The I-REACCH journey: reflections and the road ahead
The start of a new year gives us a great opportunity to reflect on what we’ve accomplished so far and invite you to join us in shaping the next steps in 2025. Since May 2024, the I-REACCH project, funded by the Wellcome Trust, has been working towards its goal to pilot interventions that improve research culture at the University of Leicester.
Laying the foundations together
Your support and engagement have been instrumental in helping the project take shape and setting the stage for meaningful change. In June we held our internal launch event which was a great opportunity to introduce the project to colleagues across the University, setting out our vision for a more inclusive research culture. Since then, we’ve been popping up in departmental meetings and common rooms across campus to spread the word and find out what colleagues think we should be focusing on.
At the same time, we’ve been recruiting a team, bringing together a dynamic project staff team and expanded the Mirror Leadership Team to include additional PhD students and early career research staff. Our Mirror Leadership Team’s lived experience of barriers in their research careers provides us with really valuable insight into some of the challenges we face in the sector. We’re also very fortunate to be supported by our advisory groups: The Internal Advisory Group held its first meeting, and members of the Critical Friends Network – external advisors who will provide feedback and insight – are ready to support us.
With the team assembled, we’re working on building visibility. The new project website is now live, offering a space for updates, resources, and opportunities for you to get involved. We’re also on social media including X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and Bluesky so please do follow us to keep updated on all of the activities we’ve got planned next year.
This includes our research culture survey. In collaboration with external consultants, we’ve developed a survey that will give a baseline understanding of research culture across the University. This is anonymous and will be repeated in a year or so to measure progress. The survey will arrive in your inboxes in the new year, so please do look out for it.
Workstream progress: What’s happening now?
Every aspect of I-REACCH is built on your input, feedback, and engagement. Here’s what’s been happening across the five workstreams:
- Workstream 1: Inclusive recruitment practices
Alex Goddard (Co-Investigator) and Fi Wood (Data Officer) have been developing plans for baseline data analysis with a series of interviews and workshops in the new year. These sessions look to highlight key challenges, and explore inclusive and innovative recruitment approaches to address key challenges. - Workstream 2: Career passport
Led by Elizabeth Hurren (Co-Investigator), this workstream has received valuable feedback from postgraduate research students and early career research staff to shape the design of a career passport – a resource that could support your career journey. - Workstream 3: Inspiring research culture
Aaron Andrews (Culture Officer) has been actively engaging with departments and schools through meetings and pop-up events. Aaron has also been working with Co-Investigators, John Schwabe and Anvesha Singh, to develop research culture questions for use within annual PDDs, and a new funding scheme has been launched, inviting you to apply for support to improve research culture in your local environment. - Workstream 4: Leading with empathy
Cleo White (Empathy Research Associate) is working alongside Kate Williams and Anvesha Singh (Co-Investigators) to understand inclusive research leadership and develop a plan to co-design an empathic leadership toolkit. You’ll have opportunities to contribute through interviews and workshops supported by external facilitators. - Workstream 5: Evaluation and impact
With Genovefa Kefalidou (Co-Investigator) and Sebastian Wang (Evaluation Research Associate), this workstream has developed baseline metrics and a protocol for evaluating research culture measures. Your input will help ensure these metrics reflect the real challenges and opportunities in our research community.
Looking ahead: How you can get involved
As we move into the next stages of the project, there are lots of ways you can get involved to share your experiences of research culture, your ideas for how we can create a more inclusive research environment, and shape the direction of the I-REACCH project.
This year, we’ll be holding lots ofworkshops and engagement and engagement activities. You can join upcoming workshops—which will be advertised on our website, via email, and newsletters—and volunteer to be interviewed so that you can share your views. Your insights will directly influence the tools and resources we’re developing.
When the research culture survey launches, your responses will shape how we measure and improve research culture. This is a great chance to anonymously share your experiences and ideas.
In April, we’ll celebrate progress so far with a whole-project end of year event. This is an opportunity to reflect, connect, and help shape the future direction of I-REACCH. Hold the date: 11am – 1pm Wednesday 9th April 2025.
The deadline for our first funding call is 11 February 2025. If you’re involved in one of the projects funded through the first round of Workstream 3’s scheme, we’re excited to see what you accomplish. There will also be a second funding call later in the year – watch this space!
A collective effort
I-REACCH is built on the strength of this community – your ideas, your energy, and your commitment to improving research culture. Thank you for all you’ve contributed so far.
We’re looking forward to working together to create a more inclusive and inspiring research environment in 2025 and beyond.