Research Culture
Building an environment where people can thrive and where research is conducted to the highest standards of integrity.
The University’s Strategy outlines a commitment to the development of an institutional culture that ‘promotes ambition, collective purpose, courage and the continued improvement of all that we do’ and to enabling the development of a community ‘without limits’. In the context of research, this means building an environment where people can thrive and where research is conducted to the highest standards of integrity.
Working together as a university community, we can bring about change to make our research environment as healthy and productive as possible. Research culture at York is a collective endeavour, uniting our academic staff, research students, and professional services staff to find ways to celebrate and build on our strengths and to find solutions where we identify gaps and challenges.
In August 2024, the Research Culture Working Group launched the University of York's Research Culture Action Plan 2024-2030. The plan sets out our ambitions for building a positive research culture across the institution and is aligned with the University Research Strategy.
Read York's Research Culture Action Plan 2024-2030
Building and maintaining a healthy research culture is an ongoing task: we will respond to the requirements of our research community, HE environments, and wider society, as we adapt to new needs and opportunities as they arise.
As a signatory to the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, DORA and the Technician Commitment, and through our Bronze Athena Swan award, we have already pledged to develop an inclusive and supportive research environment at York. We have established a Research Culture Working Group, bringing together established and early career staff from across the three Faculties and our professional services, to build on these commitments.
Further information on future research culture events, activities, plans and opportunities will be published here. To get involved, or if you have any questions about research culture, please contact us.
Learn more about York's Culture & Community Framework
York's Research Culture Projects
The Valuing Voices for Equitable and Responsible Research project supports best practice in research and research culture. The project's main focus is the creation of a toolkit that will guide the development of responsible research and innovation. The toolkit has been co-produced by members of our research community, including practitioners, stakeholders and global partners.
RSVP is an invitation to the sector to get involved in reviewing, enhancing and shaping doctoral supervision practice for the next generation. To change and enhance supervisory culture we want to work with providers of doctoral education (universities, HEIs), industry, funders and researchers to share ideas and experiences of research supervision.
Do you have a suggestion about York's Research Culture?
Please use our "Suggestion Box" below to let us know!
Research Culture Suggestion Box
Awards
We make annual awards for small research culture projects which are proposed and implemented by our research community through Research England's Enhancing Research Culture funding. Updates about future funding calls will be provided here. Any member of staff working in research at the University can apply.
See which projects have been funded previously:
- List of departmental and small awards for Enhancing Research Culture 2021/22 (PDF
, 123kb) - List of departmental and small awards for Enhancing Research Culture 2022/23 (PDF , 63kb)
- List of Enhancing Research Culture fund awarded projects in 2023/24
Events
Research Culture Cafés
Our Research Culture Cafés are an opportunity for our research communities to informally raise issues, highlight best practice and share thoughts and ideas about research culture at York.
If you run a group which would like to host a Research Culture Café please get in touch - francina.clayton@york.ac.uk
Resources
Anti-Racist Research Toolkit
The Anti-Racist research toolkit connects scholars and practitioners across disciplines, and provides the building blocks for developing new understandings of research processes and practices through an anti-racist lens. It is a key resource for those committed to producing research that is ethically driven and places social justice at its heart. Learn more about the Anti-Racist toolkit
News & Updates
Launch of the University of York's Research Culture Action Plan 2024-2030
The Research Culture Working Group is pleased to be able to launch the University's Research Culture Action Plan 2024-2030. The plan sets out our ambitions for building a positive research culture across the institution and is aligned with the University Research Strategy.
Valuing Voices Team publish article in Research Professional
Megan McLoughlin and Zaynab Seedat from the Valuing Voices team have had an article published by Research Professional, titled "Arma 2024: Ten pillars of equitable research" - which outlines the aims of the Valuing Voices project and discusses the creation of a Equitable and Responsible Research Tool.
Enhancing Research Culture funding recipient has correspondence published in Nature
Dr Shoumit Dey (HYMS) is leading one of our current Enhancing Research Culture funded projects, looking at 'Understanding intercultural communication to overcome Othering in academic research'. Shoumit and colleague Pooja Sharma recently had a correspondence published in the journal Nature, to showcase the importance of intercultural communication and its inclusion as an EDI pursuit.
University of York to lead project that puts teamwork at the heart of research culture
'Valuing Voices for Equitable and Responsible Research' is a two-year collaborative project between The University of York and Mahidol University in Thailand, which will identify ways of supporting fair and responsible research processes and outcomes.
Times Higher Education Outstanding Technician of the Year 2023
Congratulations to Jason Daff, Horticulture Manager in the Department of Biology, who won the Times Higher Education award for Outstanding Technician of the Year 2023.
Industry experts to help transform doctoral supervision
The ‘Next Generation Research SuperVision Project (RSVP): Transforming the culture of doctoral supervision and education’, led by Dr Karen Clegg at the University of York, will facilitate discussions about how to properly recognise, reward and professionalise doctoral research supervision.