ISMRM22 - ISMRM-ISMRT Joint Forum: Reimagining Culture: Making Our Field Work for the People Who Work in It

Joint Annual Meeting ISMRM-ESMRMB & ISMRT 31st Annual Meeting • 07-12 May 2022 • London, UK

ISMRM-ISMRT Joint Forum: Reimagining Culture: Making Our Field Work for the People Who Work in It

Weekday Course

ORGANIZERS: Karla Miller, Vikas Gulani, Huijun Liao, Rhys Slough

Monday, 09 May 2022

ICC Capital Hall 1

17:00 - 19:00

Moderators: Karla Miller & Vikas Gulani

Skill Level: Basic

Session Number: M-08

Session Number: M-08

Overview
This session will foster an open and inclusive discussion regarding research culture in the field of clinical magnetic resonance research. How does our current culture help our science, and how does it hinder progress? Who does our culture promote and reward, and who does it not serve well? What would a better culture look like, and how can we get there?

A 2020 investigation by the Wellcome Trust into research culture in academia found that while many researchers were positive about their environment, “too often research culture is not at its best” (1). The study identified multiple causes of toxic research environments, including problematic incentives, unnecessarily competitive environments, and a lack of well-trained management. The report outlines the impact this situation has on researchers, their work and society, and identifies actions and practices to promote more creative, supportive, and collaborative research culture.

If academic research is to overcome these cultural shortcomings, it will require change at many levels, from institutions and key stakeholders down to individual research groups. Business scholarship has studied organizational change in detail, spawning entire fields of study such as Positive Organizations Scholarship and Systems Change. We will hear from an expert in this field to learn how lessons from the business world might be adapted to achieve effective academic research culture change. We will then hear from ISMRM and ISMRT members with different perspectives on what a transformation to more positive research culture might look like for our community.

(1) https://wellcome.org/reports/what-researchers-think-about-research-culture

Target Audience
Any Annual Meeting attendee interested in...

Educational Objectives
As a result of attending this course, participants should be able to:
• Examine how research culture impacts on individuals across the breadth of roles in academic research;
• Explain how social science research on academic research culture is informing change at institutions ranging from universities to funding bodies;
• Apply core ideas from organization science into positive research culture change to benefit both institutions and individuals; and
• Recall examples of how individuals and teams are approaching change in research culture from a range of backgrounds, career stages, and environments.

	17:00		What Researchers Think About the Culture They Work In and What's Up Next View the Presentation Shomari Lewis-Wilson In 2020 Wellcome launched an ambitious programme of work to understand how researchers feel about the cultures they work in. A consultation featuring <4,300 researchers was conducted, followed by 30 ‘townhall’-style events across the UK. Results indicated that 84% of researchers are proud to work in research but only 29% feel secure in pursuing this career. Women were also more likely to have experienced bullying or harassment (49%) than men (34%). The report provided evidence of widespread problems in research culture, and is being used by Wellcome as a touchpoint for solutions that will make careers in research more sustainable.
	17:20		Driving Institutional Change: Measurements & Outcomes View the Presentation Amy Young The science of organizational flourishing identifies ways in which research communities can expand the wellbeing and success among all of their members. Drawing from Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS), a subfield within Organizational Science, Dr. Young speaks on the principles behind organizational flourishing that enables the expansion of human capabilities, collective spirit and inclusivity. Dr. Young also provides metrics and assessment tools that can be used to inform, monitor and evaluate positive change in research organizations and communities.
	17:40		Reward & Recognition for All Career Paths View the Presentation Shawna Farquharson
	17:50		Change in a Multi-Cultural Research Landscape No Video Available Johnes Obungoloch
	18:00		Culture Clash: Navigating Differences in Clinical & Academic Culture View the Presentation Matthew Bucknor
	18:10		Driving Change as an Early-Career Researcher View the Presentation Yolanda Ohene Perspective of an early career researcher driving change in the field through grassroots organisation.
	18:20		Change from the Top: The Dean & Funder’s Perspective View the Presentation Roderic Pettigrew Dr Pettigrew will explore modern Research Culture from the perspective of institutional leadership. He will discuss his experiences of high-level change in creating the US’s first educational programme fully integrating engineering and medicine. As founding Director of NIBIB (2002-17), he will also consider the role funding bodies can and should play in nudging change in higher-educational institutions.
	18:30		Live demos: Systems and Components