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About the project
This project aimed to audit and benchmark current research-only staff capabilities and research capacity at QUT, in order to efficiently increase our research productivity. This process will provide an accurate picture of QUT's current investment in research-only staff, recruitment and employment processes, research skills and opportunities for research skill development, reward and recognition and career pathways.
The data will provide a solid basis for strategic QUT-wide and Faculty/ Institute-specific research-only staff recruitment, retention and development strategies.
For further information, please contact Ruth Bridgstock on (07) 3138 3466
Objectives
The present project’s objectives were:
- to describe and benchmark QUT’s research-only staff human resourcing, including employment, research capabilities, and professional development, at an enterprise-wide and Faculty/ Institute level, and
- to make strategic recommendations regarding research-only staff recruitment, employment, retention and development
Key issues for investigation included:
Employment and staff turnover
- What is our current investment in the different types of research-only staff, and from which funding sources?
- On what bases are research-only staff employed?
- How are the various types of research-only staff currently recruited?
- What are our current levels of staff turnover and attrition, and why?
- What strategies for attracting and retaining quality research-only staff might be effective?
Skill sets and educational backgrounds
- What functions are research-only staff at QUT employed to perform?
- What skills and educational backgrounds do research-only staff possess?
- What research-only staff supply and demand (e.g., skill-set and employment availability) gaps currently exist?
Staff development and reward and recognition
- What is the demand for skill development, reward and recognition and career progression provision amongst research-only staff?
- What skill development, reward and recognition and career progression provision currently exists for research-only staff at QUT?
- What are the preferred strategies for research-only staff development?
Context
- What provision for research-only staff support and development currently exists at other Australian universities?
- What strategies for research-only staff support and development are documented in the literature?
Benchmarking
- What methods might best be employed to monitor, on an ongoing basis, essential research-only staff indicators?
Best practice
- What research-only staff “best practices” can be identified within and outside the university?
Research Methodology
The data collection phase was conducted via five methods:
- Interrogation of existing QUT HR and payroll databases
- Analysis of documents relating to research-only staff from QUT and other Australian universities
- i) QUT-wide online surveys of research-only staff
ii) QUT-wide online surveys of academic research project leaders
- Focus groups with (i) academic research-only staff, (ii) professional research-only staff, and (iii) project leaders. Recognising potential disciplinary differences, separate focus groups with science/ engineering personnel and social sciences/ humanities/ creative industries personnel
- 2-3 one-on-one interviews with individuals engaging in identified "best practices"
Project Management Structure
Project Manager: Ruth Bridgstock
Centre for Learning Innovation Ext. 83466 Email
Steering Committee / Reference Group Members
Michael McArdle - Manager, Office of Research
Erica McWilliam - Associate Dean, Research - Faculty of Education
Greg Hearn - Director, Institute for Creative Industries
Laurie Buys - Director, Carseldine
Kerrie Mengersen - Associate Dean, Research - Faculty of Science
Jan Lovie-Kitchin - Associate Dean, Research - Faculty of Health
John Bell - Associate Dean, Research - Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering
Binh Pham - Associate Dean, Research - Faculty of Information Technology
Ross Young - Director, Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation
Eric Hall - Director, Information Security Institute
Bill Duncan - Associate Dean, Research - Faculty of Business
Mike Hefferan -
Director, Institute for Sustainable Resources
Kerry Brown -
Associate Dean, Research - Faculty of Business
Jane Banney -
Associate Director, HR Client Services
Joe Young -
Manager, ITS - HPC & Research Support
Project Findings
The full project report can be downloaded in PDF format.
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