To help explain what we were trying to do, we used the visual of an umbrella, raindrops and puddles. The Umbrella is the overarching definition of Research Culture, the Raindrops were the individual topics or themes that we consider important in this discussion. And finally, the Puddles, were the grouping of the raindrops into larger themed areas. Our long list of raindrops combined into 25 puddles, our key themes. To help identify what we could consider, we returned to the original aims of the event.  Something to empower individuals or provide a voice to tackle poor research culture behaviours, and crucially, something that isn’t being considered elsewhere.

Key Themes

Collaboration

Research cultures are built on effective collaboration rather than competition, but many research groups and partnerships often work in silos and that disrupts the flow of knowledge and resources across disciplines. We also must acknowledge lone researchers and how we engage and connect them with the broader research community, again enhancing our work. And finally, we must consider the partnerships between academics, professional services, and research technicians all of whom are vital the delivery of research. Collaborative team research that ensures recognition and value of all those involved in research will ultimately lead to better research. Collaboration should also extend to the coproduction of research with various stakeholders including the general public and local communities. Coproduction ensures our research is relevant and impactful.

Sharing practise

We have deliberately used sharing practise here rather than best practise which in itself could be deemed competitive. Research culture is about learning from what works and what doesn't work. Sharing examples helps us set benchmarks for quality, integrity, and recognition in research. They can also help us to improve consistency and reliability, whilst helping us to avoid repetition or something that doesn't work.

Tools and resources

There are numerous examples, frameworks and networks available to help us share resources. One of the things we identified as a gap were tools that help us to evaluate cultural change. There is also a need to develop an online network for ongoing conversation to foster continuous engagement and collaboration. Many of the existing groups are targeted at a particular group including professional services or leaders and managers of research culture, what is available for everybody else? Finally, we must recognise the need for transparent and accessible data to help us make informed decisions.

Values and behaviours

Values and behaviours really came through in the discussion topics and are seen as the heart of a strong healthy research culture. The need for core behaviours rather than processes or policies, that are clearly defined and written in a common language were judged by the group to be essential. Values go beyond a piece of paper, and we need to embody the values we define. The values suggested to ensure a healthy research culture were honesty, integrity, realism, transparency, collaboration, and commitment.

Ethics and integrity

It goes without saying that ethics and integrity are non-negotiable in research. Responsible research and ethics should both be fundamental aspects of all research, from the planning through to the delivery. This in turn ensures the findings are reliable and build trust in research. One area that was highlighted as a challenge is an ongoing commitment to share datasets collaboratively, this would help to enhance transparency and reduce multiple collections.

Engagement and communication

Raising awareness and the understanding of research culture helps everyone to understand their individual role within it. Providing clear communications on the importance of research culture can empower individuals to take a more active role. But we recognise that engagement has to be at the right level of influence for individuals if we are to encourage them to tailor their strategies to address poor cultures or behaviour.

Commitment and buy in

In a similar way to engagement, commitment from all stakeholders is essential for creating positive research cultures. Offering options for individuals to sign up to something can help to show their buy in. There are also various Concordats, Commitments and Frameworks that institutions can sign up to in order to show their commitment. However, signing up to something is easy, the implementation is where the work starts.

We left the discussions from the previous day and moved on to what this thing or output could look like. We deliberately left it open to explore all options. All groups, both in-person and online, used Padlets to capture their thoughts and our facilitators were tasked with feeding back the key points.  All Padlets generated are available in the appendix at the end of the written report

Findings: What could it be?

We generated a lot of ideas and suggestions, far more than perhaps we first expected. In a similar way to topic one, many of the suggestions fall outside what this group can achieve and would need sector wide buy in and resource to move forward. Any of the suggestions in the report can be taken forward by individuals or groups and we really hope they will be, but there are some interesting suggestions, themes, and structures starting to emerge that we think it is possible to build on.

Once again, we refer to the original aims of this discussion, something for individuals that doesn't overlap with existing initiatives, something that doesn't need measuring or assessment, and something that builds engagement from individuals.

It is also important from a delivery perspective to consider what is achievable. Everyone participating in this event did so voluntarily and therefore anything we take forward needs to be achievable without extensive time or investment at this stage.

Grassroots Movement

Several research culture networks are already in existence. What came out of our discussion was the need for a movement rather than the creation of another network. This would help articulate that everyone has a role to play in creating the research cultures they would like to see. There were similarities drawn to how DORA started and how engagement is key if we want to see change.

Unified Vision

Several of the suggestions put forward the need for unified vision, with a vision or mission statement crafted with input from all stakeholders. This statement could help identify problems and suggest catalysts for change. It could help us show the benefits of this work and our approach. Another suggestion was the creation of a manifesto, along similar lines to the vision. The manifesto would define the purpose and some core components or pillars.  We must be realistic about the scale we work at, and an overarching strategic view could be supported by the sector but then utilised by individuals on a local scale.

There was general agreement that we needed active participation from across the group and our wider communities.  If we are to create a vision or manifesto it needs to be co created and set around core values or principles to guide behaviour. To use the words of one participant it should focus on the clear do's and don'ts.

