Communities of Practice

The University hosts several communities of practice which bring together researchers and professional services staff to learn together, share best practice and encourage collaborative ways of working. This page gives a short description of each community of practice and also includes information about the staff support networks coordinated by the Diversity & Inclusion team. It does not include working groups set up for specific tasks, since they are generally task/role related. Nor does it include disciplinary or multidisciplinary study groups.

If you are aware of a research-focused community of practice or network not listed here, or of an update needed to the information provided, please contact the Research Culture Manager, Miranda Raven.

Artificial Intelligence

The AI-COP is a group of people who share information and techniques on all aspects of Artificial Intelligence.

Contact: Nick Gurr, Academic Computing Team.

Digital Humanities

The Digital Humanities COP promotes awareness of, and engagement with, DH among academics. It works alongside the Digital Humanities Hub which provides practical support for DH research. The Hub and the COP:

Help researchers to develop and share knowledge and skills in DH through a programme of events, an MS Teams Community (CoP), and an online portal (Hub)
Help researchers to think through the digital elements of projects, from the development of ideas to the preservation of outcomes
Provide ongoing mentoring and support.

Contact: Mara Oliva, History

Diversity and inclusion staff networks

Creating an inclusive environment is everyone's responsibility. These networks are coordinated by the Diversity & Inclusion team and are open to all staff at 伊人直播app. Contacts are available on the Diversity & Inclusion team’s Getting Involved page.

BAME Network
LGBTQIA+ Plus Network
Parent and Family Network
Staff Disability Plus Network
women@reading
Women's Springboard Network

Early Career Researcher Development

Early Career Researcher (ECR) Development support is co-ordinated by the Doctoral & Researcher College and structured around the 's three principles: employment, training and development and professional and career support. Central to this support is a dynamic Teams site for all ECRs (who are automatically added to it each month), which is kept up to date with notices about internal and external ECR events relevant to training, career sessions, webinars, funding calls, and other areas. There are also specific channels for the Early Career Research Staff Committee and Rewards and Promotions.

The Doctoral & Researcher College also has a page collating relevant information from across the University for ECR Research staff.

Contact: Sue Glover, Researcher Development Manager at s.c.glover@reading.ac.uk or the Doctoral & Researcher College for any specific questions.

Impact Ethics

The Impact Team and academics have created a Community of Practice on Ethics in Impact to review current guidance and standards for the ethics of our impact activities, ethics of working with external stakeholders (vulnerable groups, in particular), plus evidence collection for REF2029. This includes GDPR compliance. 伊人直播app staff can if interested.

Contact: Sascha Valmé (Impact Development Manager Prosperity & Resilience Theme) and Amanda Lazar (Impact Development Manager Heritage and Creativity Theme).

Open Research

Open and Robust Research at 伊人直播app (ORRR) is a network of colleagues interested in making research accessible to everyone. Open access publishing is just the tip of the iceberg that is ‘open research’, which aims to make all stages of the research lifecycle (e.g. data, methodologies) transparent, collaborative and robust. The network aims to overcome silos to provide a space where colleagues from all departments can ask questions and share expertise in the growing (but challenging!) area of open research.

The network hosts monthly events, a Teams channel with spaces for different interests and newsletters detailing open research support and activity within the university. Members contribute by speaking at events, sharing resources on Teams or opening discussions around challenges they are facing or have overcome. The Network is supported by the University’s Open Research Action Plan (2024-29) and draws heavily on activities and projects in collaboration with the . It is facilitated by Anna Tsakalaki, the Reproducibility Local Network Lead, Evangeline Gowie, the Open Research Coordinator, and Etienne Roesch, the Institutional Lead for UKRN 伊人直播app.

Contact: Anna Tsakalaki, Education.

Participatory Action Research

The PAR community of practice brings together staff and external collaborators to share research methodologies and practice. PAR attempts to move away from identifying and theorising the problems of ‘others’ towards engaging communities in co-producing their own knowledge to bring about social action. Based on ideas of equal power, collaboration, and community action, it centres on the notion that communities themselves have the skills and expertise to best understand local needs through their lived experiences.

Contact: Esther Oenga, Geography & Environmental Sciences.

Public Engagement with Research

The community of practice for Public Engagement with Research is a space to share narratives, knowledge, opportunities and resources. Participants can engage with others and learn from their shared experiences. Currently, the COP has over 90 members and we meet twice each term (once face-to-face and once online).

Contact: Mark Dallas, Pharmacy (Academic Champion for PER, science subjects) or Teresa Murjas, Film, Theatre & Television (Academic Champion for PER, arts, humanities and social science subjects).

伊人直播app Education Research Network

The 伊人直播app Education Research Network (RERN) Community of Practice (CoP) is a multidisciplinary forum for 伊人直播app members dedicated to advancing pedagogical and andragogical theory and practice. Membership is open to any 伊人直播app staff actively involved in educational research or planning to undertake such research within the next 12-18 months.

伊人直播app Latin America and the Caribbean Network

An interdisciplinary network of researchers and postgraduate students. Their aim is to raise the profile of the Latin American and Caribbean research that is already taking place at 伊人直播app and provide a uniquely interdisciplinary environment for the expansion of this regional focus within our university. e.

Research Software Engineering

The Research Software Engineering COP undertakes initiatives to improve standards in coding/ research software by developing a sustainable programme of courses, tutorials, workshops and online resources. It aims to foster a software community of practice at the University, e.g. by helping departments to set up coding clubs and sharing of skills and resources. It was set up to support the University’s commitment to the aims and principles of Open Research, as part of the Open Research Action Plan.

Contact: Maria Broadbridge, Academic Computing Team and Paul Heaton, Academic Computing Team.

Research Support Community of Practice

The Research Support Community of Practice brings together all staff who support research activity across the University. It aims to enhance and increase understanding of our remits and priorities, facilitate and increase collaboration and provide opportunities for development across research support staff.

Contact: Wanda Tejada (Research Excellent Framework and Research Planning Manager), Nathan Helsby (Head of Planning and Reporting)

Statistics

The purpose of the Statistics community of practice is to consolidate good practices in the application of statistics across the research process, across all Schools and including research support functions. In her role as Director of the Statistics COP, Daisy supports and involves colleagues across the University who use, need to use, or need to have an awareness of, statistical methods in research.

Position currently vacant, contact information will be available once a new director is appointed.

Synthetic Media Research Network

The Synthetic Media Research Network is a community of researchers, businesses and stakeholders committed to ethical innovation in synthetic media. More information about the network can be found on their page: