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The Commitment, which was first launched in May 2017, is an institutional pledge to work towards addressing challenges that particularly affect the community of people working in technical roles within research environments.
Signatories develop robust action plans, created in partnership with those working in technical roles, to ensure greater visibility, recognition, and career development opportunities.
Professor Neil Hall, Director of the Earlham Institute, said: “Science is a team endeavour. Every individual involved should feel valued and know they are seen, whether that’s by properly recognising and rewarding success or providing clear routes to career progression.
“Technicians have always made an invaluable contribution to research but their work and needs have too often been overlooked - both in the level of recognition they get and the way we develop and reward talent. I’m proud to say that’s something we now have a public commitment to change.”
The initiative has four themes, which each signatory works to address:
Visibility:
make technicians and their work more visible, both within and outside their workplace
Recognition:
recognise success and support technicians with professional registration and external awards schemes
Career Development:
provide clear opportunities for training, development, and career progression
Sustainability:
ensure technical skills and expertise are sustainable and used to their full potential
Signatories also agree to monitor and evaluate the impact of their efforts, submitting a self-assessment every two years on the progress they’ve made against their action plans.
