed as part of this process.
Concordats and agreements are a significant part of the landscape of frameworks and good practices which shape research. However, until this review, no data existed on their collective impact on research and research culture.
Universities UK (UUK), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Wellcome Trust commissioned Basis Social to gather insights on the adoption and impact of various concordats and agreements currently in place across the UK’s research landscape as a measure of the impact of concordats and agreements in general. Initiatives covered in the project are:
- Athena Swan Charter
- Concordat for Engaging the Public with Research
- Concordat for the Advancement of Knowledge Exchange in Higher Education
- Concordat on Open Research Data
- Concordat on Openness on Animal Research
- Concordat to Support Research Integrity
- Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers
- Leiden Manifesto on Research Metrics
- Race Equality Charter
- San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA)
- Technician Commitment
- UKCDR Guidance on Safeguarding in International Development Research
The Concordats review provides a snapshot of the role these initiatives have had in shaping research culture and environments across the UK, and reports that it is a complex landscape where different concordats and agreements, and the way that they are implemented, bear few commonalities. This means that while the report finds that the initiatives have an impact and a role to play in shaping research culture, measuring the collective impact is challenging. If initiatives could be simplified and integrated at a collective level it would reduce administrative burden, aid adoption and make impact easier to measure.
The report provides encouraging and useful data on the impact of the Technician Commitment initiative. It was recognised for its positive effect on working environments – scoring 72% for this indicator, the highest score across initiatives. It also scored 60% for ‘providing a consistent way of looking at the issue (research culture) across the sector, adding value to my institution/organisation’, placing it alongside the highest-rated initiative for this indicator, Athena SWAN. The report also finds that awareness needs to continue to be raised around the Commitment and its aims for it to have the greatest possible impact.
Kelly Vere MBE, Programme Director, Technician Commitment, said: “The Technician Commitment welcomes the findings of the Concordat review and values the insights the report provides on the work and success of the Technician Commitment. Concordats and agreements highlight important issues in UK research culture, including matters of equality, diversity and inclusion, and we look forward to working with the other initiative owners on the next phase of the project, to share what we have learned to make these initiatives as effective as possible.”
Read the latest Progress Report from the Technician Commitment here. You can also read a recent report on equality, diversity and inclusion through a technician lens here.
