The Researcher Development Framework (RDF) was created during 2009 in response to a range of recommendations to create a UK development framework for postgraduate researchers and research staff in higher education institutions. It has been designed to be a tool for planning, promoting and supporting the personal, professional and career development of researchers and aims to underpin researcher development in UK institutions.
The Researcher Development Framework (RDF) summarises the knowledge, behaviours and attributes of effective and highly skilled researchers in a useful format for policymakers and research organisations that are planning the support and development of researchers in higher education.
The RDF is structured in four domains, which encompass what researchers need to know to do research, how to be effective in their approach to research, when working with others, and in contributing to the wider environment. Within each of the domains are three sub-domains and associated descriptors, which describe different aspects of being a researcher:
The Researcher Development Statement (RDS) is the evolution of the Research Councils’ Joint Skills Statement (JSS) and replaces the JSS as the key reference statement for policy makers and research organisations that provide personal, professional and career development for postgraduate researchers and research staff employed in higher education.
The Researcher Development Statement is derived from the Researcher Development Framework (RDF), a major new approach to researcher development, which aims to enhance our capacity to build the UK workforce, develop world-class researchers and build our research base.