Having a Career Development Plan can be a real game changer. Although we are talking about it in the context of grant writing (as they are often required when applying for fellowship funding), they can be hugely impactful during your PhD, postdoc, career in general. They require you to think about your ultimate career goal and help you backtrack from there by reviewing your current skillset and identifying areas that can be improved and expanded. It can massively help you focus on what you personally need to develop, rather than just saying yes to every training workshop and webinar! It is also a great document for you and your mentor/supervisor to review together, making sure you are both on the same page and working towards the same goal. Remember, it is a living document that should be specific and updated regularly.  

 

Now let’s talk specifically about grant applications. If you are looking for a postdoc fellowship, you need to articulate clearly to the reviewers where it is you ultimately want to end up, and how the postdoc training is going to help you get there. If you already have a decent number of publications, maybe your focus is going to be on improving your grant writing. If you are using similar methods to your PhD, maybe you don’t need more skill practice, but you need to work on advancing your statistical analysis. Maybe you are great at academic presentations but now need to focus on learning how you translate research into policy. Identify 2-3 clear gaps or areas of improvement and clearly say that the development goal of the postdoc is to improve those areas.  

 

How to Use the IDP 

Make sure you include information on how frequently you and your mentor are going to meet to review your training development progress. This might be monthly, quarterly etc. You want to make it clear that you are going to use the IDP to keep on track to monitor your progress and ensure you are on track to meet important developmental milestones. You also might decide to use online IDP platforms like MyIDP, The European Competence Framework for Researchers, Vitae Research Development Framework (list what platform you are planning on using with your grant application). 

 

General Individual Development Plan (IDP) 

A. Long term career goal 

i) Think about what your long-term career goal is (as you see it today as we know these goals can change). You might have two!  

Some examples might be: Traditional academic track professor, teaching focused academic, PI of own funded research group in highly prestigious university, industry scientist, medial or science writer, regulatory affairs, company founder.  

 

ii) List some of the factors influencing those goals. They might be big philosophical reasons, or very individual practical reasons.  

For example, is it because you want to live in a certain city, is it the salary, is it family commitments, is it because you love working on different projects with different people, is it because you want to make a difference in the world. 

 

B. Goals for the year 

What are your projected research accomplishments? (e.g., technical skills, set up a new project, etc.) 

What are your potential publications? 

What presentations do you want to give? 

What grants do you want to apply for?  

What are your goals in terms of teaching, mentoring, and service activities? 

What classes and/or workshops are you planning on attending?  

 

C. Training activities 

Your training activities will vary depending on what your long-term career goals are. You want to ensure you are well rounded, and so think about activities that might fall under these three areas; research abilities and knowledge, communication and dissemination, and professional networking and collaborations.  

• What workshops will you attend (be specific and list, also their location or online, and the duration)? E.g., Data management and dissemination for postgraduate researchers, 5hr, months 1-3. 
• What conferences will you present at (name conferences, location, and month)? E.g., Sport and Exercise Medicine, Dublin, month12.  
• What grants will you apply for (which grant/s and when will you apply)? E.g., Preparation and submission of European Research Council Starting Grant, month 20.  
• What publications are you planning to write and submit (what journals are you aiming for)? E.g., Process evalution study in British Journal of Sports Medicine, month 10.  
• What support services will you go to (e.g., career guidance, PGR office, graduate school)? E.g., Advanced statistical abilities programme ‘R Programming A-Z' course, 10 hours, online, month 5.  
• What networking activities will you do (e.g., informational interviews, lab visits, internships)? E.g., cross-disciplinary seminar attendance, in-person, 2 days per year. 
• What class/lecture are you planning on giving? E.g., lead on X workshop for lab group academics and postgraduate students, 2hrs per year.  
• How many students are you planning on mentoring? (give detail on number, their education stage) E.g., Advisor on 1 M.Sc. student dissertation, 2hrs per month, months 13-16.  
• What service are you planning on committing to (e.g., what committees, what journal will you review for)? E.g., Join UK Chapter of X Association, month 1.  

 

Grant specific elements:  

Why that Mentor/ Research Group/ University? 

Most postdoc fellowship grants are awarded from a national or international organisation e.g., European Commission, UK Research Council etc. Within your application, you will identify the mentor you want to work with and the host institution. You will also be asked to give reasons why you want to work with them/ at that university, i.e., how they will support your development as an independent researcher. Below are some questions you should consider when choosing a mentor and host institution! Initially, have lots of conversations with the mentor to learn about their work and working style. Even better, try get on a call with their PhD students and postdocs to get a feel for the culture. When it comes to writing these sections of the grant, don’t be afraid to ask the mentor and research office of the university to help you as you likely won’t know about all the services and support they offer. 

• Mentor considerations: Are they new into your network or are you further developing an existing relationship? What is their mentorship approach like? Do they have national/international relationships? What is their track record of PhDs or postdocs? What is their level of seniority within the research group? Do their research interests exactly align with yours, or are they going to extend your PhD research in some way? Do they have a good publication and/or grant output? What specific skills or knowledge can they teach you? Any previous grants similar to what you are applying for? 

 

• Research Group considerations: Do they have a particular group culture you like? How many people are in the group and what is the mix (e.g., are they all senior lecturers, or is there a mix of lecturers and postgraduates)?, Do they have a track record of collaborations? Are they multidisciplinary? Do they have research group training opportunities e.g., journal clubs, regular lab visits, research initiatives? Have they previously been successful in the grant you are applying for? 

 

• Host University considerations: Does the institution have specific equipment and resources that you need for your research? Does it have links with local businesses, NGOs, etc? What are the support facilities like e.g., statistics, library services, technology transfer? Do they have a big sports space (or similar) you need? Will you have an office or desk space? Does the university hold specific datasets you are going to use? Any previous grants similar to what you are applying for? 

 

Two-Way Transfer of Knowledge 

This is a common section with grant applications where you explain what knowledge the mentor/university is going to give to you, but also what knowledge you are going to give to the mentor/university. You might also include knowledge transfer of placements or internships you are going to take on as part of the fellowship here. 

• Example Host > Fellow. Preparation and submission of internal and external grants (name the grants), leadership and mentoring skills (how will you get these skills), research skills (list the specific skills/techniques/knowledge). 

 

• Example Fellow > Host. What new skills do you bring to the research group? E.g., qualitative or quantitative skills, work with specific populations or geographic areas, any links with other universities or local stakeholders, experience with public communication like making infographics or podcasts, have you used any innovative recruitment techniques you could teach the other researchers? 

 

• Example Secondment. If you have a placement with the NHS, maybe you will learn about the multidisciplinary care pathway of postpartum care. Maybe they will support you in obtaining NHS ethics and promote patient recruitment. You can then bring this knowledge back to the university, as well as establish an ongoing relationship between the university and the hospital/ NHS stakeholders you were working with.