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Putting the Refreshed RDF into Practice: busting myths and building understanding

People are sat around a table around a big sheet of paper on which they are writing down ideas during a workshop.

First Gathering of the Vitae RDF 2025 Community of Practice

How can your institution best use the new Researcher Development Framework (RDF)? What first steps can you take to use the RDF 2025?

These questions were central to the first online gathering of the Vitae RDF 2025 Community of Practice. The event, titled “Putting the Refreshed RDF into Practice: Busting Myths and Building Understanding”, took place on Thursday 8 May 2025.

The event, led by Dr Gemma Jackson (University of Bradford) and Dr Eleanor Loughlin (University of Nottingham), was attended by around 45 practitioners, and led to some valuable discussion about the opportunities and the challenges linked to the RDF 2025, and the process of implementation.

Many positives of the new Framework were identified, such as:

  • The researcher at the centre is a definitive plus, as it focuses on the individual and gives more ownership to individuals for their own development
  • The simplified language, for example on knowledge exchange and public engagement, is effective – and makes the RDF more accessible for people who are not from an academic background
  • The reduction in the number of descriptors is less overwhelming for researchers than the 64 different items that comprised the previous RDF
  • RDF 2025 was thought to be logically laid out, less daunting, more accessible and more user-friendly than the original one
  • RDF 2025 looks to be much easier to map to, and align with, other frameworks
  • Having some of the descriptors from the original RDF shows consistency and enables synergy between the two versions
  • RDF 2025 brings with it the opportunity to review existing provision, to judge if something is still required or needs tweaking – or if anything is missing
  • The researcher values and behaviours can help us think beyond training and development, towards wider research-related development activities such as organising conferences or being on a committee.

A number of queries about the RDF 2025 also emerged during the meeting. These included:

  • A need to see the phases that underpin RDF 2025 – once these are released, stakeholders can gain a fuller understanding of the Framework, understand definitions, and feel more confident about using it. The full RDF to phase level is planned for release in June
  • There are some concerns with navigating from the original RDF to RDF 2025. Some colleagues feel unsure of how to map existing activities to the new Framework if they have already mapped them to the previous one. Mapping guidance is available to support this work here
  • The need to think broadly towards development activities that support some of the descriptors
  • There is a need for compelling campaigns to encourage colleagues, and institutions, to engage with the Framework, to reinforce its value as a tool for researchers’ professional development
  • We need more understanding of how researchers use the Framework for their own development, which, in turn, will help to encourage researchers to engage with it in a meaningful way.

Moving Forward

The Community of Practice (CoP) will meet regularly to begin addressing the concerns and questions raised. Attendees agreed that it was useful to hear from others about their experiences of RDF 2025, and to engage in group discussions to share ideas around implementation.

Collaborating with Vitae, our next steps will include:

  • Capturing and showcasing institutional case studies
  • Gathering examples around how to support some of the descriptors, e.g. in the Researcher domain
  • Resource development, to support institutions to introduce the refreshed framework to different audiences e.g. senior leadership, researchers of different experience levels
  • Regular opportunities for cross-institutional member discussions, and sharing of practical resources with a view to supporting researchers at different career stages to engage with the RDF.

Interested in knowing more? Find out about the work of the group, including details of forthcoming events, via the Community of Practice webpage.