Research Community Managers are a Human Essential in an AI-Driven Landscape

Presentation for STEP-UP RSLondon 2026 

Overview

This talk highlights the role of community management and strengthens the argument that Research Community Managers (RCMs) are an increasingly important component of the dRTP ecosystem. While LLMs and other AI tools are increasingly used to support generation of code, documentation and data processing, they cannot replicate the RCM’s core functions of establishing connections, building trust, helping navigate institutional politics, fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration, and building the socio-technical infrastructure necessary for solving complex problems. Indeed recent labor market data from the World Economic Forum (2025) and OECD (2024) confirm a ‘human-centric’ pivot which places an increasing premium on ‘bridging’ roles that require coordination, interpersonal judgement and emotional intelligence. This evidence suggests that the RCMs, either in formal or informal roles, are a human necessity in an AI-enhanced research lifecycle, providing the strategic cohesion AI lacks.

Interest to Attendees

Workshop attendees are in a time of significant shifts in employment trends. This talk provides a data-backed argument for why RCMs are a strategic necessity for institutions to maximise their technical investments. This will be valuable to junior dRTPs who are developing career strategies, and senior leaders looking to build maximum (and future proofed) impact in their projects.

Impact and Discussion

This presentation will develop attendees' understanding of how to "AI-proof" their career structures by focusing on non-automatable skills. It aims to spark a critical discussion on institutional policy: how do we move beyond "ad-hoc" community management to formal, senior-grade pathways? By the end of the session, attendees will be equipped with a framework to advocate for RCM roles as the essential link between shifting technological tools and the long-term sustainability of the research lifecycle.