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Tracking the careers of Newton International Fellowship Awardees

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 15:24:44 GMT

The Royal Society has commissioned CRAC/Vitae to deliver a career tracking study for the alumni of the Newton International Fellowships (NIF) scheme. This builds upon an evaluation of the scheme undertaken by CRAC in 2018/19.

The project will provide further insight into the career pathways and experiences of international researchers across the natural sciences who were funded through the scheme to undertake research in the UK. It will provide evaluative insights into the longer-term impact of the Newton International Fellowships scheme in terms of its aims to foster research collaborations between the UK and talented international researchers and build research capacity.

We are currently running an alumni survey. To find out how we will use the information you provide, please consult our data privacy notice: Download

The British Academy Research Career Tracker (BARCT)

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 14:24:46 GMT

The British Academy commissioned The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) to conduct research and advise how to track the career pathways of its early-career researcher funding programmes Postdoctoral Fellowship (PDF) and British Academy Rising Star Engagement Award (BARSEA).

This first phase provides insights into the careers of award holders and evidence to demonstrate the impact of PDF and BARSEA on academia and society. For further information about BARCT, please visit The British Academy Research Career Tracker (BARCT) | The British Academy website.

For further information about the project, please find the final report here: Download .

Landscape review of employment contracts and salary provision for academic researchers in multiple countries

Wed, 14 May 2025 14:11:34 GMT

Wellcome Trust has commissioned The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC), in collaboration with Technopolis, to conduct a landscape review of the following countries: the UK, Republic of Ireland, USA, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam, Germany and Switzerland, on employment contracts and salary provision.

Drawing on document analysis and interviews with stakeholders, the landscape review focuses on three areas:

· the employment contracts commonly used to employ researchers
· the impact that Wellcome eligibility requirements for organisations to underwrite Co-I’s salaries has on researchers’ inclusion
· funder teaching buy-out conventions and how provision is used by organisations.

We are currently running a stakeholder interviewee screening survey and stakeholder interviews. To find out how we will use the information you provide, please consult our data privacy notice here: Download

The British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship Scheme Evaluation

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 13:56:22 GMT

The British Academy has commissioned The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) to conduct research to evaluate its Mid-Career Fellowships (MCF) scheme.

The evaluation will draw on a survey and interviews with stakeholders to gather insights into the effectiveness of the scheme in meeting its objectives and the needs of Mid-Career researchers. For further information about the evaluation, please visit Evaluation of the British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship Scheme website.

We are currently running an awardee survey. To find out how we will use the information you provide, please consult our data privacy notice: Download

Tracking the Careers of Royal Society Research Fellows (2024)

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 14:24:46 GMT

The Royal Society commissioned CRAC/Vitae to deliver a second iteration of the Society ‘Career pathway tracker’ project that followed the progress of the alumni of three of the Royal Society’s early career research fellowship schemes: University Research Fellowships, Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships and Sir Henry Dale Fellowships. This updated evaluation followed the inaugural career tracker project and evaluation of the URF and DHF schemes in 2017/18 and an evaluation of the SHD scheme in 2019.

The project continues to provide insight into the careers of scientists in receipt of these prestigious awards, designed to accelerate them to positions of independent research leadership.

Please find the final report here: Download

Research and innovation in Northern Ireland survey

Fri, 25 Oct 2024 10:43:22 GMT

Complete the survey: Research and Innovation in Northern Ireland

The survey closes on Tuesday 4 February 2025.

The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) has been commissioned to conduct a survey to gather views and insights into the experience of working in research and innovation (R&I) in Northern Ireland. The responses will help build a clearer picture of how R&I in NI can grow and improve, ensuring it works better for everyone involved.

The survey is part of Research Culture NI, a project led by Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) and Ulster University (UU), with funding from the Wellcome Trust’s Institutional Funding for Research Culture programme.

