University of Liverpool Research Staff Association - Terms of Reference

University of Liverpool Research Staff Association (UoL RSA) is supported and managed by The Leadership, Organisational, Staff and Academic Development Academy (The Academy) and the UK Research Staff Association (UKRSA). UoL RSA is a research community-owned and led initiative.

Upon commencement of their contracts, all academic researchers automatically become members of the UoL RSA

This page was updated: August 2024
Next review: August 2025

Purpose 

  • Represent research staff from all Faculties, Schools and Institutes on matters affecting researchers 
  • Provide a platform for communication, networking and professional development opportunities for research staff both within the Schools, Institutes and across Faculties and the wider University community 
  • Coordinate central support for researcher development with that provided locally by Faculties, Schools and Institutes 
  • Facilitate a borderless community for researchers to make the most of their time at the University of Liverpool
  • Promote a healthy working environment for researchers by highlighting available wellbeing and mental health activities, and ways to report incidents of discrimination, bullying and harassment, and poor research integrity

Frequency of meetings

  • The co-Chairs and deputy co-Chairs meet every 3 weeks with member(s) of the Academy Researcher Development team 
  • Open meetings and coffee mornings (virtually or in-person) take place with wider RSA members once a month. These are open to all research staff. 

Time implications

  • All roles are designed to be undertaken as part of a team, with collaborative input from across the Chairs and Co-Chairs, to reduce the burden of voluntary commitments on single individuals 
  • Participation in ongoing activities and the tri-weekly meetings between the RSA and the Academy result in an estimated one day a month time commitment. 

Roles and responsibilities

The UoL RSA continues to welcome colleagues to take on roles in the Steering Committee. This is particularly crucial to ensure the sustainability of the RSA, and it would be ideal to have at least two representatives assigned to each role so that responsibilities can be shared. Below is a list of the different roles within the committee and what they entail. It is recognised that roles will change as the RSA develops. All roles are designed to be undertaken with the support of fellow Steering Committee members, and the Academy representatives. 

See the current members of the Steering Committee.

Co-Chairs (one from each Faculty; holding this position for at least 1 year pro rata; handover period as out-going chair for 1-2 months)

  • Collaborate with co-Chairs to ensure all responsibilities including representation on University Committees (in particular, the Concordat Steering Group) are covered as required, and ensure two-way communication of activities and priorities 
  • Attend and organise regular RSA meetings, conferences and social events 
  • Lead for activities, including RSA actions arising from the Concordat Action Plan 
  • Write up the RSA annual report of activities 
  • Have direct responsibility to liaise with The Academy 
  • Facilitate connections and collaborative activities with research staff associations and postdoc groups at other institutions 
  • Assume the role of lead buddy in small buddy groups that foster opportunities to connect across network(s) 

Deputy co-Chairs (holding this position for a minimum of 1 year pro rata; handover as out-going deputy co-chair for a period of 1-2 months)

  • Take minutes and helps organise meetings, including calendar reminders for activities 
  • Attend and organise regular RSA meetings, conferences and social events 
  • Day-to-day management of the RSA email account 
  • Collate weekly RSA email bulletin to promote development opportunities, wellbeing resources and upcoming events 
  • Collate monthly Welcome email to research staff new to the University 
  • Manage communications, including the @UoL_RSA X (formerly Twitter) account, to be monitored and used to engage with researchers and promote events/resources 
  • Participate as lead buddies in the RSA and PGR-Postdoc Buddy Schemes 
  • Potential to becoming co-Chair 
  • Nominate at least one research staff member from the same Faculty to join as a Deputy co-Chair when their term ends or they move roles to Co-Chair 

All research staff, as members of the RSA, are invited to: 

  • Attend regular RSA- and Academy-led sessions (i.e., informal coffee meetings, Lunch and Learns, and the annual research staff conference) 
  • Function as the point of contact for staff within Schools/Institutes regarding issues/problems/sharing of effective practice and to bring these to the attention of the RSA steering Committee members (via open meetings or emailing researchstaffassociation@liverpool.ac.uk) 
  • Actively report back/communicate to their School/Institutes with outcomes from the RSA activities 
  • Actively participate in the promotion of RSA- and Academy-led events. 

The RSA welcomes role sharing and those that want to help organise an RSA event, as well as people who can only provide support for a limited time. 

If you are interested in discussing or taking on one of these roles or a more specialised role, such as social media management, please contact the co-Chairs of the UoL RSA at researchstaffassociation@liverpool.ac.uk 

 

Back to: Researcher Hub