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Research and Scholarship Strategy, 2021-2025

intro

Our Research and Scholarship strategy for the period 2021-2025 builds on the strengths developed across all disciplines since 2015, and looks forward to further expansion, deepening and broadening of engagement with industry partners, and a strong focus on income generation. We will also engage fully and positively with the equality and diversity agenda, and with open research.

Aims and objectives

Our prime aim will be to ensure our research has global significance whilst impacting positively on our local communities. This will enable us to have a footprint locally and increase our interactions with our local communities, whilst engaging with global stakes, and tackling issues that will contribute to the advancement of knowledge with issues that affect scientific, societal and creative aspects of today’s world challenges.

Our main objectives for 2025 seek to enhance reach, capacity, relevance, and diversity of our research:

  1. To strategise our research portfolio and impact plans to address relevant local and national research priorities, secure more industry-based research collaborations and networks and Increase our IP base through KE.
  2. To promote and monitor equality and diversity in all aspects of our research activities and re-enforce impact oversight for all research projects.
  3. To continue to identify and invest in selective inter-disciplinary research, create a talent pipeline, recruit high performing staff, and develop clear career research pathways supported by expert training and sabbatical systems.
  4. To build capacity and infrastructure by concentrating on inter-institutional partnerships and the construction of specialist space; and increase our doctoral capacity to 400 students.
  5. To use our institutional ‘anchor’ status to strengthen links between our research and knowledge exchange activities to support local businesses, the NHS, various stakeholders and community groups and help drive regional and national priorities.
  6. Develop our open research environment by building capacity with our Open Press publishing, and open data, wherever possible; and through supporting gold publishing in strategic research areas.
  7. Maintain parity between research, scholarship and knowledge transfer.

Other research policies