Dr Karen Clegg RSVP Co-PI and Director, and Reader in Doctoral Education and Practice, School for Arts and Creative Technologies, University of York, UK
Karen is a Reader in Doctoral Education in the School for Arts and Creative Technologies at the University of York and Co-PI/Director of the Next Generation Research SuperVision Project (RSVP), a £4.6million, Research England funded project designed to transform the practice and culture of research supervision. An experienced Researcher Developer and senior manager, Karen has created and implemented policy, designed and delivered award winning accredited programmes for research students, fellows and academic staff. Her research and publication portfolio includes assessment, reflective practice and doctoral education. She is an elected executive member of several professional bodies, a trained coach and an accomplished conference speaker.
Dr Liz Quinlan RSVP Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of York, UK (Jan 2024- Aug 2025)
Dr Quinlan is an archaeological scientist whose interdisciplinary work draws from the fields of archaeology, history, ecology, and palaeoenvironmental study. After graduating from the University of York with a PhD in Archaeology, they joined RSVP as a Postdoctoral Research Associate before beginning a position as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Exeter, leading the AHRC Catalyst-funded project "Beyond Stockfish: Migratory and Freshwater Fisheries during the Rise of Early Modern Trading Companies".
Dr Nicola Palmer RSVP Co-Investigator, Head of Doctoral Training at Sheffield Hallam University, UK and Senior Lecturer at the University of York, UK
Dr Palmer is Head of Doctoral Training at Sheffield Hallam University and leads the pedagogy and scholarship strand of RSVP. She is an active research supervisor who has rich experience in examining and supervising to completion over 30 doctoral candidates across different types of doctoral awards in diverse institutional contexts.
This article argues that the introduction of the People, Culture and Environment (PCE) indicators in the upcoming Research Excellence Framework (REF) offers a critical opportunity for universities to rethink how they value and support doctoral supervision.
Drawing on data from the UK Research Supervision Survey (UKRSS) and the Next Generation Research SuperVision Project (RSVP), the authors highlight a stark gap between the personal satisfaction supervisors derive from their role and the lack of institutional recognition they receive.