Exploring the capability, EDII and wellbeing needs of BR-UK’s researchers

In February 2025 we held an in-person event to bring together our early- and mid-career behavioural researchers, hosted by one of our hub partners, The University of Manchester.

 To complement BR-UK’s work on understanding the current landscape of behavioural research capability needs, the aim of the event was to explore the needs of our hub and spoke researchers who are working at the forefront of UK behavioural research. Below are highlights of the discussion from the sharing sessions, workshops, and surveys during the event from Dr Nia Coupe and Dr Maggie Guanyu Yang.

  • A large group of people gathered in front of a Manchester University building facing the person taking the picture.
  • An image of a woman speaking in front of a projection, which shows a map of the UK with various University logos.
  • An image of a woman speaking in front of a projection, which has text on explaining today's aims.

 

What specific capabilities are needed to be able to lead behavioural research in multidisciplinary, multisectoral teams? 

As a group of behavioural researchers, we have framed the responses to this first discussion point in relation to our capabilities, opportunities, and motivations required to lead behavioural research[1]. 

Knowledge & Understanding 

A solid foundation in behavioural research (BR) was considered essential. Participants stressed the importance of: 

  • Grasping the basics and boundaries of BR. 
  • Maintaining expertise in one area while staying curious and informed about the broader field. 
  • Asking clear, researchable questions. 
  • Continuously growing both methodological and domain-specific knowledge. 

 

Cross-Sector Understanding 

Working across sectors brings huge value—but also challenges. Researchers highlighted the need to: 

  • Understand how different sectors operate. 
  • Clearly communicate the value of BR to those unfamiliar with it. 
  • Respect varied goals, processes, and expertise. 
  • Acknowledge the unique contributions of both academic and applied research. 
  • Making evidence actionable and accessible to a range of audiences. 

 

Skills Development 

Capability isn’t just about knowledge; it’s also about skill-building. Key takeaways included: 

  • Knowing your own training needs and helping others develop theirs. 
  • Using behavioural frameworks not only in research but also in team leadership and training. 
  • Communicating complexity in clear, credible ways. 
  • Flexibility between qualitative and quantitative approaches was seen as a real strength. 

 

Leadership & Self-Management Skills 

Strong leadership skills and self-awareness were identified as key, especially to those progressing from early to mid-career: 

  • Assertiveness, particularly for people of colour and women in academia, was noted as vital. 
  • Learning to say no, knowing your strengths, and taking care of yourself are all key. 
  • Building and managing effective teams, specifically interdisciplinary teams. 
  • Being able to delegate wisely to enable more opportunity to lead. 
  • Being able to manage expectations of others. 
  • Be collaborative in decision making BUT also be able to confidently make final decisions. 

"Work with nice people, rather than clever people" 

  • Support from colleagues, managers, and wider networks to gain new knowledge necessary for the job. 
  • Lower-stakes practice opportunities for early-career researchers: start to grow comfortable by practicing communication or confirming the new knowledge learned within small-scale team meetings.   
  • To have opportunities for experiential learning through our work. 
  • Time and capacity – to do research and thinking needed for self and professional development. 

Imposter syndrome is ever present and comments relating to motivation largely reflected on lack of confidence as early and mid-career researchers. 

  • Confidence required to be able to speak about what we don’t quite understand in others’ field of knowledge 

In summary, to lead behavioural research in multidisciplinary, multisectoral teams, Capability must include strong foundational knowledge of behavioural science, cross-sector understanding, and leadership skills such as clear communication, team management, and adaptability across methods. Opportunity plays a key role—leaders benefit from supportive networks, time to reflect and learn, and access to low-stakes, hands-on experiences that build confidence and competence. This can help address Motivation through overcoming imposter syndrome and developing the self-assurance to engage across disciplines, even when outside the area of one’s expertise. 

 

Building competence and confidence in behavioural researchers 

Our researchers were asked to discuss the areas in which they felt both the least and most competence and confidence in their work. Whilst there was a mix of responses, researchers overall felt most competent and confident in a range of transferable research skills relating to completing research processes and sharing the results with academic audiences. Researchers felt less competent and confident in some aspects of working beyond academic teams such as with stakeholders, other sectors and policymakers, as well as some more leadership type skills such as managing teams and leading research funding and projects. 

