ELIXIR-UK members awarded DisCouRSE Flexible Funding for inclusive dRTP leadership pilot
ELIXIR-UK members have been awarded funding through the DisCouRSE Flexible Fund to deliver PeerLadder, a new peer-mentoring initiative supporting leadership development among underrepresented digital Research Technical Professionals (dRTPs) across UK research-performing organisations.
PeerLadder will run from March 2026 to March 2027 and is part of the first cohort of community-led projects funded by DisCouRSE, a UKRI-funded Network+ focused on strengthening leadership, career pathways and recognition across the digital research workforce.
dRTPs play a critical role in enabling data-driven research, yet many face limited progression routes into leadership, particularly women, disabled people, LGBTQIA+ professionals and those from minority ethnic backgrounds, limiting diversity of thought and innovation (BSA briefing, House of Commons report).
PeerLadder will address this gap through a structured peer-mentoring model that builds confidence, leadership capabilities, and sustained professional networks.
The project adapts lessons from ELEAD, ELIXIR’s established European leadership and mentoring programme for women, focusing on its most impactful element: peer mentoring. The UK pilot broadens the approach to include all underrepresented groups, not just gender.
PeerLadder is coordinated from the University of Manchester, led by Saskia Lawson-Tovey and co-led by Xènia Pérez Sitjà (Earlham Institute), Sara Villa (OLS), and Carole Goble (University of Manchester), combining expertise in research infrastructure, community leadership, mentoring programme delivery, and equality, diversity, and inclusion.
Participants will attend an in-person workshop followed by monthly virtual peer-mentoring sessions, with support designed to enable the groups to continue beyond the funded period. Insights and outcomes from the pilot will feed back into DisCouRSE, ELIXIR-UK, and the Software Sustainability Institute, informing future approaches to inclusive leadership, mentoring, and career development across the UK digital research community.
Notes to editors
About ELIXIR-UK
ELIXIR-UK is part of the European ELIXIR infrastructure, which supports life science research and its translation to medicine, the environment, and society. By integrating national bioinformatics resources, ELIXIR-UK aims to provide a sustainable infrastructure for biological information, ensuring that data is effectively managed, analysed and shared across the scientific community.
For further details, reach out to us at contact@elixiruknode.org
