research capacity building in action: framing support and balancing tensions mike wallace aim...
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Research Capacity Building in Action:
Framing Support and Balancing Tensions
Mike Wallace
AIM Associate Director for Capacity Building
EDAMBA Annual Meeting & General Assembly
2nd September 2008
Session Aims
1.Outline AIM’s approach to building UK management research capacity, with special reference to doctoral programmes
2.Consider implications for doctoral education in your contexts
3.Explore how doctoral education can be developed effectively in your organizations
AIM’s Approach to Management Research Capacity Building
• Research Council-funded cohorts of AIM Fellows (developing people not projects)- call for individual proposals- from academics at particular career stages- on broad pre-specified management topics- to do individual research- plus collective research-linked activities- plus offer capacity-building activities accessible to any UK researchers (management or methods topics)- support from international scholars- (Senior Fellows had doctoral students)
AIM Senior Fellows Cohort
• 16 individual academics• at a senior career stage (all professors)• Individual research on 3 management topics:
- sustained innovation- promising practices- productivity and performance
• Collective work on these topics including:- book by all Fellows targeting managers- group report for policy-makers on each topic
• Group capacity-building activities (‘converts’ workshop including doing a doctoral degree)
• Each supervised up to five doctoral students
Aim Phase 1 Cohorts of Fellows
Fellowship cohort
Number of Fellows
Career Stage
Topic Area Supervise doctoral students
Capacity building (doctoral students)
Senior 16 Senior private sector innovation, practices, productivity
Yes Yes
Public Service
11 mid-career, senior
public service improvement
No Yes
Ghoshal 9 mid-career private and public sector practices, innovation
No Yes
Aim Phase 2 Cohorts of Fellows
Fellowship cohort
Number of Fellows
Career Stage
Topic Area Supervise doctoral students
Capacity building (doctoral students)
Innovation (plus 8 research projects)
6 mid-career private sector innovation
No Yes
Services 6 mid-career private sector services
No Yes
Practices (call to come)
mid-career private sector management practices
No Yes
Supporting Researchers’ Learning
1. Individual Fellows’ learning by doing research2. Collective Fellows’ learning through group
research-related activities on these topics, supported by international scholars
3. Others’ individual learning (including doctoral students) by providing capacity-building activities, include international scholars
4. Collective Fellows’ learning as trainers by providing capacity-building activities
• (Doctoral students’ learning supervised by AIM Senior Fellows working on their management topics)
AIM Research Training Projects
Research Council-funded projects within the ESRC Researcher Development Initiative:
• Training management researchers as trainers- research methods teachers- doctoral student supervisors- mentors of early-career academics
2. Managing the training of management researchers as trainers- developing staff as teachers and supervisors- managing research training and doctoral
programmes
Progress with AIM Research Training Projects
• Workshop series, offered regionally, on:- Postgraduate research methods teaching- Supervising doctoral students- Teaching Systematic literature review- Teaching critical literature review
• Draft e-learning materials on ‘learning to think like an experienced management researcher’
• Conference on managing research training• Workshop on managing development of
research training and supervision
Developing Doctoral Education:
What Works?
