Delivering the strategy

Our strategy is a partnership between colleges, schools and research institutes. As has been the case in the 2015–2020 cycle, the strategy will be implemented via a central framework of values, support, expertise and projects, which will be delivered locally as relevant to the individual disciplinary context.

We will align our actions and investments to meet the following aims:

  1. Review our research strengths on an ongoing basis in order to invest in creating critical mass of expertise, match our strengths to external funding opportunities and identify the Research Beacons of tomorrow
  2. Grow our research talent through our strategic approach to recruitment by restarting the Lord Kelvin/Adam Smith Scheme and by establishing a Talent Lab to develop skills at each career stage
  3. Advance our research culture by implementing the 2020–2025 Culture Action Plan via the Lab for Academic Culture, to support creativity, career development, fair evaluation of research quality, academic rigour and reward varied contributions to research
  4. Make collaboration easy within and outside the University by removing unnecessary barriers, expanding research leadership skills and investing in support both for large-scale collaborative proposals and grassroots developments
  5. Deliver a Research Hub (now known as the ARC) that serves the whole University by supporting collaboration and the development of our next generation of researchers
  6. Embed research impact as a core component of research, and align incentives and support mechanisms accordingly
  7. Engage more staff in institutional decision-making to ensure better planning, build leadership skills and generally drive more horizontal interactions across disciplines, structures and job families
  8. Support the consistent implementation of the strategy across our organisational units: colleges, schools and research institutes

We want to make Glasgow the best place in which to pursue a career.

We will achieve this by creating a culture in which colleagues are supported to realise their potential to change the world.

Photo showing the entrance of the ARC with the feature lighting and stairs in shot

Examples of delivery projects

Examples of how we will channel our initiatives and investments to meet our three key priorities.

Identify and invest in the Research Beacons of tomorrow

We will strengthen our support for ambitious, large-scale collaborative funding proposals, develop critical mass around areas that have attracted external investment, and stimulate partnerships between the medical, life, and physical sciences and the arts, humanities, and social sciences to deliver ideas that change the world.

Recruit global talent and nurture career paths

We will use our Lord Kelvin/Adam Smith scheme to recruit the best global talent, from postgraduate researchers to professors, and introduce a Talent Academy to develop future leaders. Implementation of the Careers Concordat will ensure that early-stage researchers are supported towards academic and post-academic careers.

Raise our profile

We will make it easy for researchers to share their work with the broadest audience by supporting open research practices, enhancing their digital footprint, and by investing in opportunities for physical and virtual networking.

Use the Research Hub (now known as the ARC) to facilitate new ways of working

The £116 million Research Hub (now known as the ARC) will provide an inclusive space in which to both initiate and grow research collaborations, engage as a community about how we wish research to be done, act as an incubator for new ideas, and support the participation and development of the next generation of researchers. It will also house a new Lab for Academic Culture, through which we will implement actions to nurture curiosity and discovery, advance our own working environment, and drive sector policy.