The Prosper Exchange
A framework for sustaining impact through sharing practice.
In order to sustain Prosper's impact across the sector, and keep Prosper free to access and use, we have created the Prosper Exchange.
What this means is you can access enhanced support from Prosper, in return for an "in-kind" contribution from you. This is only for enhanced support - the Portal, resources, and Prosper model remain completely free for use and adoption.
Our focus is on creating fair, like-for-like exchange. See examples of this below.
To engage with the Prosper Exchange, click hereThe Prosper Exchange in theory
The list of what Prosper can offer is not exhaustive, neither are the examples of reciprocation. We are open to suggestions as we trial and evolve the Prosper Exchange. Get in touch via the form link and we can have a discussion.
| Prosper can offer: | Example of what an institution might exchange for this: |
|---|---|
| Data and reporting - For example, Portal usage data within your institution | A quote from you or a postdoc at your institution about Prosper. |
| Guidance on recruiting or running a cohort - For example, consultancy ahead of setting up your cohort selection process. | Engage an employer to deliver one of Prosper’s Employer Insight sessions. |
| Local Gap Analysis - For example, consultancy around the best ways you can adopt and tailor Prosper for your own institution. | Adding resources, such as a session developed for postdocs at your institution, to the Prosper Portal. |
| Train-the-trainer - For example, the Prosper team prepare your facilitators with the basics of delivering a Prosper session. | A PI Network session and accompanying resource which can be uploaded to the Portal. |
| Session facilitation - For example, the Prosper team deliver a Prosper Portal tour for your postdocs. | A detailed case study about Prosper at your institution. |
Dr Gabriele Matilionyte, Researcher Development Consultant at Heriot-Watt University, explains how Heriot-Watt used the Prosper Exchange:
Hi, my name is Dr. Gabrielle and I work as a researcher development consultant at Heriot Watt University.
Over the last couple of academic years, we’ve run a series of career development sessions for postdocs and PGRs all built around the use of Prosper resources. I provided Prosper with anonymised evaluation data, as well as helped them put together a case study on our approach, which serves an example to other institutions.
In Exchange, prosper ran a portal tour session for our postdocs during National Postdoc Appreciation Week, which showcased the wide range of resources available on the portal. It’s been a great pleasure working with Prosper and this example of reciprocation shows just how easy the Prosper Exchange can be. The more we collaborate, the better. This framework keeps Prosper, free and open, and also helps sustain its impact across the sector.
The Prosper Exchange (click to expand):

You can learn more about the Prosper Exchange by watching the video of our pilot launch below:
So I’m gonna get started then, um, with a big thank you
for you, um, for joining today’s session
For those who don’t know me, I’m Kerry McElroy
and I’m the stakeholder development manager for Prosper
I am joined today by the rest of the Lovely Prosper Team,
and we will all be, um, yeah,
provide an input into today’s session in one way or another
So I’ll let them introduce themselves
when we get to that point
Okay, so what are we gonna cover in today’s session?
Um, the aims are for you
to learn more about the Prosper Exchange
and plans for the pilot phase
Understand how you can access support from the team in
exchange for the resources that you will share to contribute
to the future of Prosper
And then, um, in the second half of the session, um, as,
yeah, due to demand everybody who has engaged
with our previous events
or really enjoyed the opportunity for them to share practice
around postdoc career development more generally
So during the second half of the session,
we’ll be having breakouts, um,
for you to be able to do that
Um, but in terms of the, the final objective for you
to play an active role in really shaping the future
of the Prosper Exchange
So I’ll skip then to the next slide,
and I’ll start at the beginning really explaining
what the Prosper Exchange is, um, and why we’re doing this
So the Prosper Exchange is a framework for you
to access enhanced support
or information from the Prosper team, completely free
of charge, but in exchange for something that you will share
to support broader users of Prosper, whether
that be the postdocs, the managers of researchers,
or other institutions engaging with the model
It’s designed to sustain prosperous impact
beyond the conclusion of the UK RA funding,
which is in August,
And that’s through fostering a
real collaborative community of practice
Um, and through this mutual sharing of resources
and guidance, we’re aiming not only to strengthen engagement
with the Prosper model, but also to ensure
that the resources we have, um,
on the portal really remain aligned with that evolving needs
of researcher development and our sector
So really complementing research culture, the PCE,
um, and I think, you know, we’re, we’re very much aware
that Prosper, we want Prosper to align to all of that
One important note I wanna make on this slide is that
the idea isn’t
that you are gonna give something back every time you look
at the portal, um, you know,
and access a resource that sits there
