Evaluating the Impact of Newer Researcher Training & Development: Which Direction Forward? (Report of a Joint Seminar)

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The Vitae Yorkshire & North-East Region Hub and the Society for Research into Higher Education Postgraduate Issues & Academic Practice Networks jointly organised this seminar on 30th April 2009 at the University of Leeds, UK. The seminar comprised two sessions, each with presentation followed by audio-recorded open discussion. Attendees were from those working in the UK in the area of researcher and academic development who were invited and able to attend. A summary of the presentations and the second session discussion questions were posted immediately after the event on the Society for Research into Higher Education Postgraduate Issues Network website (http://www.srhe.ac.uk/networks.pin.asp). Those invited (attending or not) were able to respond further in writing. This report provides a collated summary of what people said in the period leading up to the Vitae researcher development conference 2009: Realising the potential of researchers (8-9 September), where I introduced this report in the fringe session “Assessment within development events as evaluation of researcher support programmes”, and does not draw firm conclusions. Its purpose is more to help move further the debate in this domain of practice about “Which Direction Forward?”, with a view towards implications for both academic and non-academic career paths for researchers, and to raise further discussion (see invitation at the end).