Appendix N

Research Associates Policy

1. The Unit has recently formulated a scheme in which researchers who are not currently employed by the Unit can be attached to the Unit as Research Associates who remain unsalaried until such time as they become employed on a sessional or temporary basis.

2. Research Associates will support the research activities of the Unit by providing a source of skills, expertise and advice which can be called upon to assist in the development and/or completion of research projects whenever the skills, expertise or advice required cannot be readily provided by staff already employed by the Unit.¹

3. Under these circumstances, Research Associates can be employed on a daily basis for periods of up to 6 months, until such time as the research is completed or a dedicated member of staff can be recruited.

4. Unless it proves impossible to recruit a dedicated member of staff to a vacant post, Research Associates should not ordinarily be employed on a daily basis to work on any one piece of work for more than 6 months.

5. All Research Associates need to participate in an abbreviated version of the Unit's induction and exit procedures, even if they do not undertake work based at SSRU's London Offices. However, those Research Associates undertaking work on research projects that require access to SSRU's London Offices will need to participate fully in the Unit's induction and exit procedures for temporary staff.

6. For periods of employment on any one piece of work for 6 months or more, Research Associates should receive a formal contract from SSRU (with associated pension and leave entitlement) and should therefore participate in the Unit's Induction, Adviser, Mentoring, Probation and Appraisal schemes.

7. In this way, Research Associates can also be appointed to vacant research and research administration posts within the Unit.

8. Applications to become a Research Associate can be made to the Unit Manager at any time, and all applicants to other research posts will be invited to be considered for appointment as Research Associates. In practice this will involve adding appropriate text to the further particulars of all research posts and completing an additional (Research Associate) grid for use when shortlisting applicants to these posts.

9. A formal interview panel may be convened whenever required to consider these applications, although vacancies for Research Associates in any particular areas of expertise will usually be specifically advertised at least once a year.

10. Most applicants shortlisted for interview are likely to be eligible for consideration for appointment as Research Associates, and it will therefore be normal practice to ask all interviewed applicants whether they would like to be considered for appointment as Research Associates if they are not chosen for the post in hand.

11. Few applicants who are not shortlisted for interview are likely to be eligible for consideration for appointment as Research Associates, but where they are, the chairperson of the shortlisting and interview panel will ask Personnel to ask any such applicants whether they would like to be contacted when the Unit next solicits applications for Research Associate positions.

12. Research Associates will be engaged for up to one year in the first instance, renewable on an annual basis thereafter (following annual review by the Unit Policy Committee).

13. The annual review of Research Associate positions will normally take place in June so that Research Associates appointed later in the year or in the first half of the following year will only receive contracts extending to the following annual review.

14. It is anticipated that all Research Associates will have research interests in at least one of the four areas of work covered by the Unit, although it is expected that they will also have a variety of research skills relevant to more than one of these areas, together with particular skills which might benefit specific projects therein.²

15. To this end the Unit Policy Committee will, on an annual basis, solicit suggestions from Project Directors and other staff employed by the Unit for particular areas of expertise which appropriately qualified Research Associates might be able to provide, and these will be integrated within the advertisements and job descriptions used during recruitment.

16. The Unit Policy Committee will also be responsible for reviewing the recruitment and employment of Research Associates on an ongoing basis, and reporting back to Unit staff meetings.

¹To ensure that members of staff (currently employed on fixed-term or part-time contracts, who are seeking to extend their contracts or work longer hours) can be considered for any additional work that may be available within the Unit it is essential that they notify the Unit management team as soon as possible and register their skills and expertise on the Institute skills database.

²The further particulars used in the first (2002) recruitment of SSRU Research Associates included the following "Roles & Responsibilities", and "Essential & Desirable Selection Criteria":

"The Roles and their Responsibilities

As a result of an increasing number of requests from government departments and other funding agencies, the Social Science Research Unit wishes to make a number of Research Associate appointments in each of its four streams of work (evidence based policy and practice; experimental evaluations of social interventions; childhood studies and health and education). Research Associates will be attached to the Unit and invited to participate in suitable research projects as and when the need may arise. The frequency with which this will happen and the number of days' work involved in each project will depend on the requests received from funding agencies. We hope to be able to give Research Associates at least one month's notice when a suitable project arises. Payment will be on a daily-rate or fixed-fee basis (see 'The Appointments' below).

Selection Criteria

Essential

1. A degree in the health or social sciences or in education.
2. Successful experience of working in a grant-funded research environment.
3. Expertise in collecting and analysing qualitative and/or quantitative data.
4. The ability to write clearly and concisely for publication in peer-refereed and/or practitioner journals.
5. Flexibility and the ability to work with good humour under pressure to meet deadlines.
6. The ability to work independently and collaboratively as a member of a team.
7. Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to communicate effectively.

Desirable

8. For Research Associates in the stream of evidence based policy and practice: experience of systematic research synthesis.
9. For Research Associates in the stream of experimental evaluations of social interventions: experience in designing and running evaluations of social interventions.

10. For Research Associates in the stream of childhood studies: knowledge and experience of work in childhood studies and an ability to work with children.

11. For Research Associates in the stream of health and education: understanding of health promotion policy and practice issues and experience in health promotion research."