Principal Investigators and Research Leaders Survey 2013

The University of Sheffield participated in the Principal Investigators and Research Leaders Survey (PIRLS) for the first time. We invited you to participate in this national survey and to join your colleagues from other UK HEIs in sharing your views and experiences of being a Principal Investigator or Research Leader (PI/RL) in relation to leadership and the management/supervision of research staff and postgraduate researchers.

What is PIRLS?

PIRLS is aimed at those who are a research grant holder, personally responsible for the management of research staff and/or the formal supervision of postgraduate researchers and those principally responsible for setting the intellectual direction of research.

The PIRLS online survey captures the essential characteristics of a successful research leader based on respondents' views on the capabilities that make them research leaders and how these capabilities may be developed in research staff as they seek to become the research leaders of the future.

The survey took around 20 minutes to complete and all responses are completely anonymous and cannot be traced back to individuals.

Participation

Understanding your experience is important in order for the University of Sheffield to build on existing strengths and to plan improvements in the research environment both for you as principal investigators/research leaders and the researchers you lead. The survey closed on Monday 6th May 2013 and we reached a participation rate of 22.3%.

What happens to the results?

The views of PIs/RLs at the University of Sheffield will be compared with those in other institutions across the country, informing us what is working well and where improvements can be made. The results also provide the opportunity for comparison with the results of the CROS 2013 and a view of progress by the University of the implementation of the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers.

A report of the findings of PIRLS 2013 will be published on these web pages.