Learning by doing: Shaping research support through research

In 2022, shortly after the formation of the Open Research team at the University of Waikato the entire team embarked on a research project to better understand research culture and the ability (or inability) of various metrics to demonstrate research excellence. The project team interviewed research staff across a wide range of disciplines and the semi-structured interviews revealed far more than our original research questions asked. The Open Research team has released a report on the project including key themes and recommendations, and a forthcoming article discussing research culture, with a particular focus on the competing pressures that Indigenous researchers face. As a new team with a diverse range of backgrounds and skill sets, the project helped form us into a cohesive team. The project enabled the team to develop our knowledge and expertise, building our reputation within the institution as a trusted partner in research, and helped us work towards improving the research culture at our institution. This poster illustrates the team's approach to the project and what they learnt through this process. It highlights our successes, lessons learnt, and offers recommendations to colleagues embarking on a similar endeavour.