Research Staff Consultative Group

The Research Staff Consultative Group (RSCG) oversees the training and career development opportunities for all UCL research staff.

The Research Staff Consultative Group (RSCG) oversees the training and career development opportunities for all UCL research staff. These plans are designed in accordance to UCL’s ambitions and strategies as well as the expectations of funders and partners.

Terms of Reference

1. Identify priorities for change and improvement within existing activities, practice and policies that relate to research staff development to ensure that UCL develops and maintains a first class environment for nurturing its research staff community; identify the resources necessary to support and enhance provision.
2. Ensure that UCL researchers are fully considered in UCL’s HR strategies and policies, and in UCL’s strategies and policies that support UCL’s research mission, so that they are recognised and valued.  Make recommendations to Human Resources Policy Committee and improve, through working with other committees and bodies, UCL and HR’s understanding of the needs of UCL’s diverse research staff community to ensure best practice. 
3. Establish a robust consultation body with respect to the researcher stakeholder community, providing a forum for research staff to have input to research staff development strategy, policy and operations.
4. Provide strong governance arrangements to demonstrate UCL’s commitment to the training and career development of researchers.
5. Oversee the development and implementation of strategies for the training and career development of research staff in accordance with the principles of Vitae’s Researcher Development Framework and the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers to ensure that research staff develop the skills needed in an increasingly diverse, mobile, global research environment.
6. Ensure that the importance of researchers' personal and career development, and lifelong learning, is clearly recognised by all stakeholders at UCL and promoted at all stages of their career; and that individual researchers share the responsibility for pro-active engagement in their own personal and career development and that their needs are promoted by line managers, PIs, HoDs etc. 
7. Oversee the updates and support the implementation of Research Staff Code of Practice.
8. Oversee progression against the action plan identified in the gap analysis of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers.  Oversee the further gap analyses and actions arising from these at each of the audit milestones mandated by the award.  Report on progress as required and oversee the application for the advanced award.
9. Keep under review internal and external, national and international policy developments relevant to research staff development, and oversee and coordinate responses to ensure UCL remains compliant and sector leading.  Coordinate UCL’s input to these policies.
10. Review relevant staff survey data (for example CEDARS, UCL Staff Survey) and make recommendations to address any issues pertaining to research staff matters.
11. Report to internal bodies and external agencies on the provision of research staff development at UCL e.g. UKRI, other funding bodies, QAA etc. as required.
12. Oversee the development of UCL’s communication strategy for, and communication channels with early career researchers.

Research Staff Consultative Group (RSCG) advisory group membership

Research Staff Consultative Group board members:

Chairs and representative of Early Career Researcer networks: 

Representatives of researcher development: