Focus Groups
To inform an understanding of current policy and practice from a staff perspective, ten focus group sessions were undertaken (February - March 2025) to gain insights into the effectiveness of our current approaches and identify ways in which the introduction of an ACF could better support diverse career paths. The sessions included:
- Academic staff from all levels (A-E)
- All staff categories (teaching specialist, teaching and research, and research only)
- Representatives from all colleges
- Representatives from portfolio academic staff
A diverse and invaluable range of feedback was gathered during focus group sessions. This feedback, along with insights from previous promotions processes, have been instrumental in shaping the development of a proposed ACF concept.
Some common themes emerging included:
- Emphasising Leadership, Impact, and Innovation: Emphasising the importance of leadership, impact, and innovation as key criteria across all levels, roles, and domains across the Framework.
- Broadening Achievement Recognition: Broadening our perspective on the diverse ways academic staff can demonstrate achievement across all domains.
- Clarifying Benchmarks and Criteria: Developing clarity in criteria and benchmarks for both academic staff and promotion committees, acknowledging a variety of roles and contexts.
- Strengthening Consistency in Eligibility and Submission: Ensuring consistency of eligibility and submission requirements, aligned with a range of role types and activities.
- Addressing Weightings and Evidence: Ensuring equity in use of weightings for all role types and articulating a range of evidence options whilst still ensuring a focus on impact.
- Enhancing Committee Processes: Reviewing the assessment of promotion applications, refining committee terms of reference, and improving feedback mechanisms for unsuccessful applicants.
- Highlighting Support Programs and Activities: Highlighting the importance of support programs and activities, including peer and supervisor support.
