C-DICE evaluation executive summary

C-DICE set out to deliver innovative experiential learning opportunities to equip postdoctoral researchers with the skills and leadership capability to address the challenges of a net zero future.

Between 2021 and 2024, C-DICE engaged with over 800 participants, providing a wide variety of empowering and innovative career development opportunities, leading to tangible research and knowledge exchange outputs, including funding, publications, partnerships and new job roles. 70% of our survey participants cited enhanced professional networks as a key benefit of the programme, alongside improved awareness of the expectations of non-academic partners and wider career perspectives and opportunities.

The C-DICE team developed a reputation for being responsive to their community and they adapted and evolved the programme to engage busy researchers – balancing community building face-to-face events with the accessibility benefits of virtual delivery.

C-DICE has amassed valuable learning and insights on ‘what works’ in terms of postdoc development, which they are now sharing across the sector, to include where innovations have been well-received (such as the postdoc-led training) or have had challenges in their implementation (such as the industry secondments).

At the heart of C-DICE is a recognition that tackling the challenge of net zero requires diversity of talent. The learning and expertise from C-DICE on how to embed diversity and inclusion into events continues to inform and influence other events and initiatives across the sector. Although C-DICE initiatives are aimed at researchers in the 18 partner institutions, the network has acted as a champion of postdocs nationally, contributing to national conferences on researcher development, sharing practice and hosting the 2023 National Postdoc Conference.

Meeting postdoc career development needs can often be challenging for institutions and the lessons learned from C-DICE on the secondments, sandpits and other novel thematic approaches will be of value to others looking to embed such development opportunities in grants and programmes. It is evident that those who participated in C-DICE through multiple delivery modes benefited greatly in their career development, confidence, networks and knowledge. However, there are many researchers within partner organisations who did not engage, whether due to time pressure, line manager discouragement or other reasons. Postdoc engagement is a challenge that C-DICE is well placed to address should it continue in the future, due to its strong reputation and depth of understanding of the postdoc population.