Funded Projects
Research England has awarded Enhancing Research Culture funding to Sussex annually since it first piloted the scheme in 2021. This allocation can be used in any of the areas covered by the Research and Development People and Culture Strategy and is governed by the Research Culture Steering Group, who advise the Pro-Vice Chancellor of Research and Innovation.
Over the course of the last three years, we have funded a range of exciting projects and initiatives, large and small, led by RIS, Schools and most recently by Faculties. Our 2023 Research Culture consultation with the research community enabled us to focus spending on the important gaps and issues our staff identified. In 2024 we ran an open call to enable a range of new projects responding to local cultural challenges within our Enabling Plan Priority Areas (Belonging, Maximising Potential, Open Research and Collaboration).
All priority areas (including Belonging) |
||
|
Research Culture Team |
Pilot of a Summer of Research, June - July 2023, including an Awards Ceremony for Research Culture and Impact and the launch of the new Centres of Excellence. This festival celebrates great research at Sussex and brings people together to share knowledge and build new networks. |
|
|
Sussex Researcher School |
ECR Seed Fund |
The Research Culture Seed Fund aims to foster a creative, inclusive, and collaborative research culture. It targets Early Career Researchers (ECRs) to initiate innovative approaches that enhance the research environment at the university. These initiatives serve as pilot projects for new ideas that could become models to be implemented university-wide. |
|
Social Sciences |
Bringing Faculties together to explore research culture issues |
This project reported on and recommended developments through consultation with all levels of the new faculty about the research culture they want to see. |
|
Science, Engineering and Medicine |
Bringing Faculties together to explore research culture issues |
A half-day workshop to explore aspirations for Research Culture and Leadership in the new Faculty. |
|
Brighton and Sussex Medical School |
Bringing Schools together to explore research culture issues |
This one-day symposium enabled staff to explore different aspects of the Research Culture agenda and to identify six practical steps that the School will take forward to cultivate a positive Research Culture. |
|
Education & Social Work |
Bringing Schools together to explore research culture issues |
A series of events to engage staff to develop a stronger shared understanding of ESW Research Culture and create a visual representation(s) of that. |
|
Education & Social Work |
Festival of Multi-cultural Research – a well-received event bringing researchers together with partners. |
|
Maximising potential |
||
|
Sussex Researcher School |
Supervisor Training |
This ongoing project will produce a comprehensive set of training materials for supervisors of PGRs across all disciplines, enabling Sussex to meet funder requirements, improve supervision and improve student experience. The programme focuses on: (i) the development of asynchronous materials; (ii) piloting workshops; and (iii) developing sustainable resources. |
|
Sussex Researcher School (supported by Research Development) |
Sussex Fellowship and First Grant Accelerator Programme |
A programme to support the careers of early career researchers through a fellowship application support programme. It was run as an interactive, masterclass style-training. It has received excellent feedback and resulted in almost all participants applying for funding across the spectrum of funders, with three awards reported so far. |
|
Research Development & Innovation |
Application support/ interview preparation & coaching for significant strategic bids |
To support and develop our researchers' capabilities and opportunities in order to maximise their success in grant capture. Feedback from the researchers involved has shown that they valued this support for its informative nature, as well as its positive effect on their confidence. It made them feel valued by the University. |
|
Research Development & Innovation |
Mapping of available training undertaken |
This project's aim was to map research training currently available at Sussex and understand, in particular, gaps in mandatory training. |
|
Sussex Researcher School |
Streamlining and revision of PGR policies and regulation |
New streamlined policies and regulations; gaps were addressed, and a framework for regular review was embedded into 'business as usual', and relevant governance structures. |
Open Research |
||
|
Library And Learning Services |
Associate Membership of the UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN) Open Research Programme |
Sussex co-lead an Open Research Indicators project about CRediT. We have access to wide range of train-the-trainer programmes, as well as access to expertise from across the sector, and we inform sectoral/national policy, advocating with and through the Network. |
|
Life Sciences & Library |
Delivery of Open Research training within Sussex and externally |
The Open Research Technologies Hub, seed funded by the ERC, has so far delivered multiple training series including a 3D printing bootcamp, Programming with Python, and open-source hardware training for international colleagues with whom we collaborate. |
|
Psychology |
This project piloted a new role which provided a service to ensure and certify the computational reproducibility of papers in Psychology about to be submitted to a journal. The success of the pilot post has resulted in a permanent post, funded by the University. |
|
|
Library And Learning Services |
Open Research support |
In order to make open research data more visible and accessible, this project identified and imported research data metadata records into Elements/Figshare. In addition, DCC (Data Curation Centre) training was organised covering: FAIR principles, Data Ethics, Data selection and preservation. |
Collaboration |
||
|
Global Studies |
Network for PGRs for ECRs researching Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region |
The Network resulted in a newsletter, events, and other activities providing new skills sharing opportunities, collaboration possibilities and peer-peer support. |
|
Knowledge Exchange and Impact Support Programme |
Mapping of impact journeys |
A project that resulted in an impact user journey framework revealing mismatched understandings of how impact is achieved and the support that is available. The insights from this project will inform training at Sussex. |
|
Media, Arts and Humanities (Business, & Engineering & Informatics) |
Themed events bringing schools and partners together to build collaboration |
Two workshops on film with external and internal speakers, building relationships for future collaboration. |
|
Education & Social Work |
Themed events bringing schools and partners together to build collaboration |
A collaboration retreat to progress collaborative conversations between researchers from different Schools leading to the development of collaborative research applications. |
|
Maths & Physical Sciences |
Themed events bringing schools and partners together to build collaboration |
An event enabling collaboration between Maths and Medicine. It led to a collaborative funding application (UKRI Responsive Mode) and ongoing conversations between other participants. There are plans for a network to be established and participants made contact with and joined a new research centre. |
|
Law, Politics, & Sociology |
Creative Methods Festival – a very successful event, looking to run again in 2025. |
|