NEIF, as part of NERC's Services & Facilities portfolio, are committed to responsible work practices aligned with the UKRI Sustainability Strategy and NERC's commitment to responsible research (2020). The analytical capabilities and specialist application science expertise provided by NEIF cover a broad range of environmental science across NERC remit, which enables us to understand how our planet is changing and to contribute solutions and adaptive responses. We acknowledge that the research we undertake and how we support it has its own impact on the environment. This is the focus of our Environmental Sustainability Strategy which outlines how we will move towards greater environmental sustainability whilst staying at the cutting edge of our research (complemented by NEIF policies on EDI, health and safety, research ethics and well-being). It outlines our ambitions in moving towards achieving a 'net zero' carbon position by 2040. The strategy applies to all NEIF sites, although commitments will be implemented at a local level within each institute. It is our aim to align all NEIF laboratories with the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) by 2025. Currently the University of Bristol (Gold) and BGS (Bronze) are accredited and we are rolling this out across the other NEIF laboratories through shared practice.
Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is an important part of the NEIF ethos. NEIF is committed to identifying and removing barriers for our staff and user community to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and ensure that employment, progression, and funding for isotope science are open, fair, and transparent. The NEIF EDI report outlines how we are working to promote an inclusive research environment and identify priority areas for improvement. Through annual reporting and surveying of NEIF users, staff, and management, NEIF aims to make direct changes within the Facility and its host organisations, as well as contribute indirectly to wider UKRI, NERC, and national targets to improve EDI in science fields and research institutes.
This statement is designed to remove any ambiguity in assigning authorship to research outputs, and is aligned with the policies of our host institutes. As a supporter of the Technician Commitment, NEIF is proposing these authorship guidelines to increase the visibility and recognition of our technicians, as well as creating a fair and transparent attribution policy. Technical staff should be included in decisions regarding authorship and acknowledgements. NEIF encourages the use of the CRediT taxonomy.
Any staff member who makes a substantial intellectual contribution, or who demonstrates accountability for the accuracy and integrity of data beyond routine correction procedures should be recognised by authorship. This may include activities such as:
Staff who make contributions to research projects that are not significant enough for authorship should be formally acknowledged. Staff should be made aware of the acknowledgement and approve of the wording. Activities that could be recognised by formal acknowledgment include:
The Technician Commitment is a pledge by higher education and research institutes across the UK to support and celebrate the work of technicians. It is backed by the Science Council, Gatsby Foundation and Technicians Make It Happen. There are currently 91 signatories who have pledged action to support the visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability of their technical workforces. In 2020, UKRI became a signatory and the Action Plan was launched in 2021. NEIF is pleased to work with UKRI and our host institutions to adopt and embed the principles of the Technician Commitment.
NEIF is supporting the Technician Commitment by
Information on Technician Commitment activities at NEIF host institutions: