In this session, you will learn to use a structured, business-inspired tool—the Research Canvas—to guide early-career researchers in shaping their own ideas into compelling, fundable projects—supporting their progression toward research independence or diverse future careers. At the same time, you’ll find it valuable for structuring and stress-testing new research directions in your own work.

You’ll learn how to visually map and assess research concepts and focus on key factors that influence their success. Whether you're mentoring, exploring new research avenues, or preparing for funding pitches, this session will offer practical strategies to make your group’s research more cohesive, impactful, and future-ready.

By the end of this session, you will be able to use the Research Canvas to:

Support your ECRs in refining their own research ideas and articulating a clear research value proposition
Guide effective communication of research aims to collaborators, stakeholders, and beneficiaries
Strengthen the strategic development and funding readiness of both your own and your team’s research initiatives

Format of the session

The session will take place online via Zoom and will be led by Dr Katia Smith-Litière (she/her). Katia is the Development Consultant (Entrepreneurial skills) at Postdoc Academy, University of Cambridge.

Katia works with range of stakeholders in the Cambridge ecosystem, national and international ecosystems to develop & deliver entrepreneurial training programmes and events designed to equip postdocs with diverse career ambitions with a mindset, tools and skills from the entrepreneurial world to complement their research skills.

These training programmes prepare postdocs to progress as entrepreneurial individuals in academia or in non-academic career paths; as well as increase the number of postdoctoral researchers interested and more confident in exploring commercialisation and entrepreneurship opportunities. Katia is coordinator of the international postdocs 2 innovators (p2i) network,

Katia draws upon her prior experience as a postdoc at the University of Cambridge, as a technology and Innovation consultant, as co-founder of Cambridge Science Centre to develop tailored programmes. You can connect with Katia via LinkedIn here.

Who can attend

This session is aimed at PIs and Managers of Researchers across the UK.

More about Prosper

Prosper is a new approach to postdoc career development that unlocks postdocs' potential to thrive in multiple career pathways.

Find out more by visiting our portal, e-mailing us at prosper.postdoc@liverpool.ac.uk or following us on LinkedIn here.

Accessibility Adjustments and Alternative Format requests: If you require any accessibility reasonable adjustments or have any questions about this session, please contact the Prosper team at prosper.postdoc@liverpool.ac.uk at least 7 days before the session date so that your requirements can be referred to the facilitator(s) who will make every effort to address them where possible.

Academy Researcher Development Inclusivity Statement: The Academy is committed to providing an environment that recognises and values people's differences, capitalises on the strengths that those differences bring to the institution and supports all staff and students in maximising their potential to succeed. In line with the Academy's firm commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, we offer all postdoctoral and research-related opportunities to develop and network irrespective of a researcher’s gender, ethnicity, age, self-identification, disability, religious affiliation, or any other criteria used to separate and define.

Academy Code of Conduct: All events organised or facilitated by The Academy follow a Conduct of Conduct irrespective of the number of participants or session format. The Academy thanks all participants in advance for your cooperation to help ensure a safe and constructive environment for everybody. The Code of Conduct is available at: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/researcher/development/conduct-events/

Important: We take your privacy very seriously and will only use your email address to send you information about this session. Thereafter, we will contact you only where you have given us permission to do so. After that, you can opt-out at any time of receiving our communication by simply sending an email to prosper.postdoc@liverpool.ac.uk.

PI Network - Developing your ECRs using the Research Canvas