The findings from this survey will be used to develop an action plan that identifies practical steps to improve access to opportunities for R&I, support more effective collaboration, and enhance careers in R&I across NI. This plan will aim to ensure that the sector remains vibrant, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of those who work in it.

We are interested in hearing from anyone who engages in research and innovation in any capacity, such as delivering, commissioning or using research done by others, managing or supporting others with their R&I activities, or using research to develop new products or processes. The survey will ask questions about your role, the activities you undertake, your experiences of engaging in R&I, and what you think would improve it.

You don’t have to be based in NI—if you work with organisations in NI or have been involved in R&I in the recent past, we’d love to hear from you too.

Please read the data privacy notice: Download.

Embedding career learning into doctoral programmes

Fri, 25 Oct 2024 10:43:22 GMT

CRAC was commissioned to provide a ‘thinkpiece’ for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), specifically focusing on how career-related learning could be enhanced and better embedded within doctoral programmes.

One quarter of all the responses to UKRI’s call for input on the New Deal for Postgraduate Research related to careers information, advice and guidance to doctoral researchers, including that it was insufficient and/or not of high quality and/or too heavily focused on academic careers. In many of the responses current doctoral researchers expressed views that there should be greater focus in doctoral training on developing a wider portfolio of skills beyond those needed for their research, including skills that would increase their employability in different sectors. These are aspects of careers support, which should also help doctoral researchers to recognise the skills they have and how to articulate them.

In its response to the consultation findings, UKRI committed to review the current provision of what it termed ‘careers advice’ to doctoral researchers and identify how career-related learning and related skill development during doctoral study in the UK could be enhanced.

Read the full report here: Download

Evaluation of the OfS Postgraduate Conversion Course funding (Phase 1)

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 14:24:46 GMT

The Office for Students (OfS) commissioned the Careers Research & Advisory Centre (CRAC) to conduct an evaluation of its funding programme through which UK universities developed new Masters conversion courses in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and funded scholarships specifically targeted to support those from a range of groups who have previously been under-represented in these subject areas. The programme followed a prior pilot of engineering, computing and data-focused Masters courses designed for non-cognate graduates, also evaluated by CRAC (2016-2019).

CRAC monitored participation in the scheme by students and implemented additional research in order to provide an evaluation of the overall programme. This contributed to the decision to provide a second programme of funding in 2023/24 and 2024/25.

Click here to read the report

SHAPE research careers survey

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 14:24:46 GMT

The British Academy has commissioned CRAC to conduct a large-scale survey to gather views and insights on questions related to researcher identity and mobility across the SHAPE (Social Sciences, Humanities and the Arts for People and the Economy) research community.

The survey is part of the SHAPE Research Careers project undertaken by the British Academy to explore the three core themes of identity, mobility and porosity, with a focus on the careers and trajectories of SHAPE researchers to better understand their experiences.

We are running a survey of SHAPE researchers. To find out how we will protect and use the information that respondents provide, please consult our data privacy notice.

Data privacy notice

Evaluation of the Postgraduate Conversion Course Scholarship Programme (Phase 2)

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 14:24:46 GMT

The Office for Students (OfS) has appointed CRAC to evaluate the Postgraduate Conversion Course Scholarship Programme through which it funds scholarships for students from underrepresented groups to attend conversion courses in data science and AI. This follows prior CRAC evaluations of a pilot scheme and the subsequent programme (2020-2023) through which OfS funded HE institutions to develop innovative new postgraduate conversion courses in artificial intelligence and data and provided scholarships (known as Phase 1). This second phase continues scholarship funding specifically targeted to support those from a range of groups who have previously been under-represented in these subject areas and introduces an employer engagement model to fund scholarships.

CRAC is monitoring participation in the scheme by students and implementing additional research in order to provide an evaluation of the overall programme.

We are currently running surveys of students participating on and who have completed these courses. To find out how we will use the information you provide in these surveys, please consult our data privacy notice here.

