Growing_the_Best_and_Brightest._The_Drivers_of_Research_Excellence

Growing the best and brightest March 2014
and increased over time and considered that
this trend would continue. Consistent with
research ability being an important
consideration, interviewees often noted that
teaching skills could be learned through
training and experience, whereas “raw
research talent” could not. Indeed, one
interviewee considered that the requirement
to be or have the potential to be a good
teacher would reduce the pool of potential
candidates for any given position.
whether recruitment decisions had changed
recently.
“An academic is for life, not just for REF”
– PVC of Research in a leading HEI
“Our only criteria is you’ve got to be world
leading or potentially world leading, straight
forward, just one criteria.”
– PVC of Research in a leading HEI
» Third, consideration is also given to how the
skills and capabilities of a new recruit would
complement existing team members. For
example, engineering departments often
considered it helpful for researchers to have
industry experience. Some interviewees
considered it beneficial to ensure that there
is a mix of researchers from different PHD
programmes, not just their own to help
ensure “plurality”. Thought is also given to
team balance, one interviewee said that they
wanted to make sure there is the right mix of
“creatives” and “doers”.
Because of the importance of correctly
identifying the recruitment need, significant
time and effort is devoted to reaching
agreement on it and formal arrangements are
set up.
For example, HEIs typically form at least one
recruitment committee, often comprising of
multiple senior researchers, to debate and
agree on the individual specifications. The
number and size of committees varied
according to the scale and strategic importance
of the hires under contemplation. Also, HEIs
often require business plans to be written,
which formally articulate the need for
recruitment based on the costs and benefits it
would bring.
Finally, a number of interviewees noted the link
between recruitment and the way funding is
organised. That is, they felt that the focus on
“impact” is distorting or could distort
recruitment decisions in favour of researchers
(and research) that can be shown to have an
impact sooner, and away from “blue-skies”
research that could create a larger impact later.
Additional research could be undertaken to test
All interviews made a distinction between
competition for funding and competition for
talent. They said that their closest competitors
for funding were other UK institutions, whereas
they competed globally for talent, which is
relevant here.
We found differences between disciplines in
terms of the geographic scope of competition.
For example, researchers in economics and
finance related disciplines particularly cited
other UK and US institutions as their closest
rivals, whereas researchers in English language
pointed to other UK and Northern European
institutions. Law is seen as a less
geographically mobile discipline. But they
generally saw the differences as matters of
degree and, in many cases, considered that
competition could only be meaningfully
assessed by considering particular topics of
study within a discipline.
Given the intense global competition for talent,
the HEIs considered it important to use a range
of methods to advertise and alert individuals to
positions.
» Interviewees saw informal methods as
particularly effective – that is, researchers
using their social and professional networks
(such as those developed at conferences) to
alert their contacts to opportunities and,
where appropriate, encourage them to apply.
Intelligence is also gathered through day-today
reading of journals and other discipline
relevant materials. Some academics are
invited to present a paper at a seminar. This
allows for the assessment of their
capabilities, lets them see the institution, and
also to establish a relationship with them.
» Formal methods are also used, including the
use of internet (such as the Social Sciences
Research Network) and print advertising, as
well as recruitment agencies for more senior
hires. Opinions on the usefulness of
recruitment agencies varied. There were
those that had used recruitment agencies in
the past, but considered that they added