1. In your experience,what support for developing doctoral education is effective?
2. What are the strengths and limitations of AIM’s contribution to developing doctoral education?
The Thinking Behind AIM’s Capacity Building Projects and Fellows’ Capacity Building Work
• Basis for research training proposals and oversight of Fellows’ capacity building proposals
• Developing an analysis linking:
- Career stages
- Roles and tasks
- Development needs
- Learning and learning support
Multiple Roles to Manage Research Training & Supervision
Development needs for different roles:
1. Primary researcher role2. Secondary researcher role as trainers of
postgraduate and doctoral students;3. Secondary researcher role as developers of
academics4. Managers of research training and doctoral
supervision programmes5. Deans and directors of research responsible
for managing the development of research training and supervision
Source of Development Need Career Stage
Role Task Doctoral student
Early career
‘Convert’ Mid
Career
Senior
Researcher write proposals,do research,publish outcomes
X X X X X
Trainer of students
teach methods,supervise students X X X X
Developer of academics
appraise and mentor colleagues X X
Manager of research training and supervision
manage research training, doctoral programme, staff development
X X
Dean / Head of School
recruit & retain staff,develop researchand teaching,develop staff capacity
X
Needs from Roles & Tasks at Career Stages
Source of Development Need RDI Activities to meet Needs
Role Task
Researcher write proposalsdo researchpublish outcomes
Logic of enquiry e-learning materials (postgraduate and doctoral students)
Trainer teach methodssupervise students
Workshop series on methods courses, systematic and critical literature reviewing, working with large datasets, supervising
Staff developer
appraise and mentor colleagues
Workshop series on mentoring early-career academics
Manager of research training and supervision
manage research training, doctoral programme, staff development
(assumed managers’ support, some managers attended workshop series)
Dean / Head of School
recruit and retain staff, develop research,
teaching, staff capacity
(advertised to deans / Head of Schools, they nominate participants, indicate endorsement, nominal financial contribution)
AIM RDI Project – ‘TrainingResearchers as Trainers’
Source of Development Need RDI Activities to meet Needs
Role Task
Researcher write proposals
do research
publish outcomes
Logic of enquiry e-learning extension materials (early-career researchers)
Trainer teach methods
supervise students
Initiative to deliver workshops locally - on supervision and co-publishing, research methods training, teaching critical literature reviewing, quantitative methods
Staff developer
appraise and mentor colleagues
Manager of research training and supervision
manage research training, doctoral programme, staff development
Workshops on importing new methods, managing research training and supervision, training early career researchers - proposals and publications
Dean / Head of School
recruit and retain staff, develop research, teaching, staff capacity
Today’s conference to raise awareness about managing research training and supervision, other RDI provision
AIM RDI Project – ‘Managing theTraining of Researchers as Trainers’
Building Management ResearchCapacity through Doctoral Education:
Identifying Development Needs
1. In your experience,
how (if at all) are the development needs identified of staff involved in providing and managing doctoral education?
2.What are the most important development needs of these staff,
and why?
Support for Individual and Collective Learning
1.Understanding and practical information
2.Skills exercises with feedback
3. Integration into the job with feedback
Potential of Learning Support ActivitiesActivities
for
Learning
Support
Extent of Learning Support
Individual Collective
Practical inform-ation
Skills exercises, feedback
Integration into job, feedback
Exchange practical information
Joint skills exercises, feedback
Joint integration into job, feedback
Intro session / handbook
X X
One-off workshop, conference
X X X X
Workshop series X X X X XMentoring / co-supervising
X X X X X X
Network X X
Modular Learning Support Sequence
Preparatory Work
Diagnose issues through reviewing practice, present knowledge
Problematize practice, stimulate thinking, e.g. through reading
Learning Support Sessions
Link learners’ experience and knowledge to present activity
Input on a new topic
Plan follow-up to integrate ideas from input into practice
Follow-up Work
Activity to support integration into practice
Prepare for next session – report back, diagnose etc
AIM RDI Learning Support ActivitiesActivities
for
Learning
Support
Extent of Learning Support
Individual Collective
Practical inform-ation
Skills exercises, feedback
Integration into job, feedback
Exchange practical information
Joint skills exercises, feedback
Joint integration into job, feedback
Intro session / handbook
X X
One-off workshop, conference
X X X X
Workshop series X X X X XMentoring / co-supervising
X X X X X X
Network X X
Building Management ResearchCapacity through Doctoral Education:
Meeting Development Needsthrough Learning Support
1. In your experience,how are staff supported in their learning who are involved in providing and managing doctoral education?
2.What are the most effective ways of supporting their learning,and why?
Balancing Tensions in Managing the Development of Doctoral Education
1. Planned medium term strategy vsvsflexible response to emerging need, interest and opportunities?
2. Open invitation to request development opportunities to meet self-identified needs vsvs link with needs identified by managers, maybe through appraisal?
3. Pick from external support vs develop school, university-level support?
4. Inclusivity, covering all staff vsvs elitism, concentrating on key roles (e.g.managing research training programme)?
5. Support for all career stages vsvs early career stage for potentially longer-term benefit?
6. Superficial practical information-giving vsvs in-depth sustained mentoring with feedback?
7. Single-purpose support (for role as trainer) vsvs dual-purpose training (for role as trainer and as researcher)?
8. Individuals vsvs collective support?
Managing the Development of Doctoral Education
1. In your experience, what (if any) tensions affect efforts to develop doctoral education?
2.How may any tensions be coped with effectively?