GW4 Re-Culture: Research Culture Change Programme

If ‘culture is one of the two or three most complicated words in the English language’, it’s no wonder that the term research culture has become so vigorously debated across UK universities. As the values, expectations and behaviours that shape how we support, deliver and communicate research, the concept of research culture or even research cultures is now spoken about everywhere—mentioned in strategies, reviews and funding calls, as seen most recently with Research England’s £30 million recommitment to its Enhancing Research Culture fund.  

But what does an enhanced research culture actually look like on a day to day level – in our team meetings, on our lab floors, in the way that we talk to each other, and in the way that we differ in opinion? How do we as individuals know which values, behaviours, expectations and skills we each need to improve our own and others’ professional lives? And how do we harness the collective energy around research culture to ensure that the systems, practices and procedures that shape our research environment allow those working within it to thrive?

The Programme  

GW4 Re-Culture examines these thorny questions from the inside out, offering a highly creative experience that leverages participants’ collective wisdom through practical knowledge-exchange activities alongside a comprehensive skills programme facilitated by our partners at 64 Million Artists.  

Over a series of three in-person workshops and two online check-ins you will be supported to engage and lead bold new conversations to accelerate research culture change while acquiring skills in distributed leadership, conflict resolution, interpersonal communication and group facilitation. You also will be offered the opportunity to design and pilot a research culture project with your peers that will emerge from discussions during the programme and be carried out in the months following. By the conclusion of the programme you will leave with a keen sense of how you want to affect change in your area of work.

Key Outcomes:

• Increase your understanding of the skills, behaviours and systems that are essential to a flourishing research culture, and how to go about cultivating them in your daily working practice 
• Enhance your awareness of the existing initiatives to improve GW4’s shared research culture, with an opportunity to test best-practices in your own professional setting   
• Reflect on your own personal strengths, values and skillset as a leader invested in research culture, and space to cultivate these according to your interests and the nature of your role  
• Develop new ways of thinking about your own work by engaging and collaborating with colleagues who hold entirely different roles to you 
• Gain experience in highly creative forms of learning and collaboration designed by professional facilitators that can be embedded within your own work 
• Join a network of GW4 colleagues with whom you can share ideas, process challenges and acquire new perspectives across and beyond the programme 

Eligibility 

The programme is open to academic staff, professional services staff and postgraduate researchers who are employed by a GW4 university or studying at a GW4 university until end of June 2026.  

To be eligible to participate, will be able to commit to all elements of the programme: 

3 full-day workshops 

• Tuesday, 3 February 2026 (Double Tree, Bath) 
• Monday, 20 April 2026 (Watershed, Bristol) 
• Monday, 15 June 2026 (Double Tree, Bath) 

2, 2hr, online check-in sessions 

• Thursday, 19 March at 2pm 
• Tuesday, 2 June at 2pm 

You will also have secured the approval of your line manager or supervisor to engage with the programme in full. 

We are keen to invite participants from a wide array of research culture areas including but not limited to research assessment, open access, reward and recognition, skills development, and equity, diversity and inclusion. 

To get the best out of the programme, you will have experience of and have participated in the delivery of research culture activities either as part of your role responsibilities, academic service, or committee participation. This may include activities like responsible research assessment or equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives, among other areas listed above, and may not be labelled as ‘research culture’ even as it forms a vital part of a larger culture change. These may be formal, institutional programmes, or activities your lab or research group have integrated into daily routines. Regardless, your past experience will enable you to feel confident to discuss these initiatives with GW4 colleagues during the programme workshops.

Accessibility 

An important principle of GW4 Re-Culture is that it provides a welcoming, supportive environment which enables everyone to grow and flourish regardless of personal circumstance. As such we want to make sure that the programme is accessible to all, including all aspects of our online and in-person sessions. If there are any factors which you feel would impede your access or full participation in any of the online or offline elements of this programme (i.e., caring responsibilities, accessibility requirements, etc.), please get in touch with us at talentandskills@gw4.ac.uk. We are keen to offer options that will help you best participate in the programme. 

How to Apply

The deadline for applications is midday (12pm), Wednesday, 22 October 2025 and applications can be completed here. Applications will be reviewed by a panel of professional service leads from GW4 universities to select participants.  

If you have any questions about either programme, your eligibility, or how to apply, please feel free to contact the Talent and Skills Team (talentandskills@gw4.ac.uk).