UCL's Research Culture Roadmap

UCL's 10-year Roadmap sets out how it will develop a healthier, more inclusive and sustainable research culture, where both our research and research community can thrive.

Our vision for the future

We want to create a fair, collaborative and inclusive research environment. A culture that facilitates excellence and where we support one another to succeed.

Our 10-year Roadmap outlines our vision for the future UCL research culture. It brings together new and existing strands of activity in alignment with UCL's Strategic Plan.

Roadmap themes

The Roadmap sets out the themes and goals that we’ll be focusing on. These themes outline common needs from our research community across different disciplines and career stages.

1. Transparent and fair career development

We want researchers, at all levels and from diverse backgrounds, to understand the different ways they can progress, feel supported in developing their careers, and trust that merit will be the arbiter of success.

2. People-centred leadership and management

We want managers and leaders to prioritise people and teams. We want them to seize opportunities to develop the research leadership skills they need for the future and to take ownership for creating a healthy research culture – that supports researcher wellbeing as well as research excellence – in their local context.

3. Opportunities to collaborate and innovate

We want our research community to have the time, tools and licence to fail fast and learn from their mistakes in a culture that values continuous improvement. We want people to be able to connect with projects and networks – across disciplines, geographies, sectors and cultures – and to be able to develop new skills and perspectives that support both the delivery of their research and their personal development.

4. Openness and integrity in our research and innovation

We want the principles of Open Science and research integrity to be at the heart of our research practice, alongside a broader definition of research excellence that rewards and recognises non-traditional contributions. We want to embrace these principles not just for the sake of compliance, but in recognition of the value they bring to our research.

5. Supportive and inclusive environment

We want every contributor to research to feel valued and recognised in an institution that acknowledges and rewards team endeavour. We want our researchers to experience psychological safety and know that their mental health and wellbeing are prioritised. We want greater diversity and inclusion at all levels to lead to diversity of thinking and a strong sense of belonging.