Higher education sector consultation - The 'concordat' and support for research careers

Thank you to all the UCU members who participated in our survey on the proposals to revise the Concordat for Research Staff.

More than 4,000 people participated in this survey which formed part of UCU's response to the Concordat consultation:
The revised Concordat - UCU consultation response [417kb]

You can also read the full report on our survey:
The revised Concordat - what do research active people say? [119kb]

Background

The Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers was established in 2008 and signed by all major organisations involved in research training in the UK. The stated aim of the concordat was to improve careers and employment for research staff.

UCU was involved in the development of the concordat but did not sign the final document as we felt that it missed the opportunity to make firm recommendations on employment security.

Now, ten years later, an independent review of the concordat has made a series of recommendations for improving the document, many of which UCU welcomes.

The Concordat Strategy Group has now issued a consultative survey based on the findings of the review.

The full consultation closed on 7 January 2019.