 Least Most 
Competence
  • Quantitative methods 
  • Using software packages to visualise data 
  • Multisectoral working 
  • Stakeholder engagement 
  • Talking to policymakers 
  • Managing a team 
  • Mixed methods research 
  • Analysing qualitative data 
  • Bringing people together 
  • Project management 
  • Research methods 
  • Science communication 
  • Academic writing 
Confidence 
  • Apply behaviour change theories 
  • Seeking opportunities to lead projects 
  • Apply for grant /funds 
  • Lead research projects 
  • Translating and communicating research evidence 
  • Academic writing 
  • Time management 
  • Doing the actual research (design, implementation, analysis) 
  • Dissemination (journal articles, conference presentations) 

Some approaches to address building confidence and competence discussed were mentoring and support within BR-UK, and the group decided to start a E/MCR group to provide a safe space for feedback from colleagues on various issues.  

In the surveys some additional free text responses suggested that researchers would value more formal training in addition to experiential learning, as well as mentorship in career progression. Something not picked up on during the day was the desire for more reassurance and feedback about the quality of our work and whether this meets expectations for our career level. 

In what ways is wellbeing related to equality, diversity, inclusion and intersectionality (EDII) for early to mid-career behavioural researchers? 

Career and Sector Mobility: 

  • Early Career Researchers (ECRs- though see ‘Naming and Recognition’ below) benefit from support in pivoting to other sectors, which can ease job insecurity and support wellbeing. This appears to be a particular benefit of working in behavioural research where there appear to be an increasing number of opportunities outside of academia. 

Passion vs Burnout: 

  • Whilst passion for research is a positive and common across researchers at an earlier stage, it can lead to overwork, sleep issues, and blurred work-life boundaries, especially under strict deadlines. 

Job Insecurity & Stability: 

  • Constant concern over future contracts impacts wellbeing, particularly for ECRs, those with caring responsibilities and international researchers needing sponsorship or visas. 
  • Lack of clear support for future planning (e.g., parental leave, career breaks) can increase stress and harm wellbeing. 

Equity in Support: 

  • Wellbeing is affected by unequal access to support, such as lack of a clear point of contact or inconsistency in workload management and line manager relationships. 
  • Challenges differ by individual (e.g., international status, financial stress, invisible disabilities), and EDII must consider these differences to support wellbeing equitably. 

Self-Advocacy & Fatigue: 

  • Learning to set boundaries and understanding personal work styles and values contributes positively to wellbeing. 
  • However, advocating for adjustments or fairness is emotionally exhausting and can harm productivity and self-worth. 

Institutional Structures: 

  • Academia may be more inclusive than some sectors but still lacks consistency in EDII practices (e.g., sponsorship issues, flexible working not always accessible). 

Naming & Recognition: 

  • The term “ECR” underplays the critical role early researchers play; reframing roles could support better recognition and wellbeing, with ‘Early and Mid-Career Researchers’ (E/MCR) considered a more acceptable term. Other suggestions include letting researchers self-identify their career stage and use terms that best reflect their career experiences rather than imposing labels which are only applicable for specific professional and cultural contexts. 

Reflections 

This event offered a valuable space for us as early- and mid-career behavioural researchers to openly share our experiences, challenges, and aspirations. In this blog we have shared some insight into what we feel are the capabilities needed for effective leadership in multisectoral teams, the importance of supportive structures and opportunities, and how confidence and motivation can be nurtured through practical experience and community support. Conversations around EDII and wellbeing highlighted the need for support that acknowledge individual differences and the emotional labour of navigating research careers. Attendees’ feedback included a need to make this an annual event and to ensure findings are fed back to the BR-UK leadership team. As BR-UK moves forward, these reflections will feed into our planning on how best to support behavioural research within and outside of the hub. 

 

Citations

[1] Michie, S., van Stralen, M.M. & West, R. The behaviour change wheel: A new method for characterising and designing behaviour change interventions. Implementation Sci 6, 42 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1186/1748-5908-6-42 

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