Having had the pleasure of being on the Howard League for Penal Reform's Research Advisory Group for just over a year now, it has afforded me some great opportunities. In that time, I have been able to work with three other Early Career Researchers (ECR) on projects such as editing a special edition of the ECAN Bulletin, representing their Early Career Academic Network at the Howard League bi-annual conference at Oxford University, and most recently, co-designing and organising an event aimed specifically at ECR, hosted at Leeds Trinity University.

ECRs are often navigating the challenges of building and progressing their work, developing networks and, importantly, disseminating their research. As a relatively new ECR myself, being part of this group has given me a key insight into the importance of ensuring connection, support, and skill development at this point in my academic career journey. Whilst the onus of creating connections is generally weighted towards ECRs themselves, supportive cultures, systems, and networks need to be in place to facilitate at this crucial development stage.

As a working group, we have been keen to support the specific development needs of ECRs, as well as showcasing their work through a dedicated space and platform. Underpinning this has been a priority to create interaction and dialogue through which ECRs can connect - providing support for each other, sharing ideas, and discussing future collaborations. These spaces need to be supportive and navigate some of the difficulties associated with presenting to and interacting with more established researchers and Professors. Additionally, smaller, more informal spaces create relaxed dialogue, negating some of the pressures of the busy environments at large-scale conferences.

Equally, it is important for ECRs to have the spaces and support to connect and share their work beyond the academy. We regularly use and hear the words dissemination and impact when discussing our hopes for our work - and sometimes even the justifications. This should then involve encouraging and supporting ECR connection with outside organisations, which is not an easy task. At our recent ECR event we invited a range of criminal justice stakeholders, aiming to bridge the gap between the academy and practice and allow mutually beneficial dialogue. Crucially, to facilitate this dialogue we moved away from traditional modes of conference delivery and introduced a ‘living library’, constructed around stakeholder perspectives and group discussion.

Looking back at this work and reflecting upon my own position as an ECR, consolidates my view that tailored ECR support is vital. Finishing a PhD can leave you at a critical juncture where it can be assumed that the researcher skill and knowledge base has been acquired. However, this is only the start of the journey and ECR development provision is integral. Whilst there are several well-resourced ECR networks and initiatives out there, providing invaluable opportunities, specific ECR support is often under-resourced and reliant on ECRs under workload and career stage pressures themselves. In terms of developing the researchers of the future, as a collective, there is still much to do.

Dr Sarah Waite is an Early Career Researcher and Lecturer in Applied Criminal Justice at Leeds Trinity University.