Establishing promotion pathways for Digital Research Technical Professionals (dRTPs) at the University of Birmingham

The research community developed around academic positions, with promotion pathways based on peer-reviewed publications and grant income. However, digital Research Technical Professional (dRTP) roles are newer, and therefore financial pathways for sustainable career progression of dRTPs are in development. For these reasons, many dRTPs are uncertain of career progression opportunities in their fields. This causes retention and recruitment problems, as universities can’t compete with the opportunities offered to technical professionals by the private sector.

We propose to develop and pitch a career framework within the University of Birmingham to IT Leadership, University HR and Finance. In this, we will include several career routes for dRTPs that are fair, financially sustainable, and value different competencies. This framework will include clear expectations across levels. This will include financial examination of past trends and forecasts of future scenarios to ensure financial sustainability, meetings with decision makers, and research into similar efforts within other UK institutions.

This project will lead to a business case for a dRTP promotion pathway to be pitched to relevant University decision-makers. Whether successful or not, we will publish a case study to share our progress and lessons learned with the dRTP community, and present our progress at RSEcon26.