Supporting technical specialists

Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) became a signatory of the Technician Commitment in 2022, joining a nationwide initiative recognising and supporting the essential role of technical specialists across research and higher education. A year later, we launched our first Action Plan, setting out how we would support technical careers, develop skills and address challenges facing the technical community.

Extending our commitment across the community

 This commitment extends beyond our own organisation. Through our role in bringing together and supporting the health data research community, we recognise the importance of driving progress on technical skills and career pathways across the wider sector. 

This is reflected in the establishment of our Technician Commitment Working Group, which brings together members of the HDR UK central team and representatives from partner organisations with expertise and interest in technical roles in health data science. 

The group provides and important link between HDR UK and the wider community, helping to shape and inform our Technician Commitment activity as well as extending its reach and impact through collaboration, shared learning, and collective action across the sector. 

Reflecting on progress and looking ahead

The recent self-assessment has provided an opportunity to reflect on progress, identify areas for further development and shape a new 36-month Action Plan for 2026–2029.

Since launching its first Action Plan, HDR UK has made significant progress in supporting, recognising and developing its technical community, with notable achievements across community building, skills development, career visibility and diversity. Here are some highlights. 

Building community

A dedicated technical programme at the 2024 HDR UK Annual Scientific Conference brought together technical specialists, research software engineers and scientists from across the UK and internationally, alongside continued engagement through RSECon, hackathons, regional events and ELIXIR. 

Listening and recognition

Following a 2025 survey of technical colleagues, HDR UK adopted “Technical Specialist” as its preferred terminology. Technical contributions have also been recognised through Reproducibility Recognitions, Open Science and Open Code policies, and the CRediT taxonomy. 

Developing skills

Since 2023, we have delivered 18 live technical training courses, generating more than 1,150 bookings, with over 85% of participants reporting that they learned something they could immediately apply in their roles. HDR UK Futures also offers free online courses in areas like Research Software Engineering, Distributed Computing, and Data Standardisation, with a total of 3781 learners enrolled across these three courses alone.  

Showcasing careers

We have continued to raise the profile of technical careers through our events and online platforms. This includes two conferences specifically for early career researchers, a growing collection of career stories on our website, and opportunities for technical specialists to share their expert as trainers on the HDR UK Futures training platform. 

Supporting diversity

The HDR UK Black Internship Programme has supported more than 500 aspiring Black data scientists since 2020, including internships within our central technical teams, alongside wider work to highlight diverse career pathways and promote inclusion. 

Together, these achievements demonstrate the progress made over the past few years and provide a strong foundation for the next phase of HDR UK’s commitment to supporting and developing technical careers.  

Rosie Wakeham, Head of Training and Institutional Lead for HDR UK’s Technician Commitment, said: 

“I am delighted that we have reached this important milestone of submitting our renewed Technician Commitment action plan. Technical specialists are absolutely essential to health data research and recognising, supporting and developing our technical workforce is vital to delivering HDR UK’s mission.”

Priorities for the next phase

Building on this progress, the renewed Action Plan 2026-2029 focuses on four key priorities: 

  • Recognise and champion technical expertise: Strengthening the visibility, recognition and profile of Technical Specialists across HDR UK, including through reviewing how their contributions are recognised in research outputs. 
  • Build a connected and inclusive community: Creating opportunities for technical specialists to connect, contribute and progress, with a focus on diversity and inclusion. 
  • Develop skills, careers and leadership: Expanding training, career pathways, mentoring and opportunities for professional development, including structured support to early career technical specialists develop into future leaders.  
  • Embed the Technician Commitment: Making support and recognition of technical specialists an integral part of HDR UK’s culture and practice. 

These priorities provide a clear focus for the next phase of our work, building on progress to date while addressing the work still to be done to ensure technical specialists are recognised, supported and able to develop their careers and expertise.  

Peter Harrison, Interim Chief Technology Officer at HDR UK and member of the Technician Commitment Working Group, said:

“Our renewed Action Plan reflects our ambition for a health data research community where technical specialists are visible, valued and able to build sustainable careers. We have made important progress, but there is still much more to do.

 

We are committed to building on this foundation, strengthening recognition and creating greater opportunities for technical specialists to develop, lead, and shape the future of our sector. Success means an empowered and confident technical community with a strong voice in shaping the infrastructure, standards and collaborations that underpin trustworthy and impactful health data science.”

Learn more about HDR UK’s commitment to recognising and supporting the essential role of technical specialists working in health data science