The precision mentorship programme for inclusive researcher development: a critical reflection

Effective mentorship is widely acknowledged as essential for fostering professional growth and enhancing research capabilities in UK higher education (HE). However, the process of finding a mentor often remains informal, relying heavily on personal connections, characteristics and pre-existing relationships. This critical review examines the Precision Mentorship Programme (PMP) a novel initiative developed and piloted at Kingston University with researchers in the arts and humanities. Designed to build confidence, enhance research skills, and support the creation of robust research plans and funding proposals, the PMP combined four one-hour personalised mentorship sessions with wrap-around support and resources, to guide 12 participants through the complexities of academic research and funding acquisition. In this article we describe the PMP’s design, delivery and evaluation. We draw on our experiences of developing and implementing the PMP to reflect on its successes, limitations, and broader implications for inclusive researcher development in UK HE. While the PMP successfully achieved several of its objectives, it also encountered challenges in fully addressing the diverse needs of its participants and overcoming systemic barriers to inclusive professional development and career progression. The broader implications for UK HE professional development include 1) Equipping experienced researchers with precision mentorship skills, resources and incentives to mentor, 2) Developing and testing PMP models within research groups, projects and programmes, 3) Recognising mentor’s contributions in institutional and sector quality performance frameworks. In conclusion, the PMP is a useful approach for inclusive researcher development, however for its full potential and benefits to be sustained mentors need to be recognised and rewarded by institutions and research quality assessment frameworks.