Focus group report on non-HEI supervisors

RSVP is committed to enhancing doctoral supervision practice and developing appropriate onboarding and continuing professional development (CPD) for all those involved in doctoral supervision. As such, we have sought the opinions of external doctoral supervisors – professionals in organisations outside higher education who contribute to the supervision of doctoral (PhD) researchers – to inform the design of novel CPD resources and to improve our understanding of the contribution that external supervisors make to the doctoral process.

The focus groups have involved almost 70 participants across the following broad sectors, and have helped us to understand how external supervisors approach their roles, support doctoral candidates, and work with university-based supervisors:

• Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)

• Medicine, including clinicians and allied health professionals

• Arts, heritage and the creative industries

• Business, management, government and charities

This report is due for release in Spring/Summer 2026.