Event Details

This peer learning workshop is designed for those with experience of supporting the development of research proposals at either central or school/faculty level. This workshop starts from the premise that it is not enough to offer technically correct advice and guidance to grant applicants in terms of appropriate target schemes and improving drafts – we need that advice to be acted on to be effective.

This workshop will feature short introductory provocations but will rely heavily on peer learning through small group discussions with colleagues at other institutions. Participants will be encouraged to reflect on how they currently frame their expertise and their role to researchers; how they build relationships with researchers; and how they approach persuading and influencing colleagues. What works well for them, and what challenges they have.

By the end of the workshop participants will have had the opportunity to:

• reflect on their own practice in terms of relationship building, influencing and persuading, and giving feedback.
• discuss common challenges with colleagues from other institutions, and learn from common experiences and challenges
• share practical tips and advice – learn what works for other people

The workshop will operate under the ‘Chatham House’ rule, especially for group discussions. The rule states that “participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed”. This is to create the conditions for open and frank discussions.

Find out more about what to expect from the workshop here.

Target Audience

This workshop is aimed at experienced Research Development Managers who support the development of research proposals at either central university or department/faculty level. We think that a minimum of a two to three years of experience in a research development role will be required to take full advantage of peer learning, but this event is also suitable for colleagues with substantially more experience.

We expect that participants would already have achieved the learning objectives of ARMA’s two other courses in this area (Supporting Research Proposals and Raising the Quality of Research Proposals), obtained through attending those courses, practical experience, or a mixture of the two.