This is only something that you are gonna engage
with when you would maybe give me a call to ask
for some advice or contact one of the other members
of the profit team to ask for that more enhanced support
So, um, I just wanna make that clear
We’re not expecting you to, you know, give us a case study
or testimonial every time you use something on the Prosper
Portal, but if you feel, you know, if you ever feel the need
to, please do reach out to us, um,
and we’d be more than happy to take that on as well
Um, so just a few, um, I guess facts,
um, for you to be aware of today is marking the start
of our pilot phase
Um, and that’s gonna run until March,
from June,
So sort of summer the Prosper Exchange will be moving into
what we call like a business as usual model to
what we hope is we’d have plenty
of feedback from the pilot phase, um, for us to then be, um,
able to make some tweaks
and really make that final version fit for purpose
Um, prosperous UK RI funding does end date August, ,
after which a smaller team at the University of Liverpool,
um, funded by the University
of Liverpool will continue the work
So what we’re doing during this pilot is making sure that
what we have is not only fit the purpose,
but realistic and sustainable
So that’s why it’s really important for us
to have this test period
Um, and just
to cover off the Prosper portal will remain free
for everyone to access, um, on an ongoing basis
Okay, so what I’m gonna ask you to do,
and sorry, I should have mentioned this earlier,
please do pop your questions in the chat as I’m talking
We do have minutes to sign specifically for, for q and a
after we’ve done our brief run through
So, um, we’ll be addressing all of those later
So I’ve talked a little bit about why we’re doing this
I’m now gonna give you a little overview of how it will work
before I hand over to James
and Canice who’ll show things a little bit more practically,
um, on the portal, um,
and where you can find more information about it
So what you can see on the screen here is table
on the left hand side,
you’ll see the core services we’re proposing
to offer as a Prosper team
Now, these have not been plugged from thinner
They are based on the kinds of support
that we’ve been providing to institutions,
or the most frequently asked questions
and guidance were asked for from institutions
who have engaged with prosperity
So I’ll run through each one briefly,
and again, stick your questions in if, if any
of this doesn’t make sense
So the first one is data and reporting
So we can provide you with reports from the Prosper Portal
to show how Prosper is being used at your institution
Things like numbers of registered users, page views,
and then also from our event break information, we can show
how many from your institution, of course,
provided that they, um, have registered for the event
with the university domain email address
Um, we can tell you how many have engaged
with PI network sessions
or employer insight sessions, for example
So that’s the data and reporting, um, gap analysis
Now, this one’s quite broad, um,
but I’m gonna give you some examples
So it could be that we support you with
a gap analysis if you know you want to engage with Prosper,
um, we can support you to look at your objectives
around research staff, career development,
and offer advice on which mode
of prosper delivery might work
for you based on your institutional
priorities and resources
For example, um, or you might wanna provide us,
and this is something we’ve done very recently, um,
for an institution you might wanna provide us with, uh, um,
a program, uh, you know, a even a, a roadmap
or a, um, a program of activity
that you are planning to deliver
And we can map Prosper resources to those, um, to your
existing career development provision, um, for the year
So that’s something, as I say, we’ve,
this will be a life example
we’re in the midst of at the moment
Um, we can provide you with guidance on running a cohort
So whether you are planning, um, you’re currently in sort
of a planning recruitment phase, uh, for the cohort, um,
you are thinking about what you’d like to deliver
or you are in that evaluation phase
and you need some existing support,
that’s something you can request by the Prosper Exchange
So we’ve already worked with Durham, Southampton and,
and Newcastle in this way, um, train the trainer
So that’s where we, you know,
maybe you’d like some additional information on how
to use session guides on the Prosper portal or the learning
and development resources, for example
Um, um, you can request some time with us, um,
or maybe you wanna know how to deliver a,
a Prosper portal to yourself
That’s something that we are very happy, um,
to do by the exchange
And then finally, session delivery
So this is one we’re asked for a lot
That’s where we will deliver a Prosper portal tour
Sometimes, um, people will ask us to do a portal tour, maybe
with a bit more in depth, um,
dive into a particular theme like, um, engage in PIs with,
um, postdoc career development
And that is something we can do
So I’m gonna ask you to turn your attention now
to the right hand side of the table
because this is where we’ve detailed
what you might offer in return
So this is what we’re calling the exchange
and these range,
these suggestions we’ve got here range from the less time
intensive contributions, like a testimonial
or postdoc quote to something more time intensive,
like leading a PI network session with a legacy resource
that is uploaded to the portal
