Resources and initiatives
Find tools and initiatives that offer guidance and inspiration for colleagues at Loughborough and beyond.
Improving research culture works best when we learn from fresh ideas and good practice. Below is a selection of toolkits, initiatives, and projects from across the sector, aligned with the themes of our research and innovation culture ambitions, offered to provide practical support and inspiration for creating more positive research cultures.
Do you have a useful resource to recommend? Let us know at researchpolicy@lboro.ac.uk.
Role Models and Leadership
Building Enhanced Leadership Capacity to enable Psychologically Safe and Inclusive Research Environment – University of Newcastle
This cross-functional project is seeking to build leadership capacity to create psychologically safe and inclusive research environments. It will explore how leadership practices support team cultures where people and research thrive.
Themes: Role Models & Leadership; Equity, Diversity & Inclusion; Recognition & Reward
Professional and Career Development
Roving Researcher – Babraham Institute
This initiative supports research continuity during long-term leave by appointing a Roving Researcher to assist labs without replacing staff. It promotes equity in career progression, especially for researchers affected by parental leave, and reduces job precarity by offering a permanent, flexible role that also supports short-term gaps and priority projects.
Themes: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion; Professional & Career Development
Strengthening Career Pathways for Technicians – The Institute of Cancer Research
A Laboratory Technician Apprenticeship Programme focused on recruitment, development, and retention of technicians, particularly from underrepresented groups, and improving career recognition.
Themes: Professional & Career Development; Equity, Diversity & Inclusion; Recognition & Reward, Capacity for R&I
REC-HURDLE (Revisiting Employment Contracts and Help for Under-represented Researcher groups to Develop, Lead and Excel) – University of Nottingham
This project reviews fixed-term contracts, explores new employment models, and expands career support targeting underrepresented researchers. Addressing employment precarity, it is looking to support career progression and promote equity within the research workforce.
Themes: Professional & Career Development; Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Recognition and Reward
Cultures of Collaborative Research in a Socially Progressive Technological University – University of Strathclyde
A university-wide project to strengthen collaborative research and innovation cultures across sectors. It explores how inclusive co-production and recognition of everyday contributions can build more connected and sustainable research communities.
Themes: Working in Partnership; Community & Collegiality; Recognition & Reward
Evidence-Informed Output Narratives – Loughborough University
This approach provides a way for researchers to demonstrate the quality and impact of varied research outputs for internal assessments, such as academic promotion, promoting fairer evaluation across disciplines.
Themes: Recognition & Reward
Community and Collegiality
Anti-Ableist Research Culture – University of Sheffield
This project focuses on experimenting with new ideas for inclusive recruitment; accessible university events and inclusive research methods training; and putting disabled people front and centre of research culture inquiry. It provides resources to support anti-ableist work.
Themes: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion; Professional & Career Development, Communities & Collegiality
Café Culture Toolkit – Wellcome Trust
This toolkit provides guidance for colleagues to engage in structured conversations about the challenges faced in research culture, with reflection on what a better culture would look like, and to propose solutions. Facilitating open dialogues, it strengthens community bonds and encourages shared responsibility in shaping research culture.
Themes: Community & Collegiality
One Collegial Framework for Many Contexts: Testing a new model for creating culture change – University of Glasgow, University of Edinburgh, University of St Andrews.
This collaborative initiative across three universities will develop and test a new model of collegial research leadership to improve research culture. It will recognise leadership in all roles, fund inclusive projects, and share open resources to embed collegiality across the sector.
Themes: Role Models & Leadership; Community & Collegiality
IDEA (Increasing Diversity and Equity of Access) – University of East Anglia
This initiative is a broad programme aimed at strengthening equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) across the research culture at faculty level. It provides tailored training and mentoring to build awareness and skills, promotes inclusive representation and support, and enhances how research design and practice reflect and engage with diverse populations.
Themes: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion; Professional & Career Development; Research Integrity & Openness; Community & Collegiality
Research Integrity and Openness
Integrity in Practice Toolkit – Royal Society
This toolkit encourages individuals and institutions to actively improve research integrity and culture by putting codes and pledges into practice, with a focus on leadership and accountability.
Themes: Research Integrity & Openness; Role Models & Leadership
Valuing Voices for Equitable and Responsible Research – University of York
Co-produced toolkit guiding researchers to embed responsible research principles and inclusivity from project inception. Tested internationally, it embeds responsible research and innovation principles and provides personalised reports to guide grant writing and project management.
Themes: Research Integrity & Openness; Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
EDI Toolkit – Centre for Post-Doctoral Development in Infrastructure Cities and Energy (C-DICE)
User-friendly training designed to help researchers confidently embed EDI into project planning and funding applications, using practical guidance and case studies. It includes six self-paced modules and awards a micro-credential badge upon completion.
Themes: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion; Professional & Career Development