This four-year initiative aims to transform the practices surrounding research supervision. Its objective is to provide institutions with resources, training programmes, and self-evaluation instruments that cultivate an environment conducive to rewarding and acknowledging excellence in this area.
RSVP's design serves to empower institutions in implementing supportive measures that strengthen supervisors' assurance in guiding candidates from diverse cultural and educational backgrounds. Furthermore, it encourages the exploration of innovative doctoral pathways, such as hybrid learning models and those integrated with professional practice.
RSVP will also draw on the intelligence and expertise of supervisors from major industries and the third sector, to explore the role of ‘tertiary’ supervisors and inform the development of continuing professional development and mentoring support.
Professor Doug Cleaver, Director of Sheffield Hallam’s Doctoral School, who is Co-Principal Investigator for RSVP and will lead on Governance and Accountability, said: "A positive research culture hinges on the invaluable contributions of doctoral researchers and their supervisors. Yet, the sector's support systems to ensure students, supervisors, and universities maximise this opportunity are fragmented and inconsistent. By tackling these disparities head-on, RSVP aims to pave the way for a comprehensive resource that institutions and supervisors can access to meet their bespoke requirements."
Dr Nicola Palmer, Head of Doctoral Training at Sheffield Hallam, will lead on Pedagogy and Scholarship as part of the RSVP Consortium and will be the Sheffield Hallam contact and lead researcher and developer for the co-creation of CPD interventions.
The programme evaluation team, based at Sheffield Hallam, will be led by Dr Gill Adams, Lucy Clague, and Lewis Clark.
The project was launched online on February 27th, 2024, with over 200 people in attendance to hear presentations from the different stakeholders and discuss opportunities to participate.
The project consortium also includes University of York, Coventry University, King's College London, and the University of Nottingham. It is supported by the seven UKRI research councils, the Wellcome Trust and the Crick Institute.
A full write-up of the event launch is available here, and the RSVP website can be accessed here.
