Professional Development

The Researcher Hub website provides extensive information and guidance on Career Development Reviews. The MPLS Division also offers training on both how to do a CDR (for reviewers) and how to prepare for a Career Development Review (for reviewees). As such, the resource below focuses largely on the potential benefits of CDRs and practical ways to facilitate uptake at departmental level. 

What is a Career Development Review? 

A Career Development Review (CDR) is a structured and confidential conversation about a researcher’s career development. 

What are the potential benefits of CDRs? 

CDRs allow for researchers to plan their career path and receive feedback and guidance on that plan from a more experienced colleague. They can be a useful means by which researchers can plan applications, future publications, areas of research projects, next career steps or other skills they may wish to develop. Holding CDRs can also help  a department better understand, at a high level, how well it is supporting its researchers and what else may need to be done to help them achieve their goals.  

What are some ways to start encouraging uptake of CDRs in my department? 

The following are a range of suggestions for increasing uptake and engagement within your department, which can either by directly implemented (by those in professional services or departmental leadership roles) or advocated for (by research staff themselves). 

For departments that do not mandate CDRs, the following could be considered: 

• Ensure through departmental communications that researchers are even aware of CDRs and their benefits – many are not. 
• Build CDRs into the end of induction periods, to normalise, formalise and systematise them.  
• CDRs could be mentioned at induction events, to set expectations at an early stage that this is part of how the department operates. 
• Mention CDRs in departmental communications, and identify what specifically a researcher needs to do (and/or who specifically they need to talk to) in order to arrange one – try to make the process of setting one up as straightforward as possible. 
• Provide the option for researchers to have their CDR with someone other than their line manager or PI; and openly acknowledge that there may be many reasons that a researcher may wish to do this (that may not have anything to do with the quality of that relationship!). For instance, there may be someone whose career path or identity the researcher more closely identifies with, or they may feel more comfortable keeping their career conversation distinct from their line management relationship. 
• Where time and capacity are a particular concern, combine CDRs and PDRs so that CDRs are not an 'added task', and the two can directly inform one another. 
• Encourage PIs, line managers and those in mentoring positions to support and facilitate their researchers to undertake a CDR. 
• Consider formally incorporating a requirement for CDRs into job contracts. 
• Ensure there is a named individual within the department with responsibility for overseeing and encouraging uptake of CDRs. 
• Provide clear support/advocacy from the highest levels of leadership in the department. 

People & Organisational Development offers general guidance on mentoring, as well as the Mentoring for Development training course. As such, the following resource focuses largely on the potential benefits of mentoring in a research context and practical ways to facilitate uptake at departmental level. 

What is mentoring? 

'Mentoring involves a voluntary process where one person offers their time to support a mentee. The goal is to provide confidential, non-judgmental and constructive assistance, aiding the mentee's development as they see fit. A mentor serves as a sounding board, helping the mentee navigate challenges and gain clarity.' (People & Organisational Development) 

What are the potential benefits of mentoring in a research context? 

As a large and highly complex University, Oxford can be difficult to navigate as a researcher, and being mentored may help research staff to develop organisational knowledge and gain insight into University culture. The support of a more experienced colleague can help research staff to gain confidence as well as connect them with individuals they would not normally come into contact with, helping them to network and get on the radar of senior staff on a less formal level. This may help early and mid-career researchers to better understand the perspectives and priorities of senior management. Mentoring may also help researchers to test their technical/professional knowledge and stimulate new research ideas. Furthermore, it may help researchers to understand a wider range of options open to them and discover professional development opportunities for enhancing their career trajectories. 

Funding bodies increasingly encourage senior research staff to be mentors and place value on the existence of active mentoring schemes in research environments. Whilst acting as a mentor could help provide access to research funding, being a mentor may have many more (less transactional) rewards, such as the development of new skills and fresh perspectives, as well as being involved in a cultural initiative that is of strategic importance to the department. At departmental level, mentoring may help to improve collegiality and community, raise academic performance and career prospects through staff development, and help to generate new ideas and innovations. 

What are some ways to encourage uptake of mentoring in my department? 

The following are a range of suggestions for increasing uptake and engagement within your department, which can either by directly implemented (by those in professional services or departmental leadership roles) or advocated for (by research staff themselves). 

• Sometimes it may be the case that opportunities for mentoring are not taken up due to a clear sense of purpose for the initiative, or a lack of awareness of what’s involved. As such, it may help to clarify expectations via a mission statement or mentoring agreement (that outlines, for example, time commitment and boundaries). 
• Ensure there is a named individual within the department with responsibility for overseeing and encouraging uptake of mentoring. 
• Mentoring opportunities could be mentioned at induction events, to set expectations at an early stage that this is part of how the department operates. 
• Follow up with new researchers 1-3 months after induction to enquire as to their desire for a mentor – embed this in the induction process to normalise and systematise it. 
• Provide clear support/advocacy for mentoring from the highest levels of leadership in the department. 
• Try to formalise mentoring, however loosely, and make sure the system is visible. Informal systems often lead to inequity in terms of who gets mentored and who becomes a mentor (often with the latter becoming overloaded due to their approachability). 
• Some members of staff do not want to become mentors. This is tricky, because there are often more mentees than available mentors, but someone who is reluctant to engage with the process is unlikely to make an effective mentor. Consider the feasibility of involving emeritus academics, visiting policy/research fellows, research associates, cross-divisional mentors, mentors outside the University and alumni in the department’s mentoring scheme. 
• Alternatively, enable a range of options, not just 1-2-1 mentoring. For example, mentoring circles (a facilitated meeting where one mentor meets with multiple mentees concurrently) or peer mentoring (whereby two individuals of a similar age or experience level mentor one another).