Communication and Structure

Interestingly, no one had an appetite to create another Concordat or lengthy policy document. What we need is something clear and concise that uses accessible language to build engagement and understanding. There is a lack of consistent terminology at present, so we need to determine ours and ensure we identify where we are trying to achieve the same thing when it may not always be clear. It could be accompanied by an infographic for quick optimised readability which could help define our aims and objectives.

Several comments mentioned the formation of an advisory group tasked with moving the work forward and planning what comes next. This could be complemented by working or action groups formed around each defined problem and potential solutions, emphasising the movement approach rather than a network.

Tools and Case Studies

Examples of good practice are not lacking in the sector, but it is often hard to find them. It was suggested that we could create a repository pulling together exiting tools, guides and case-studies. The challenge with this approach is the resource it takes to create and maintain a repository.

A research culture framework was also put forward but one has recently been launched to the sector by Vitae, our output would need to align or complement this rather than putting forward an alternate.

Core Components

A mission statement or manifesto needs to be built around core components or pillars. Several were put forward including:

• How we talk to each other and promote respectful communication in our work environments
• How we collaborate to share relevant findings openly and transparently
• How we hold ourselves and others accountable through our actions
• A commitment to being community-led and responsive to the needs of our community
• A commitment to minimising power imbalances
• A commitment to using accessible language and avoiding jargon to prevent barriers to comprehension

Benefits and Effectiveness

Building support and engagement for the next steps will require us to clearly articulate the benefits a DORA-style manifesto would provide for individuals.  It must answer the ‘why does this matter’ question.  We also need to identify and learn from what hasn’t worked and create a movement that works together to develop solutions.

The best comment we had to summarise all this.....

Our focus must be on practice and behaviours, not processes and reporting.

One of the key parts that came from this discussion was how the output needs to be co-created and must include a diverse range of stakeholders. We have already started the co- creation part with our participants, but we acknowledge many key stakeholders were missing from this part of the discussion. And that leads us nicely onto the third discussion topic, who is missing from this conversation?

The final part of the event was collectively drawing on our networks to identify voices and groups missing from this event. The aim was to create a giant people mind map. We also wanted to identify ways to engage these individuals and potentially bring them into what comes next. Once again, we used Padlets for both the online and in person participants. The full Padlets are available in the appendix at the end of the report.

If you're reading this and see where you or your group fit, please consider this an invitation to get involved. If we have inadvertently missed you, please don't be offended and also consider yourselves invited to get involved.

• You generate a lot of comments and suggestions when you bring together great minds.
• Research cultures are built on collaboration rather than competition.
• Existing networks are crucial to continue the conversation, engagement and collaboration but these are often targeted at specific groups or roles. How can these networks become more open to everyone in research culture?
• Values and behaviours are core to a strong healthy research culture.
• We need a movement rather than the creation of another network.
• A unified vision or mission statement could help us to identify problems and be a catalyst for change.
• We cannot overcomplicate what we create, it must be clear and concise with accessible language if we want to build engagement and understanding.
• There is an appetite to continue this work possibly through the creation of an advisory group complemented by working or action groups.
• We could create a repository pulling together existing tools guides and case studies but this would take additional resource and time.
• A mission statement needs to be built around core components or pillars.
• We will need to clearly articulate the benefits that a manifesto or mission statement would provide for individuals.

As we already said we cannot achieve everything suggested over these two days. We are sharing all the findings so the others can choose to build on this. Our recommendations for the next steps include:

1. Consider ourselves a movement.
2. Find a better name!
3. Establish an Advisory Group tasked tasked with planning and moving the work forward.
4. Set Up Working or Action Groups focused on specific problems and potential solutions.
5. Consider the Co-creation of a Unified Vision and Manifesto by organising further workshop/s and forums to gather input from all stakeholders. Clearly outline the purpose, core values, and principles that will guide the movement.
6. Develop Clear Communication Tools to show our progress and keep people engaged. Clearly explain the benefits of the movement to individuals, addressing the ‘why does this matter’ question.
7. Foster Active Participation from across the group and wider communities through workshops, updates, surveys, and forums.

TURCE, The Unnamed Research Culture Event, started out as an idea over coffee but in two short days it has started a movement. Where this ultimately goes is still undetermined but we aren't going to stop here. There is plenty to work and build on and more people to get involved. Culture change isn't just driven from the top it requires everybody but that can sometimes feel scary and isolating. Calling out poor behaviour or practise can be difficult when you often feel at the wrong end of a power imbalance. Could there really be something like DORA for research culture that enables people to say ‘that isn't in the spirit of’?

This event would not have been possible without our wonderful colleagues and facilitators from Leeds. Samantha and Emma would like to extend a particular thank you to Katie Jones our amazing project manager for literally delivering the entire event.  We're also really grateful to Professor Cat Davies, our Dean for Research Culture, who took a leap of faith with us and funded the entire event. Thank you to our fantastic provocation speakers for helping to set the tone of the two days with their insights and honest sharing of experiences.

And last but certainly not least we would like to thank our attendees without whom the event would have failed. Thank you for coming with open minds, no egos, ideas and an enthusiasm to make things better. You are everything we hoped TURCE would be, and we look forward to working with you on what comes next.