Partnering to support early career researchers Dr Charlotte Mathieson, University of Surrey c.mathieson@surrey.ac.uk @cemathieson

Partnering to support early career researchers Overview What challenges do early career researchers face? The broader context What are the priorities for career development? Publishing; funding; networking Partnering to support ECRs Examples and suggestions

1. What challenges do ECRs face? The broader context

What is an early career researcher? Funding councils (e.g. AHRC, ESRC) Up to 8 years Postdoctoral fellowships (e.g. Leverhulme, British Academy) 3-5 years REF 2014 (+2021?) Output reduction applied up to 4 years post-PhD (from starting R/R&T employment greater than 0.2FTE)

The challenges of ECR career paths My background 2007-10: PhD, University of Warwick (viva 2011) Jan 2011 – Oct 2012: hourly-paid teaching, marking, invigilation, academic writing and 1-1 tuition, A-level tuition, short term research fellowship, research assistant on project bid, work on University projects supporting ECRs, freelance proofreading, etc etc… Oct 2012 – Sept 2013: 0.6 FTE project fellow at Institute of Advanced Study, University of Warwick; plus hourly-paid teaching Sept 2013 – Sept 2015: 2 years further in post at 100% FTE Sept 2015 – July 2016: 10-month teaching fellowship at Newcastle University August 2016 – present: Lecturer in English Literature at University of Surrey, permanent R&T position

The challenges of ECR career paths Key points A highly competitive job market; A period of precarity is common, and increasingly longer; Multiple, short-term contracts across institutions are typical; Competing demands of long-term goals (publishing, funding) vs short-term needs (staying employed)

2. What are the priorities for career development? Key strategic areas Publishing Funding Networking

Employability & the REF Priority 1: Publishing Pressure to publish Employability & the REF Intrinsically linked to one another; Integral to ECR publishing decisions Publishing expectations Arts & Humanities: monograph + 1-2 articles Sciences & Social Sciences: articles in high-impact journals ECR REF discount vs. competitive job market

ECRs are balancing decisions about: Priority 1: Publishing How does this influence ECR publishing decisions? ECRs are balancing decisions about: quality (peer-review, high impact/good distribution) speed of publication (publisher turnaround times) timing within REF cycle (delay/speed-up completion) quantity (overall publication profile)

Priority 2: Grants and funding What’s available? Short-term / medium small grants, bursaries, library fellowships Long-term postdoctoral schemes Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (3 years) British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship (3 years) Institutional schemes (various – 2, 3, 5 years typical)

Priority 2: Grants and funding What influences ECR funding decisions? Conducting research  publications Building a track record for larger grants Rounding CV for employability Developing networks - career mobility

Getting established in the field Priority 3: Networking Why is networking important for ECRs? Getting established in the field Increasing publication visibility & impact Employability & career opportunities Mentorship & peer support

Sustaining professional relationships Priority 3: Networking What are the challenges for ECRs networking? Time Money Knowing how to establish professional relationships (making the first step) Sustaining professional relationships

3. Partnering to support ECRs Suggestions and examples

Time & money What do ECRs need? money buys time for research small amounts can go a long way  could you provide a small research grant e.g. for work towards a publication output?

Advice and information What do ECRs need? Advice and information Clear, accessible information about how to get published, funding applications, how to network Advice from “those in the know” (publishers, senior colleagues) and peer-experience of processes  could you produce guides to support researchers e.g. on the publishing process at your publisher or advice from series editors on writing a good proposal?

What do ECRs need? Advice and information: Wiley Author Services https://authorservices.wiley.com/author-resources/index.html

What do ECRs need? Advice and information: Wiley Author Services https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/11201/221041

What do ECRs need? Advice and information: Palgrave Macmillan ECR hub https://www.palgrave.com/gp/why-publish/early-career-researcher-hub

What do ECRs need? Advice and information: Royal Historical Society http://royalhistsoc.org/early-career-historians/

Opportunities for networking What do ECRs need? Opportunities for networking accessible within context of issues e.g. time/money in-person and online opportunities career-stage/ cross-career stage/ research-specific  could you run an event for ECRs and senior colleagues? Host a twitter-chat for ECRs? Establish or support a mentoring scheme?

Dr Charlotte Mathieson c.mathieson@surrey.ac.uk @cemathieson Thank you & questions Dr Charlotte Mathieson c.mathieson@surrey.ac.uk @cemathieson