International Consortium for Research Culture
Research is a global endeavour.
To improve research culture at a systems level, we need global collaboration.
Join us to co-create a vision and mission for an International Research Culture Consortium (ICRC).
The universities of Warwick, Monash and Stellenbosch warmly invite you to join a free online workshop on Monday, 24 November to co-create the vision and mission for an International Consortium for Research Culture.
Building on a successful international panel session at the recent IRCC25Link opens in a new window, the Consortium will harness Global North and South perspectives on research culture to develop actionable proposals for change.
Why do we need an International Consortium for Research Culture?
Research Culture has been defined by the Royal Society as 'the behaviours, values, expectations, attitudes and norms of our research communities'.
While researchers and research professionals are usually employed at an institutional level, they often identify with and compare themselves most closely to international peers within their area of expertise. Their behaviours are influenced as much by (if not more than) these international communities as by institutional colleagues, particularly since individuals often need to collaborate internationally or move to other institutions or countries to advance their careers.
Global interdependence within the research community is further created by a need to share resources, data and facilities to sustainably produce world-leading research. Conversely, research journals, funding structures and international university rankings set institutions and researchers against each other to compete for resources and prestige. Negative behaviours and inequities within the ecosystem are experienced at individual, institutional, national, regional and global levels, impacting wellbeing, diversity of contribution and trust in research. This means we need to collaborate both locally and globally to address challenges in research culture.
Who is it for?
Anyone who has an active interest in global research culture improvement, from any type of research or research-adjacent organisation or network, based anywhere in the world.
We are keen to involve representatives from both the Global North and South and to include non-Higher Education organisations (e.g., policy bodies, commercial research and development companies, NGOs, publishers and funders of research), as well as research students and university-based staff at all levels within academic and professional service roles.
We seek to build on existing initiatives and to fill gaps in the collaborative landscape for research culture enhancement, rather than duplicating effort. As such, we warmly welcome participation from existing networks or organisations involved with research culture improvement, whether at a national, regional or international level and across specific aspects or all areas of research culture (e.g., research integrity, open access publication, reproducibility, wellbeing, diversity of contribution, bullying and harassment, research assessment).
What would I need to contribute?
- Three hours of your time on 24 November from 0700 to 1000 GMT.
- Your thoughts and ideas as to what research culture means to you and your priorities for change
- Openness to different interpretations of research culture in different contexts
Participation in the workshop is free, thanks to support from the Monash Warwick Alliance Professional Services Collaboration Fund and the Stellenbosch-Warwick Joint Seed Fund.
What will the workshop produce?
Participants will consider the relative merits of several different potential models for the Consortium and discuss possible areas of focus. This will inform the drafting of a vision and mission for the Consortium. This will form the basis of an action plan, to be co-created at a subsequent event.
How do I sign up?
Complete the online registration form by 21 November to receive a Zoom link to the online workshop.
N.B. A maximum of 250 places are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Once the maximum number has been reached, any additional registrations will be added to a waiting list.