Privacy notice

Prize draw terms

Royal Society commissioned research on intergenerational fairness and the challenges facing scientists at different career stages

Fri, 29 Nov 2019 15:03:16 GMT

As part of wider work to address barriers to participation and success in STEM, the Royal Society commissioned CRAC’s help to understand more about the challenges and opportunities that scientists face at different career stages. One aspect of the project is to explore ‘intergenerational fairness’ in academic careers, and particularly how sufficient opportunities for progression can be available for early and mid-career researchers whilst retaining the contributions of researchers in the later stages of their careers.

To explore these issues, CRAC has conducted a series of focus groups with academics across career stages to explore the challenges that individuals face within research careers at different stages, as well as interviews with a range of senior HR Directors and Heads of Department to understand how universities are managing their academic workforces.

Evaluation of Royal Society Research Professorship Scheme

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 14:24:46 GMT

The Careers Research and Advisory Centre was commissioned to undertake an evaluation of the Research Professor scheme, the Royal Society’s premier research award which provides long term support to world-class researchers of outstanding achievement and promise. Previous award holders include Nobel Laureates and Presidents of the Royal Society.

To evaluate the Research Professors scheme, we conducted a short survey of those who have held a Research Professorship and undertook much more detailed interviews with many award holders. Issues considered included current processes of selection, administration and delivery of the scheme, the relevance and fit of the scheme in the current research landscape and context, and the extent to which the aims of the Research Professorship scheme are being met.

Evaluation of the Engineering Leaders Scholarships scheme

Fri, 29 Nov 2019 15:03:16 GMT

The Royal Academy of Engineering commissioned the Careers Research & Advisory Centre (CRAC), supported by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES), to undertake an independent evaluation of its premier support programme for engineering students. Engineering Leaders Scholarships aim to accelerate the progression of engineering students in the UK into the engineering workforce and subsequently into leadership positions within it.

The evaluation comprised an online survey with scheme alumni and current awardees, interviews with a sample of these participants, and analysis of scheme management information. Drawing on the diverse data sources, the evaluation shed light on awardees’ experiences, assessed how well the scheme operates and whether the scheme objectives have been met, which included a positive economic impact assessment.

Research Project: Qualitative research on barriers to progression for disabled scientists

Fri, 29 Nov 2019 15:03:16 GMT

As part of work to address barriers to participation and success in STEM, the Royal Society commissioned the Careers Research & Advisory Centre (CRAC) to undertake a qualitative research project to understand the low level of disclosure of disability amongst scientists in the academic workforce, why this occurs and how it might be addressed.

The aims of the project were to: identify barriers which affect whether scientists disclose a disability and how these relate to progression, including any variations by career stages and other characteristics/circumstances; understand differences in the attitudes of disabled scientists to disclosing their disability in different contexts and broad disciplines; and identify and propose potential interventions that the Royal Society could make to address barriers to disclosure of disability in a range of different personal and career contexts.

Primary research undertaken in this project involved a review of existing literature on disabled scientists’ experiences was undertaken, a small number of interviews with experts in the field, and 25 interviews with disabled scientists from a range of different career stages, disciplines and who identified as having a range of different disabilities. This work was undertaken alongside analysis of specific HESA staff record data which generated some more descriptive analyses of disabled scientists’ career experiences.

Establishing the diversity of researchers eligible for early career fellowships

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 14:14:49 GMT

The Royal Society commissioned CRAC to analyse existing data about staff in UK HE institutions in order to develop a diversity profile of those eligible for its early career fellowship schemes, principally postdoctoral researchers. The report provides such profiles against which the Royal Society can compare the diversity profile of those who apply to these schemes and obtain awards, to understand how inclusive they are. It also reveals a range of significant trends as the population of these researchers has changed over the last 10 years.