I think it’s really important to, to say here,
by taking part, you’re not just accessing support
and feeding back and strengthening
this community of practice
You are actually having an opportunity
to showcase your own work
and the work that you are doing at an institution
So, um, you, when we upload something,
it’ll have your institutional logo,
your name if you want it
And so that is, um, a really nice way to show
what you are doing to the sector
When we think about the exchange options
and where we’re at at the moment,
I really wanna stress this heavily
This isn’t a fixed list at the minute,
it’s a starting point
This is a pilot period,
and we don’t wanna be too prescriptive in suggestions
of exchange because we might actually end up missing out
on a really great idea
So, for example, that institution I’m working
with at the moment on the, um, gap analysis,
we talked about a PI network session potentially being, uh,
an exchange there
And then they suggested, oh, we’ve got this set
of really great resources which are currently only available
to postdocs at our institution
How about we curate a list of those that almost, you know,
aren’t already provided by the Prosper portal
and we can upload them
And that’s something that, you know,
if we were too prescriptive with a list at this point,
we wouldn’t be able to, um, have that
So yes, please do
And that’s why as Candice is gonna tell you when she talks
through the process shortly,
there’s a call in in the process at the moment,
which is minutes, half an hour, where we talk about what
that, um, you know, what that might look like in terms
of your offer of an exchange
Um, so yes, I think it’s, it’s important that we have
that flexibility during the PI pilot period for us
to come up with then a more prescriptive list, um,
for the business as usual
Um, yeah, uh, process when it’s defined
in terms of what makes a fair exchange,
um, how are we measuring that?
Uh, sort of here you ask already
Um, well right now we are looking at time spent as a way
to gauge what, um, might be a fair exchange
So we’ll track the time we spend on a request submitted
by you and we’ll ask you to tell us
how long you’ve taken on your contributions in the past, uh,
sorry, uh, your contributions in return
By doing this approach, I think we’re gonna be able to
really have some data to inform us on, you know,
what are the fair exchanges for the business
as usual process
Um, and I think, you know, the,
the approach might evolve during the pilot
We might start measuring something that’s not just time
Maybe we’ll look at how much resources are engaged with, um,
but I think overall,
the more information we have can gather,
the more you use this, the
more information we’ll then have on what makes the balance
and valuable exchange for the future
So I’m not gonna stop talking about the theory now,
and I’m gonna hand over to James who can show you, uh,
where some of the information sits
and some of the examples we’ve got already
So over to you James
James, if you are talking, you are on mute Sorry,
I’m really sorry I’ll
start that again Thanks, Gary Uh, so hi everyone
I’m James, and for those who don’t know me,
I’m the communications manager for Prosper
Um, I’m just going to signpost
and briefly run through the practice exchange page on our
portal, um, which is kind of the hub for all this activity
and where you’ll need to go to initially engage
with the Prosper Exchange
Um, so I believe my, one
of my team members will post the link
to the page in the chat,
but just so you know, for future, for those
who maybe aren’t familiar with our portal, um,
at the top here, you’ve got, uh, these menus
and, uh, the Prosper Exchange, it’s not coming up properly
Uh, the Prosper Exchange lives under institutions, um,
and you can also find it from the portal main page
If you click through to the institution section, it comes up
as one of the areas on the front page
Uh, so it’s not going away
Sorry everyone So the page itself,
uh, this is where you’ll need to go to find the link
for the form that you need to submit
to request enhanced support from Prosper
So it’s the large blue button here, right at the top,
hopefully, uh, not hard to, hard to miss
Uh, my colleague Canice will be, uh, explaining more about
what happens next after that
and the form submission process shortly
Um, but I just wanted to quickly talk through
what else is on this page first
So first, uh, we have the Prosper Exchange in theory,
and the information on this page in general is intended
to give more detail and color to the exchange
through examples, both hypothetical and real
So the process exchange in theory section here is a bit
similar to what Kerry just showed you
So it lists some, uh, examples that enhance support
that we can provide and give some examples of
what we would count as fair reciprocation in each case, just
to give you more flavor and more of an idea of
what kind of things are possible
Uh, and the infographic further down the page
Um, also just kind of reiterates, uh, these potentials
and lists some of the positive outcomes we think
the exchange can catalyze
Uh, but as Kerry kind of has alluded to,
the exchange is not purely hypothetical
Uh, since the start of our rollout,
we’ve been collaborating on a reciprocal basis
with HEI partners
and early adopts of Prosper, um, including many
of you are in the, in the, in the session today
Uh, and these exchanges have played a crucial role in kind
of informing the Prosper exchange that we’re piloting, uh,
