People Make Research 2023 – recognising those who make a positive difference to our research culture

By Elaine Gourlay, Research Culture Specialist (Communities & Collegiality) & Kay Guccione, Head of Research Culture and Researcher Development

Our city slogan tells us that People Make Glasgow, and at the University of Glasgow we believe that People Make Research!

We are delighted to see that 119 of our University of Glasgow staff have been recognised for their positive contribution to the research environment in 2023! Research thrives when researchers feel that they are part of a stimulating, fair, and inclusive environment in which colleagues help each other to succeed. The people who lead research across the University of Glasgow, are critically important in creating positive research cultures.

UofG’s People Make Research project launched for the first time in 2022 and was back again in 2023 due to popular demand! The initiative encourages our Postgraduate Researchers and Research Staff to recognise and thank the people who contribute positively to our thriving research environment. This includes their supervisors and PIs, and this year we made a direct effort to encourage acknowledgement of good leadership across the wider research ecosystem, for example from PGR Convenors, and Research Professional Staff such as Technicians, Graduate School Managers, and Research Project Managers. Our commitment to a positive research culture centres on the recognition and celebration of all colleagues who demonstrate positive leadership.

Dr Bryony Wakefield, Executive Director of Research Services, said: “Reading the contributions provides a space to pause and reflect on the many people working across our research ecosystem. It recognises that good research leadership can come in many forms and is grounded in people helping each other to succeed. It is also a reminder to each of us to take time to look up and around and to let those that help to make a positive difference, know that they are appreciated.”

As well as allowing us to recognise and thank those making a positive difference, People Make Research is an informal way to collect and share practical examples of good practice in research leadership. Read all three of the nominations boards linked below, for a sense of what makes for good research leadership; they contain illustrative examples what our staff do that makes such a positive difference to those around them.

Our three categories mirror the three priorities of our University of Glasgow Research Strategy: Collaboration, Creativity and Careers and show how positive and collegial leadership furthers the aims of the strategy

Professor Chris Pearce, Vice Principal for Research and Knowledge Exchange, said: “People Make Research shines a light on the positive impact of good research leadership in strengthening our creative and collaborative environments, and it shows how colleagues across the whole research ecosystem are working to create the conditions for career and research success for others. Such collegial approaches underpin our work to build positive research cultures. I’d like to personally thank everyone who has been recognised in the People Make Research initiative and all those who took the time to craft and submit a nomination.”

We know that so many our research leaders, and research professional staff work incredibly hard to provide collegial support and cultivate an environment that upholds the highest standards of fair and open research practice. We want to publicly recognise their extensive and essential good practice and say a sincere thank you!

Read about the 60 UofG staff recognised for their impact on Collaboration

 Read about the 16 UofG staff recognised for their impact on Creativity

Read about the 43 UofG staff recognised for their impact on Careers

The reaction to being recognised and thanked by our researchers has been very positive, as you would expect, with nominated colleagues responding with comments such as:

• “Thank you so much for launching my day and ending this week with a heartfelt smile!! If I had a tail, it would be wagging! This is such a treat and an honour and a pleasure. I really do love the ethos behind this (it is just nice to be kind and it is lovely to be the recipient of this kindness too).”
• “Well, this is absolutely lovely, I am very grateful to have been nominated. Thank you so much for creating a space and opportunity for everyone to contribute to a positive research culture by taking the time to recognise and celebrate others. Excited to read all the nominations when they are shared.”
• “I’m extremely happy about this great news — a wonderful motivational boost to continue supporting my colleagues as best as I can.”

If you know someone who you feel should be recognised for their positive impact on the working lives of others, why not email your chosen colleagues directly, share the positive impact they have had on you, and say thank you in your own way? We are sure they will appreciate it. And if you are interested in creating a similar initiative at your university, read about the simple process that we followed to collect these narratives here.