Today we’ve launched the 2023 Culture, Employment and Development in Academic Research Survey (CEDARS), a national survey run by Vitae, the national researcher development organisation.

The views and feedback of our research community are extremely valuable in helping us to create the best research culture here at Bath.

It is designed to gather anonymous data about working conditions, employment policies and practices, research culture, and career and professional development support for research staff, academic staff, and research leaders in higher education institutions (HEIs).

Everyone who is eligible to take part will have received an invitation from pro-vc-research@bath.ac.uk. If you have not, please contact Dr. Anne Cameron, Researcher Career Development Adviser.

The University of Bath runs the CEDARS every two years. The survey is now live and will run until Friday 16 June. It takes just 15 minutes to complete.

Feedback from the last survey asked for more leadership training and in response we created 12 places on the Leadership in Action Programme.

This survey will be used to inform the University's plans to implement the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the HR Excellence Award, and input into strategies to enhance research culture at the University.

This year, as well as asking postdoctoral research staff and academic staff to take part, we are also reaching out to technical staff and professional services colleagues in a role supporting research.

To encourage colleagues to complete the survey, the Alumni Fund has kindly agreed to make a contribution to the Student Hardship fund in line with survey completion rates, starting at £2,000 for a 20% completion rate up to a maximum of £3,000 for a completion rate of 30% or over.

We really appreciate you taking the time to provide your feedback. If you have any further queries about this survey or how it will be analysed, please contact Dr. Anne Cameron, Researcher Career Development Adviser.

Professor Sarah Hainsworth Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research)