Toolkits
The Future Leaders Fellows Development Network is pleased to present our Toolkits, a broad collection of resources related to developing your leadership skills and learning about the UK’s research and innovation environments.
CONTENTS
Building Inclusive Teams Toolkit
Growing Your Research Group: A Practical Guide for Early-Career PIs
Insights Into the Realities of Senior Leadership Roles in HE
Leading principled AI practice Toolkit
Mentoring Toolkit (for mentees)
Mentoring Toolkit (for mentors)
Recruitment Toolkit
This Toolkit is designed for new research leaders recruiting to their team for the first time, particularly researchers who are new to the UK and those looking to improve their recruitment practice.
Influencing Toolkit
This Toolkit is designed to help you think about how to grow your influence, to bring about change as a new research and innovation leader. It has been designed with input from UKRI Future Leaders Fellows on what they find most challenging about influencing, as well as the strategies that worked for them.
Mentoring Toolkits (for mentors)
These Toolkits are designed for new or existing mentors, to help you reflect on your mentoring practice, skills and experience. They have been designed with input from both mentors and mentees on the UKRI Future Leaders Fellow mentoring programme.
These micro-toolkits explore common challenges, themes and questions we’re often asked about. Our intention is that they will support you to hone your existing mentoring skills, provide better support to your mentees and navigate common challenges.
UK Research Landscape Toolkit
This Toolkit aims to support research leaders to navigate the UK’s complex and fast-changing research environment. It will also be helpful for managers of researchers and professional services staff who support others in their professional development, and early-career researchers who are seeking to deepen their understanding of the funding landscape and how it might impact their career.
Developing Big Bids Toolkit
This Toolkit is for research leaders who are starting out on their journey toward submitting their first big bid, as well those with prior experience of developing a big bid who wish to hone their knowledge and skills in specific areas.
It aims to help you develop competence in securing large-scale funding, to carve out the space and time you need to develop a big bid and be aware of common pitfalls.
Mentoring Toolkit (for mentees)
This Toolkit explores how to approach and engage a potential mentor, and how to get the most out of the mentoring relationship as you work with your chosen mentor.
Working with a mentor can give you the opportunity to think, plan and navigate your role and career path. You may already work with colleagues you wish to approach to mentor you or know of someone with specific expertise that you would love to be mentored by, working on a particular area.
Policy Toolkit
This Toolkit is designed to enable you to understand and navigate the policy landscape across the United Kingdom and beyond. You will learn why and how to engage with the Westminster and devolved parliaments, the UK and devolved governments, and local and regional government. It also introduces global policy engagement, and general communication tips.
We have also brought together a selection of case studies for you to hear about a wide range of policy engagement experiences from researchers across the sector.
Building Inclusive Teams Toolkit
This resource is designed to help you think about how to develop an inclusive team culture as a research and innovation leader. It has been designed to align with emerging best practice in Equality, Diversity & Inclusion and with input from UKRI Future Leaders Fellows across a range of disciplines sharing strategies that have worked for them and their teams.
Away Day Toolkit
This Toolkit is designed to enable you to design and carry out an Away Day with your team. It covers how to set your purpose for your away day, planning and logistics (and pitfalls to watch out for), designing an agenda, tips for DIY facilitation, and following up after your away day.
There are also plenty of resources and advice from people who have run their own away days.
Narrative CV Review guidance
These resources are designed to help review narrative CVs presented as part of a funding proposal. They complement the wealth of materials available to those writing narrative CVs.
Leading principled AI practice Toolkit
Research leaders are increasingly expected to make informed and visible leadership decisions about the use of generative AI within their research programmes and teams.
This guide gives you the background and tools to establish effective and ethical AI practice within your research group, supporting you to make leadership decisions that align with research integrity values, intellectual property considerations and the realities of a fast growing technology.
Insights Into the Realities of Senior Leadership Roles in HE
These insights are summarised from a panel discussion and Q&A hosted by the FLF Development Network in April 2026. The session provided Future Leaders Fellows with candid insights into senior academic leadership roles from three experienced leaders in Higher Education.
Growing Your Research Group: A Practical Guide for Early-Career PIs
This resource is designed to support principal investigators in UK higher-education settings as they transition from conducting research to leading a research group, focusing on building a sustainable and effective team. The resource aims to help leaders make informed decisions, establish systems, and foster a culture that promotes deliberate growth, research quality, and support for group members, with principles applicable to various disciplines.
Open Research Promotion Toolkit
The Open Research toolkit supports individuals and teams in promoting Open Research practices. It offers guidance on advocacy, strategy development, and impact analysis, and can be used flexibly to suit different needs. The toolkit is useful for both those new to communications and experienced professionals.