Commissioned Services: People Tier

Developing people and capacity to benefit science and society

There are three projects in the People Tier: PeoplePulse,  Train the Trainer and ELEAD 2nd edition.

PeoplePulse

Start date: 1 July 2024
Duration: 30 months

ELIXIR’s continued success requires a dynamic and skilled workforce across all ELIXIR Nodes and roles. This project focuses on these critical aspects of people development:

• Improving the onboarding process – the gateway for people new to the ELIXIR network
• Delineating roles that cater for a spectrum of expertise
• Developing innovative training concepts tailored to the challenges of ELIXIR
• Sharing success stories and best practices from people development initiatives

The PeoplePulse project underscores ELIXIR's commitment to nurturing a skilled, diverse and collaborative community for staff. By addressing key aspects like onboarding, role definition, ELITMa training, equipping ELIXIR Node staff with organisation and management skills and training on impact assessment, ELIXIR aims to strengthen its internal capabilities as well as significantly advance bioinformatics research and innovation.

Train the Trainer

Start date: 1 July 2024
Duration: 30 months

ELIXIR's goal is to enable and support life science research through the provision of infrastructure, resources, tools, knowledge and skills. Training researchers how to use these resources is essential. The importance of computational biology in life sciences means there’s a myriad of life scientists who could benefit from bioinformatics training. Using a Train-the-trainer approach allows for better scaling of training provision.

The project aims to sustain and further develop the community of Train-the-trainer instructors brought together by ELIXIR-GOBLET, develop a mentorship programme and create new training modules that can be delivered by ELIXIR members.

ELEAD 2nd Edition: ELIXIR LEadership And Diversity mentoring programme 

Start date: 1 January 2025
Duration: 30 months

Building on the success of the ELIXIR Leadership And Diversity Mentoring Programme (ELEAD) Pilot, launched in 2023 to empower women in ELIXIR's middle management with leadership skills, the ELEAD 2nd edition aims to expand this transformative initiative. Running from 2023–2025 as a strategic implementation study, the ELEAD pilot provided a comprehensive training framework, including one-to-one mentoring and peer mentoring professional training on topics such as inclusion, mental health and effective communication. The programme successfully engaged 12 participants from 10 ELIXIR nodes, with senior mentors from within and beyond ELIXIR.

Feedback from mentees, mentors, trainers and the broader ELIXIR community gathered at the 2024 All Hands Workshop has shaped the 2nd edition (2025–2027). Key enhancements include:

1. Broader dissemination – to reach wider audiences in ELIXIR (updated WP4 and integration of ELIXIR UK) 
2. Expanded cohort – from 12 to 16 
3. Extended face-to-face engagement –  aiming for at least three full days 
4. Involving (more) men and other genders – both as participants and allies, to encourage diverse perspectives and experiences (with parts of the training content opened to the broader ELIXIR community) 
5. Longer programme duration – from 24 to 30 months to address impact and disseminate outcomes

This enriched ELEAD edition continues to focus on fostering mindful leadership among ELIXIR’s middle management, which remains predominantly occupied by women in roles such as Node Coordinators (NoCs). In contrast, leadership positions like Heads of Nodes (HoNs) and Deputy Heads of Nodes (DHoNs) are still mostly held by men. ELEAD’s goal is to drive progress towards a gender-balanced leadership structure across ELIXIR, promoting a diverse and inclusive environment where all members can thrive.