Developing the capacity for, and use of, practitioner research: The Research College Group

The Research College Group (RCG) was founded in 2020 and is an organisation which brings together organisations from across the post-16 sector to improve the visibility and use of practitioner research. The mission of the group is to inform and develop practice across all aspects of the operations of post-16organisations, based primarily upon research from within the post-16 education and training sector. The group aims to develop the expertise, capacity, quality, and publication of research across the group of member organisations, and to collaborate on research and the delivery of projects, including those funded by third parties. By 2024, the aim of the RCG was to have become recognised as a body whose sector-leading thinking shaped and developed research practice. It aimed to work for and with existing bodies, but under terms of parity, and sought to develop the profile and capacity of the post-16 education and training sector. In the longer term, the RCG intended to sustain itself financially through the funding generated by its research work. (Source: Research College Group – Founder Member Organisation Commitments.)This chapter explores one of the externally funded projects undertaken by the RCG to bring to light the principles and practices sought to achieve the mission and aims described above