UKRI-2986 ESRC Research Leadership Network

UKRI is seeking to commission the design and piloting of a Research Leaders Network for mid-career and senior social scientists. The Network will enable social science researchers to enhance their leadership practice, better preparing them for an increasingly interdisciplinary, intersectoral and fast-changing funding context.

UKRI through its component research council, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), has recently completed a programme of work to help us better understand how we can strengthen research leadership capability in the social sciences. We want to enable social scientists to take advantage of the opportunities that are emerging from a rapidly evolving funding landscape that requires researchers to build capability in new areas, including their ability to collaborate and engage across sectors and disciplines. Such boundary spanning activities demand skills in designing, leading, delivering and working within large and complex team-based projects. We aim to address this challenge by providing leadership development activities that will support social science researchers to thrive within an increasingly interdisciplinary, intersectoral and fast-changing funding context.

We are now seeking to appoint a supplier to design and deliver a pilot ESRC Research Leaders Network (Network) tailored to mid-career and senior researchers in the social sciences (see section 3 for further information on how these career stages are conceptualised). The Network will provide participants with opportunities to develop or enhance their research leadership skills by nurturing informal networks, facilitating collaborative learning, encouraging inter-sectoral mobility and cultivating productive interactions.

Through this pilot, ESRC aims to understand how it can strategically invest in infrastructure that enhances social scientists’ leadership skills. Our long-term intention is to develop a whole-career framework that drives ESRC’s approach to investing in leadership capability and enabling researchers to realise their leadership potential.

The full specification is available in the tender pack.

The duration of the contract is up to 15 months and the contract must start by 01 January 2024. Additional information: To respond to this opportunity please click here: https://ukri.delta-esourcing.com/respond/T6PMDRRG2V