The Sustainable Careers for Researcher Empowerment (SECURE) project is set to make significant strides in improving research careers and reducing career precarity.
By developing a comprehensive Research Career Framework (RCF), SECURE aims to provide organisations with a versatile toolkit for enhancing the recruitment, employment, training, development, progression, and mobility of researchers. This framework will not only bolster the appeal of research careers but also mitigate precarity by offering guidance on transitioning within and beyond academia. To ensure its effectiveness, the draft RCF will undergo public consultation, with stakeholders participating in surveys and interactive feedback sessions to refine and validate the framework.
Additionally, SECURE will introduce Tenure Track-Like Models (TTL) and seek stakeholder input through open consultations, fostering co-design and wider adoption of these models within the research community.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
RESEARCH CAREER FRAMEWORK
SECURE will test aspects of the RCF and TTL models in trials in four RPOs (namely Plocan, UCY, UNIRI, and UNL), one RFO (namely UEF), and one recruitment agency (namely ADOC). The trial organisations will first conduct a scoping exercise to map the RCF onto their existing policies and activities for research careers before developing integration plans on how the RCF could be adopted into their existing policies and activities. The trial organisations will develop action plans, selecting relevant aspects from the integration plans, to test and implement during the trials.
SECURE will mainstream the RCF and TTL models through a series of policy briefs and a summit and policy roundtable that explain key aspects of the RCF and TTL models to relevant organisations employing researchers. The RCF and TTL models will be further promoted through key partner organisations in the project targeting researchers and companies.