Impact of Covid-19 on researchers and the UK research base

Fri, 29 Nov 2019 15:03:16 GMT

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) commissioned CRAC/Vitae, supported by UKRI and Universities UK, to gather evidence to understand the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic on the activities of researchers and research groups. We ran an online survey to record a snapshot of experiences of researchers in terms of how the pandemic and mitigating strategies, such as social distancing, were impacting on their work, and obtained over 12000 responses. BEIS undertook the work to assess the current and expected impact of Covid-19 on research activity and the research community to inform its consideration and design of potential interventions that Government and others could make to help protect UK researchers, research institutions and facilities, and in the longer term reinforce the research base and sustain R&D activity in the UK.

Click to read the report

30/06/2021

A second wave of the survey on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on research and researchers was run almost a year after the initial survey funded by UKRI. This targeted 3300 respondents from the initial survey who gave permission to be recontacted. The survey explored how workloads had changed, the ongoing effect of the Covid-19 restrictions and the impact on the mental health and wellbeing of researchers.

Click to read the report

10/02/2023

A third wave of the survey on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on researchers and research has been commissioned by BEIS. This wave will gather evidence on the effectiveness of the interventions that were introduced by BEIS and UKRI to reduce the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the longitudinal implications of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Evaluation of Royal Academy of Engineering research programmes

Fri, 29 Nov 2019 15:03:16 GMT

The Royal Academy of Engineering commissioned CRAC, supported by the Institute of Employment Studies (IES), to undertake an independent, external evaluation of its programmes of support for research, namely the following schemes: Research Fellowships, Senior Research Fellowships, Research Chairs, Chairs in Emerging Technology, Industrial Fellowships.

The aims of the evaluation were to understand awardees’ experiences, how well the schemes were operating and whether their objectives were met, which included assessments of impact upon both awardees and industrial partners. The evaluation comprised online survey/s with scheme alumni and current awardees (and interviews with a sample of them), analysis of scheme management information, and the production of case studies drawn from awardees and industrial partners’ experiences of the Fellowships.

Evaluation of the Sir Henry Dale Fellowships scheme

Wed, 03 Apr 2019 09:41:15 GMT

The Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society have operated the Sir Henry Dale Fellowships scheme for over 7 years. It has the aim of supporting outstanding early career researchers in biomedical research to enable them to become independent research leaders. These funders commissioned CRAC, supported by the Institute of Employment Studies (IES), to undertake an independent, external evaluation of the scheme. The project sought to understand scheme applicants’ and awardees’ experiences, how well the scheme is operating and whether its objectives were being met, including assessments of impact upon awardees. The evaluation comprised online surveys with applicants and awardees, interviews with a sample of awardees, analysis of scheme management information and a range of stakeholder perspectives.

Evaluation of the Newton International Fellowship scheme

Wed, 03 Apr 2019 09:41:15 GMT

The Newton International Fellowship (NIF) scheme has been operating since 2008, jointly run by the Royal Society, British Academy (BA) and Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS) with the aim of attracting the best early career post-doctoral researchers world-wide to conduct research in the UK. Ultimately its aims are to build research capacity in other countries and to foster long-term collaborations between UK researchers and those based in these countries. The Royal Society and partner Academies commissioned CRAC to design and implement an external, independent evaluation to understand NIF participants’ experiences and to judge whether the scheme’s objectives are being met, assess impacts and gain insight into how well it works. This included an online survey to gather evidence from current and previous NIF participants and a series of case studies.

Tracking the careers of recipients of Royal Society Research Fellowships

Mon, 11 Jun 2018 22:05:18 GMT

The Royal Society commissioned CRAC/Vitae to devise a scheme to track the career and scientific progression of researchers who have been awarded its University Research Fellowships and Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships, for the lifetime of these initiatives. CRAC implemented the first of these surveys during autumn 2017. The project has provided insight into the careers of scientists in receipt of these prestigious awards, designed to launch them as independent research leaders, but also consider the impact of the Fellowships.

In parallel with CRAC’s independent report, the Royal Society is publishing a commentary on the results together with case studies of scientists who were awarded these Research Fellowships, to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the launch of the University Research Fellowship scheme.

Read the reports on The Royal Society website