Research Professional Futures

22 October 2025

The PRISM Network welcomes the newly funded Research Professional Futures (RPF) project, a £4.5 million national initiative supported by Research England’s RED Fund. The programme launches in January 2026. We hope it will reshape how research is delivered in the UK by investing in the specialist professional workforce that underpins the whole research process in the higher education sector.

The RPF project will create a strategic blueprint for the future of Research Professionals (RPs). RP is a new umbrella term for the wide spectrum of research-related professional roles such as research developers, research security specialists, impact specialists, research culture specialists, and of course PRISMs. 

About PRISMs and the PRISM Network

The term "PRISM" (Professional Research Investment and Strategy Manager) describes someone within the university or similar environments who is predominantly working to enable the delivery and growth of large research investments. 

The PRISM network is a grassroots organisation which unites the widely dispersed PRISM community across the UK research performing organisations (RPOs) together. Founded in 2020, the network currently has about 1000 members at 90 institutions.

What’s in RPF?

The project has four work packages:

  • An analysis of the current national landscape of RP roles and the development of a sector vision for their future.

  • Development of the first sector-wide framework of RP skills, behaviours, and career pathways, including career planning and recruitment tools. 

  • Pilot funding for institutional and regional initiatives to futureproof RP roles, including shared services and AI integration.

  • A big piece of research culture work to co-create a practical, strategic ‘RP Blueprint’ to embed lasting change.

What’s significant about RPF?

The project is led by four research professionals (based at Teesside University, Durham University, Imperial College London and the University of Warwick) and includes qualitative and quantitative research components delivered by the University of Oxford Department of Education and the firm Research Consulting.  

“I am extremely proud to say that the PRISM Network has officially arrived,” said Isabella von Holstein, PRISM Network Chair and RPF co-lead. “We’ve come a long way in the five years since the Network was founded, which is testament to the skill and drive in the national PRISM community. This project has the resources to make a big difference to PRISMs and other RP roles.”

The PRISM Network’s involvement in RPF is a significant moment for the RP community. The project was co-developed by the PRISM Network, who represent one part of the RP role spectrum, and ARMA (Association of Research Managers and Administrators), who represent a broad spectrum of these roles. It marks the PRISM Network’s emergence as a serious national body, operating alongside established sector leaders on behalf of a strategically important research profession. This grant also indicates that funding bodies see the value of investing in research professionals. The PRISM Network is looking forward to shaping the future UK research landscape through RPF.

Last edited: 22 October 2025