This presentation was given at the PRISM Conference on 19th November 2025. Abstract In this talk, I will discuss recent work I have done with the Research Community Management Team at The Alan Turing Institute, and a new initiative RCM Cooperative, concerning community management in interdisciplinary research teams. This work focuses on recognising and professionalising roles referred to here as the Research Community Managers (RCM). Research Community Managers is still an emerging role in academia. It lacks a clear definition, and therefore comes in lots of varieties, which creates uncertainty for individuals trying to navigate a community-focused career. What also makes defining this role particularly hard is that it straddles the boundary of the traditional academic pathway and the new emerging pathways of research technical professionals, so more clarity would ensure individuals are able to have the squiggly careers they want. RCM roles address some of the most pressing research challenges, from promoting best practices for open research and reproducibility to engaging diverse stakeholders in community-led research and ensuring fair recognition for their contributions. We have developed a RCM Skills and Competencies Framework, and we have also developed a wider set of personas for data science teams, both with the aim to understand and integrate RCM expertise in teams involved in data science and AI research. We also propose a roadmap for professionalising RCM roles by improving recognition and rewards, potential career paths and organisational support structures. To systematically sustain and progress these roles, we recommend institutional investment in establishing RCM teams that are empowered to prioritise collaboration, transparency and community-based approaches in interdisciplinary projects, such as in data science and AI. As a team, RCMs are well placed to connect disparate teams, initiatives and resources across organisations, building more resilient research communities that can achieve greater innovation, improved project outcomes and a strongly connected ecosystem, with impacts extending beyond their narrow contexts.
Karoune, Emma (Mon,) studied this question.