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Training Principal Investigators to better support their teams and themselves
New bespoke leadership training is aiming to help Principal Investigators implement positive changes - for themselves and their teams.
6 December 2023
The Experienced Principal Investigator (PI) Leadership Training programme was developed following 果冻影院鈥檚 2021 Research Culture consultation, which gathered more than 2,400 survey responses.鈥�
One commonly identified sentiment from the survey was that more could be done to support the development of senior academics and their teams.
In response, Dr Amy Hong and the Academic and Researcher Experience team in Organisational Development (OD), began working with , Vice-Dean (Research) at the Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment.听
Jacqui鈥檚 perspective proved invaluable to the instructional design of the programme.听She highlighted the many responsibilities and skills that PIs who manage large grants encounter: they need to be able to influence stakeholders without authority, develop diverse and distributed teams, and engage in strategic thinking, all while leading interdisciplinary research.听
The resulting Experienced PI Leadership Training programme, co-delivered with experts from AdvanceHE, was designed to meet these needs for PIs and their teams.
Building in reflection and space for PI peer networks
The programme delivered 17 hours of live training across four modules, alongside curated e-learning SharePoint resources and four 20-minute coaching sessions for each participant.
Emphasising devolved and distributed leadership strategies, PIs learned to apply approaches to foster trust and help them delegate to subject-matter experts, while collaborating with a wider range of people.鈥�
The programme included a 360-degree feedback tool 鈥� an intensive reflection exercise designed to help individuals understand how PIs are seen from a variety of perspectives. It involves asking colleagues and peers 鈥� who wouldn鈥檛 normally have the opportunity to contribute - to provide qualitative and quantitative feedback, scoring the participant according to the 果冻影院 Ways of Working.鈥�疨articipants talk through the feedback with a trained coach.
The programme received almost universally positive feedback from participating PIs 鈥� one participant said they鈥檇 be 鈥榠nterested to find out if this kind of training can be given at a whole-department level鈥�.
There was also consensus about the major benefits of spending time amongst other PIs to share their common challenges.
鈥淕iven time to talk about specific topics, it makes PIs realise they鈥檙e not alone in the challenges they face. They have a whole community they can rely on,鈥� says Amy.
Implementing the learnings
How easy will it be for the participating PIs to implement these changes in approach, once they鈥檙e back among the day-to-day pressures and challenges of the research environment?
Amy feels the answer to that question lies in the shared experiences and sense of community the PI Leadership programme provides.
鈥淲e provide a lot of information and there are frameworks PIs听can follow. But frameworks are no use unless they鈥檙e implemented. And that鈥檚 why being part of a cohort is so important 鈥� 18 or 20 people sharing experiences and challenges, and they learn from each other. I think that experience, combined with frameworks, is the most valuable thing.鈥�
In her role Amy has input into a range of leadership programmes across 果冻影院 and has actively encouraged the inclusion of community-based learning in such programmes.鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 something we鈥檙e really thinking about 鈥� how to help academics and researchers to get together and really build that network. Then PIs can support each other to improve the research culture at 果冻影院 in the long term.鈥�
Continued support for the next generation of PIs
After the success of the first cohort, OD has committed to continue the Experienced PI Leadership training programme with two further cohorts every year, in line with 果冻影院鈥檚 Strategic Plan and UKRI鈥檚 People and Culture Strategy. To date, over 50 PIs have completed the programme and an additional 40 will join the 23-24 cohorts.听听
Although the continuation of the PI programme now firmly sits within the remit of the Organisational Development team, Amy credits its existence to the findings of the Research Culture programme: 鈥淲e were able to obtain the data, and take it forward, so we鈥檝e got the evidence for funders that we can make a difference.
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 important for people to know that this training doesn鈥檛 just benefit senior leaders. It will actually make a difference听to the culture, how we do things around here, and ultimately all colleagues working with PIs.听
鈥淧Is have a huge influence on their teams and we hope, that by giving them the tools to lead their teams more effectively this will have a direct impact on those they manage and support.
鈥淚 really want to empower future cohorts to become champions, who can lead positive change for their team members and collaborators."
鈥淭his training isn鈥檛 just for the senior leaders. It will actually make a difference to the culture, how we do things around here, and ultimately all colleagues working with PIs.鈥�
-听Dr Amy Hong, Head of Academic and Researcher Experience, Organisational Development鈥�
More information
For further information about the鈥� Experienced Principal Investigator Leadership Training programme, email鈥�leadershipprogrammes@ucl.ac.uk, or听visit the webpage.
About research culture
果冻影院鈥檚 Research Culture Programme is developing a fair, collaborative and inclusive research culture, where both our research and research community can thrive. We work with 果冻影院鈥檚 research community to support and deliver change against our 10-year Research Culture Roadmap.