“Innovative” and “imaginative”. Just two of the words used to describe the projects receiving funding in our latest round of Enhancing Research Culture awards.
Supporting our strategy
The Enhancing Research Culture fund is in place to drive the University’s Research Culture Strategy and Action Plan forward, and is supported through funding awarded by Research England. The fund was divided between:
- strategic projects critical to meeting our action plan commitments
- ideas submitted by university members (either local or university-wide initiatives and aligned to one, or more, strategic pillar)
Following a thorough review process against four key criteria (strategic alignment, quality of plan, potential for impact and longevity), we’re pleased to confirm the projects which have been selected for funding:
Strategic projects funded
This year, £81,435 was allocated in the first round of funding, to projects deemed essential to meeting our action plan commitments.
Career Development
Lead: Ed Webster
Strategic action: Develop clear progression frameworks for all job families (Technical colleagues only in 2025)
Project: We are co-creating a transparent career progression framework with technical staff and managers, supported by dashboards tracking recruitment, promotion, and retention. This initiative will provide clear pathways for development, improve job satisfaction, and strengthen the technician community - helping the University attract and retain talented individuals for research excellence.
Lead: Annali Bamber-Jones
Strategic action: Delivery of The Researcher Academy (Year 2)
Project: The Researcher Academy is a tailored programme of support for research staff, encouraging broad career exploration, leadership development, and building a research community who feel equipped and empowered to engage in both academic and non-academic career advancement, supported by colleagues and peers. The approach encompasses four key strands: Advocacy, Belonging, Development and Resources.
Research Design
Lead: Mark Whiteley
Strategic action: Reconfirm senior sign off and support for a whole-institution approach to achieving the University-wide targets on Net Zero, and develop a strategy for attainment of Net Zero research.
Project: Having reported the University’s Scope 3 carbon footprint against our reduction targets since 2019-20, we are currently expanding the outputs to include departmental reporting. This involves time-consuming spreadsheet operation, so the project will develop the Power BI data model that will enable us to develop the dashboard for our footprint.
Research Recognition
Lead: Jason Harper; Co-Leads: Junjie Shen, Sarah Ormes
Strategic action: Ensure our conventions of reporting (such as promotions packs) adhere to our agreed RRA practices, enabling effective and responsible discussions on promotion cases.
Project: Library Research Analytics will develop support, guidance and training for applicants and panel reviewers on how to select and evaluate appropriate metrics used as evidence within the narratives that accompany outputs submitted for peer review under the new Responsible Research Assessment approach.
Research Recognition, Career Development, Collegiality
Lead: Oli Schofield
Strategic action: Ongoing delivery of Research Culture activities within the Doctoral College.
Project: The Doctoral College received funding to support the operational delivery of the Festival of Ideas, Research Celebration Evening, and Recognition Awards, all aimed at showcasing research excellence, celebrating doctoral researchers, and enhancing the overall research environment.
Open Research
Lead: Jason Harper; Co-Leads: Kate Ehrig-Page
Strategic action: Better record and report on open research practices by reviewing opportunities to update systems (such as PURE)
Project: By developing guidance on options for publishing open research outputs such as pre-registrations, methods, and analyses we intend to raise awareness of open science outputs and improve reporting on open research activity via Pure. Guidance will align to the research lifecycle and provide support at point of need.
Lead: Junjie Shen; Co-Leads: Alex Ball, Sarah Ormes, Catherine Borwick, Haibao Wen
Strategic action: Improve recording and reporting on Open Research practices by reviewing opportunities to update systems (such as PURE)
Project: The Bath Open Hub will create a central platform integrating open-source data to track and evidence open research activities across the University. In partnership with UKRN and CWTS Leiden, it will support Bath’s REF 2029 preparations and strengthen evidence-based policy for responsible research assessment.
Open Call projects funded
This year, a total of £55-60k was available for our open call projects, and applicants could request up to £15k per project.
Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research, Professor Rachel Arnold, described how anticipation was high, especially with the award now being in its fifth year and becoming more widely recognised and known at the University of Bath.
We were absolutely delighted to read so many high-quality applications this year, in the fifth year of our Enhancing Research Culture funding. Applications spanned across the pillars of our Research Culture Action plan. The panel would like to thank everyone who applied for an award this year for all the time, energy and thought that went into putting such detailed project proposals together.
Collegiality
Project: Thriving Together: From Everyday Interactions to Sustainable Research Culture
Lead: Lee Moore; Co-Lead: Eesha Shah
About: Aligning the University’s strategy of driving high-impact research with the Be Well principles, this project seeks to shift culture from preventing/mitigating burnout to enabling thriving. It will pilot practices that help research teams achieve both wellbeing and high performance, supporting a more enjoyable, collaborative, and sustainable research environment.
Open Research
Project: Bath Poster Playground
Lead: Junjie Shen; Co-Leads: Alex Ball, Matt Durant, David Stacey, Tom Pace
About: Bath Poster Playground transforms the Library into a dynamic research discovery zone by showcasing Open Access posters from Pure. Students and staff can browse posters across disciplines, practise poster talks, spark collaboration ideas, and celebrate achievements. The project brings research to life and strengthens Bath’s open and collaborative research culture.
Open Research (Recognition)
Project: Enhancing research recognition for mathematical sciences through 'Mathematical Innovation Reports’, a new publication route
Lead: Tristan Pryer; Co-Leads: Ben Ashby, Fillipe Georgiou, Laura Hattam, Katie MacKenzie
About: The project addresses a gap in recognising non-traditional mathematical research outputs that fall outside conventional journals. It will scope the development of a citable, open publication route for modelling, software and impact-driven work, improving visibility for contributors and demonstrating the added value of mathematical sciences to partners outside academia.
Career Development
Project: Faculty of Science PDRA Away Day 2026
Lead: Michael Woodley; Co-Leads: Anne Inkenhaag, Joseph Wilcox
About: The aim of this project is to enhance the knowledge and confidence of science-based PDRAs by helping them to understand their numerous possible career paths. This will be achieved by showcasing first-hand experience on the transition from academia to industry, and by highlighting key skills needed for fellowship applications.
Career Development (Collegiality)
Project: Creating a step-change for research-enabling staff
Lead: Chevaughn Higgins; Co-Lead: Hayley Shaw
About: This project will recruit a dedicated Research Enabler Development Champion and deliver Bath’s first Research Enabler conference, to improve career development and reduce isolation. A targeted, high-impact programme will strengthen community, improve induction & support, build foundations for the proposed ‘careers framework’ for MSA staff and support long-term cultural change.
Ethics & Integrity
Project: Interactive game to explore research ethics and integrity
Lead: Oli Schofield; Co-Leads: Taif Aljebory, Cosmin Murdure, Filipa Vance, Jacob Barker, Fran Baber
About: The project aims to create an interactive game that helps doctoral students actively explore research ethics and integrity. By presenting realistic dilemmas and prompting collaborative problem-solving, the game could support deeper understanding, reflection, and responsible decision-making essential for conducting trustworthy, rigorous, ethical research within diverse disciplinary contexts.
Let the work begin
Well done to all those who received funding. We wish them the best of luck with delivering their projects.
If you’d like to know more about Research Culture or how you can get involved, please contact Hayley Shaw or the Research Culture Team.