Research culture

Our 2024 to 2030 Research and Innovation Strategy commits to fostering a positive and resilient research culture, where our values and behaviours enhance our research environments, practices and outcomes.

Through engagement with our diverse research communities – which include academic, research, and professional services staff, and postgraduate research students – we have identified six core shared values that drive the University of Reading's work on research culture. 

We have grouped these values into two thematic areas: “Openness, Collaboration and Collegiality” and “Fairness, Ambition and Supportiveness”.

We have drawn them from surveys, focus groups (Staff Portal login required), and discussions with our research communities. They will inform work to support our research cultures at the organisational and school levels.  

For more information on our research culture activities, contact our Research Culture Manager:

Miranda Raven

m.raven@reading.ac.uk

These values drive our work on:

• open research and research integrity
• mutual respect, responsibility, sustainability
• breaking down silos within and beyond the University
• public engagement, knowledge exchange, impact
• interdisciplinary research
• communities of practice and global networks.

We embrace and celebrate open, interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches to research, that are underpinned by principles of mutual respect, integrity and responsibility.

We envision a 2030 research environment where we have built upon and strengthened these existing values.

By participating in our communities of practice and in local, national and global networks and partnerships, our research communities create opportunities for impactful, sustainable and innovative research outcomes and practices. 

We are proud of our strengths in this area, which include being the first UK university to publish a statement on open research in 2018.

However, we know that further work is needed to dismantle the siloes which prevent collaboration both internally, across groups and action plans within Reading, and externally, with other institutions.

We will improve mechanisms for sharing good practices within Reading, and seek new opportunities to contribute to and learn from sector-wide developments in research culture.

These values drive our work on:

• equality, diversity and inclusion
• time and resource for research
• enabling risk-taking and innovation
• meaningful mentoring and coaching
• broad and fair recognition of contributions
• skills development across career stages and roles.

We envision a 2030 research environment where inclusivity, talent development, appropriate risk-taking, and continuous learning are consistently embedded across our research community.

By engaging in opportunities to develop new skills, including through training, staff and postgraduate research students are supported to realise both individual and institutional ambitions.

Our action plans to fulfil the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, the Technicians Commitment, and our diversity and inclusion charter marks and schemes continue to progress our commitments to fairness, support, and recognition across our research community.

To increase fairness and transparency in research assessment, and broaden recognition of different research contributions, we signed the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment in 2023, and are implementing this through our 2024 to 2028 Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) action plan.

We are proud of our progress in this area, which includes Reading’s technical services function being the first ever professional, technical and operational team in the UK to achieve a Silver Athena Swan award in 2023. However, further work is needed to fully embody our values.

We will expand access to meaningful mentoring and coaching opportunities to all members of our research community, and give visibility and support to previously overlooked groups. For example, by addressing gaps in tailored support for mid-career researchers and for professional staff not in technical roles.

We will protect time for innovative research in the face of significant financial pressures with our academic workloads project (Staff Portal login required), which aims to develop an academic workload model suitable for all schools by 2026/27. We are also strengthening investment in the skills and leadership development necessary for growing our external research funding.

While bullying and harassment have not been raised as widespread issues at Reading, we will also work to ensure that all staff and research students feel safe to constructively challenge behaviours and practices regardless of their seniority level.

Our Research Culture Programme Board, established in 2025, is responsible for mapping, coordinating, prioritising, and evaluating new and existing activity to strengthen our research cultures.

Our broader research community also shares responsibility for enabling a positive and resilient research culture. Engaging a wide range of staff and postgraduate research students in these activities will be key to their success.

Opportunities to get involved and to share practices and experiences will be shared as they arise.