today and kind of informing what we can offer
and the things, uh, based on the things
that we have been doing so far with partners
Um, and so we wanna give you some
of this real life flavor too
So further down you’ll see the section,
the Prosper Exchange in practice
And here you can see some, uh, kind of real life examples
of exchanges we’ve already conducted
with some of our partners
Um, and the idea here being to give you some detail
and clarity again on what sorts of exchanges are possible
and maybe even serve some inspiration if you think, oh, that
what they did there sounds like something I’d like to do
as well as a kind of back and forth
Um, Dr Gabrielle Nette, um, at Harriet Watts, um,
very kindly kind of, uh, recorded a video for us
Um, just explaining how she used the Prosper Exchange
Uh, Harriet Watt, for those who don’t know,
ran a prosper series for PGS
and postdocs, um, earlier in the year
and as part of the exchange
So we kind of, um, supported her with that
And we also, uh, provided a portal tour session for postdocs
and pgs at the university
Uh, in exchange, she
provided us with anonymized evaluation data, um,
from the series and also helped us put it together a case
study and a bit of testimonial about, uh,
Harriet Watt’s usage
So, not huge time intensive,
but a useful exchange on both sides
Further down the page, just to round off, uh, we have,
’cause we know you’ll probably have lots of questions
and we’ve tried to, we’ve already come across quite a few
of these questions in speaking to you all
and floating the concept and as we’ve been developing this
So we’ve tried to answer as many of these as possible, uh,
in a kind of concise, useful way down here
So please do check here if you’ve got any questions
’cause they may be asked answered here
But as with everything else on this page, this will be a,
this is a work in progress
and we’re gonna be adding to this page
as we develop the exchange and as we pilot it
and as we figure out what works and what doesn’t
So if you do have any burning questions
that aren’t on this page, or if any come up in this area,
uh, in this session, uh, we will likely be adding them here
So do keep checking back to this page
It is gonna be a living resource, it’s going to be added
to you and hopefully become more full
of examples as time goes on
So that’s the page as a whole
But as mentioned, the key thing on the page is at the top
It’s the blue button here
to engage with the Prosper Exchange
Uh, that will take you through to the form, uh,
which will then begin your kind
of engagement process with us
So to explain more about that, I’m now gonna stop sharing
and hand over to my colleague Candyce, who’s gonna talk
through the form and what’s required of you
Thank you, James Um,
I’m just gonna quickly share my screen
Um, so just
to introduce myself, um, hi everyone
My name’s Kandice and I’m prosper’s Researcher
Development coordinator
Um, this is the Prosper Exchange request form
and it should take no longer than three minutes
of your time to complete
So, um, the first few questions on the form, um, ask you
for your personal details
Um, and then once you’ve done this,
you’ll be asked whether you are using Prosper
at your institution
So if you are using Prosper, you’ll be asked
to indicate your institution’s use in terms
of the modes of delivery
So those are mode one, active promotion, mode two,
session delivery, and mode free running a cohort
So, um, you can follow the link as well in the question
for a more detailed description of those modes
The next question asks you to indicate, um, the type
of support that you would like from Prosper
And each category of support has an example
and you are able to select more than one if you need to
Um, if you are unsure about which category to choose,
then just please select the other box
and, um, add a brief description of your request beside it
Um, it’s important to note, um, that, you know,
after you submit your form, a member
of the team will be in touch to arrange a follow up calls
So, um, you have an opportunity then to provide
a more in depth, uh, description of,
of your request afterwards
Um, you’ll be asked to agree, um, to a, like
for like exchange for the Prosper team
So this is something which, um, you
and the team will discuss
and agree to join the process most likely, uh, during
that follow up call
Um, under the question, as you can see,
there’s some examples of
what an exchange may look like in practice
with links to specific ones
So just a highlight We have the Harriet what, um,
case study linked here
And then finally you’ll be asked to agree to how, um, to
how prosper use your data in the privacy notice,
which is linked in the question
It’s also linked at the top of the page as well
Um, it’s important to note, um, if you do disagree,
then please do not complete the form
and contact the team via email,
oh, sorry, just to as well
Another, um, question is you’ll be asked to agree to
how Prosper will, um, to follow the branding guidelines
as closely as possible when using our resources
Um, so if you want to look at those,
you can access via the link
So once you’ve, uh, gone through all those questions,
then all you have to do next is press submit
So, um, I’ll stop sharing and I’ll hand back to you, Kerry
Kerry, sorry, you’re on mute
I’ve literally just unmuted anyway
Hey, can you hear me now?
Okay, I’ve got a message telling me I’m on mute now
So let’s just move on from that
Um, oh, it’s gone, right?
