Lead After Leave: Navigating Parenthood in Academia
Our Project:
The Lead After Leave project is focused on exploring the impact of parental leave on academic researchers and their teams.
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There is a lack of research focused on how to effectively return from work as an academic and how to support research team members during this period. We also know there are also vast inconsistencies in parental leave policies and how they are implemented across the higher education landscape.
Through the delivery of focus groups we aim to surface current challenges for Future Leader Fellows and their teams in planning, taking and returning from any kind of parental leave.
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Collecting this data will enable us to inform effective support mechanisms and advocate for change, where it is needed. We also aim to build an engaged community around the project to provide organic support for others with similar questions.
Lead After Leave is funded by the Future Leaders Fellowship Development Network (Plus Fund, PF038), with the project running between January 2026 and January 2027. ​​
Our Aims:
Highlight best practice parental leave support across the UK higher education landscape
Surface challenges for academics and their teams in planning, taking and returning from parental leave
Produce an actionable set of recommendations for institutions and research funding bodies
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Meet the team:
Sophie Cox
Project Co-Lead
Associate Professor
University of Birmingham
Anna Muggeridge
Project Co-Lead
Lecturer
University of Worcester
Lucia Corsini
Project Co-Lead
Associate Professor
University of Oxford
Virginia De Cesare
Project Co-Lead
Associate Professor
University of Dundee
Project Components
1. Community Building
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Build a community of interest around the project including different stakeholders
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Foster discussions and receive live feedback on project plans
Look out for our Online Coffee Mornings & Launch Event​
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2. Focus Groups
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Gather qualitative data from Future Leaders Fellows and their teams
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Explore lived experiences, including examples of best practice and challenges
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Focus on planning, taking and returning from parental leave
Look out for our focus groups between April and May 2026​
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3. Presentation of Findings
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Disseminate focus groups findings to project community and stakeholders
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Deliver a formal actionable set of recommendations
Look out for our roundtable events in October and November 2026​
Get involved with our focus groups
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Are you a Future Leaders Fellow or a team member for an FLF project?
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Have you or your PI taken any form of parental leave during the fellowship period?
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Are you or your PI in the process of planning for or returning from parental leave?
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Answered yes to any of the above? Then sign up for one of our focus groups. We are keen to capture a variety of different lived experiences to surface best practice and challenges that remain in planning, taking and returning from parental leave in academia.
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Focus Group Dates:
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16/04/26 13:30 - 15:00
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21/04/26 10:00 - 11:30
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27/04/26 10:00 - 11:30
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01/05/26 10:00 - 11:30
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06/05/26 13:30 - 15:00
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21/05/26 10:00 - 11:30
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26/05/26 13:30 - 15:00
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Upcoming:
Project launch event 24/03/2026
Sign ups are now closed, look out for our summary of the event in due course.