Dear all,

The BA's SHAPE careers survey is open for one more week - please see link in previous post, also buried in the text below. They have now followed up with an announcement for an in-person event in Birmingham to discuss national policy and support for arts/humanities research careers. LAGB members are encouraged to consider attending; travel, accommodation, and caring-related funding is available. 

As part of the culmination of the first phase of a major project investigating what research and research careers look like across the SHAPE disciplines, the British Academy is holding an in-person event at the Edgbaston Park Hotel & Conference Centre at the University of Birmingham on Wednesday 27th March from 10.00-16.00. The project explores questions of identity and mobility for researchers in higher education and other sectors, with a particular focus on early and so-called ‘mid-career’ stages, to help better frame and convey to government and other policymakers what meaningful, diverse, and sustainable research careers look like, what they bring to society and the economy, and how they can best be supported.

The event will see the launch of the findings from previous project activities, including a series of online workshops and our large-scale survey, currently being conducted with the Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) and Vitae (further information and a link can be found here: https://www.vitae.ac.uk/impact-and-evaluation/shape-research-careers-survey), which is gathering views and insights from the wider SHAPE research community. Participants at the in-person event will be the first to hear the results of the survey and to offer their thoughts and reflections. The event will focus on collaborative engagement with the policy questions and implications of the evidence gathered by the project to-date and attendees will have the opportunity to help design policy responses and recommendations.

We appreciate that there are costs associated with attending our event, and certainly understand that there may be a need for financial support. For this reason, the Academy’s Higher Education and Research Policy team will be offering to cover up to £150 in costs associated with travel and up to £150 in costs associated with accommodation related to attending the Unconference. If you are in need of overnight accommodation, we have an arrangement in place with Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre for you to receive a 15% discount of their best available rate if you book before 27 February. In addition to this, the Higher Education and Research Policy team can cover the costs of care for dependants for the day. Please let us know if you would like any further information about the process for and we would be happy to provide this. 

If you are interested in attending or would like more information, please send an email to s.asin@thebritishacademy.ac.uk or j.thornborough@thebritishacademy.ac.uk.