I’m then gonna hopefully
share my screen again
Gimme a sec for that
Come, okay,
so questions then
Um, now I’ve got some in the chat, which is nice
and handy, so I’m gonna work through those
and please do just continue adding them
So, Ruth, first question, um, around
if we, um, do we want one contact person?
So what I’ll do is I’ll briefly cover how we are, um,
planning on, well, what our processes
look like on the backend
So we’ve got a big spreadsheet
where every time we get a new request, we assign the request
and number, and then we have the details in our spreadsheet,
and that’s where we’re allocating
where we’re then putting the time we spend into there
So you’ll normally have a lead contact, so
say if you submit one for gap analysis, it might be me
and Steph might be helping me out with some
of the stuff that we’re gonna create
So we’ll have we record our time like that
So in response to your question, Ruth,
it actually doesn’t matter
because we’ve, on our spreadsheet,
we’re recording the institution and the,
and the contact name
So you know, it, it, it,
it doesn’t matter at this point in time
That leads me quite nicely though, to, to Alison’s question
around if, um,
there’s a cap on the amount of time that, that we can give
I think that’s a really good one, Allison,
and in all honesty, that’s something we’re very much
planning on keeping an eye on
and measuring throughout the pilot period
As I said before, one of the key things is for us
to make sure that what we are proposing
to you is sustainable
You know, we, we don’t wanna offer something in the business
as usual, um, process
that we then can’t commit to, to giving
So I think, um, this we will be continuing to measure
Um, you know, we, we couldn’t get to a point
where we were just delivering somebody’s full postdoc career
development, um, program through the Prosper Exchange
So I think it’s something we’ll have to keep an eye on
I hope that answers that question
Um, Alison’s next question was,
um, around the portal being updated
and developed centrally
with any new resources post August,
The idea is that we will be, the,
the new resources will be uploaded to the community, um,
in the community of practice, the shared resources section
So we’ll be, we’ll send you the link to that, um, just
so you know where those will live
But, um, no, I would say
that I can’t see that being a manageable, um,
something that we, we can do
Okay Any other
questions that you wanna throw in there?
I mean we’ve got some we prepared earlier just to make sure
that we, um, yeah
So on our FAQ page, we obviously have all of
the answers to these questions anyway,
but in the absence of, um, in the absence
of others, I will just run through those
So give me a second
Can you still just see my full screen?
Someone give me a thumbs up? Yeah Okay, perfect
Right, so how do we assess what is a fair exchange?
Um, so as I said, working closely
with you will be developing a clearer understanding of
what appropriate exchanges are
as we move through that pilot
So time investment is
what we’re gonna be looking at in the first instance
Um, so I hope all of that is clear and makes sense
Um, we’re often asked how does this help me, um,
if I’ve got less resources
So there’s the different modes of delivery ranging from
that, um, you know, active promotion as we call it,
including newsletters, putting on Prosper portal tours,
sending links to all of the useful tutorial videos
that exist on the portal
That is, you know, as useful as an example to us
to share on the portal as is somebody running a cohort
So I think the, we can provide, you know,
the Prosper portal will remain free, so obviously
that’s why it will help those with less resources
Um, and the exchanges, um, I think, you know,
as valuable to us if it’s promotion as it is, um,
if it’s a more intense one
So I think, you know, in terms of that,
I hope that it’s free is ultimately why, why it helps those
with with less resources
and it saves us having to reinvent the wheel
You know, if somebody at one institution has created a set
of resources that is lacking at another, let’s share that
that’s what this is all about
And, and that’s what the portal, you know,
is really intended to do
Um, we’re also often asked if there’ll be guidance
and templates to support delivery of the exchange
So things like the case studies we have, um,
you’ll be able to download the, um, case study templates,
um, in the business as usual, um, you know,
when we get a business as usual
and just complete that yourself and re-upload it
And so that’s how we are, um, building, that’s
what we’re building at the moment
We’re building guidance, we’re trying to make things
as sustainable as possible through the existence of, um,
templates and downloadable documents that you can use
I’ve already addressed the one a little bit around the,
the mood one in terms of that being as valuable to us
as examples, um, and case studies as is
Um, yeah, any other really?
Um, and can I use the exchange for guidance on Prosper
with non postdocs?
Yes, I think, you know, we know plenty of institutions
We’ve got that video from, from Gabrielle, um,
which is around sessions for postdocs and PGS together
So yes, we’d like as much information as possible, um,
as much sorry examples as possible, um, of
where Prosper is useful, um, with any research staff groups
Ruth, are you planning to offer another day
for your community to keep learning from each other?
Yes, we have one more day in the budget to, to offer
Um, I’ll give you that now, uh, further February,
um, Birmingham, get that in your calendar
and we will be, um, doing something very similar
to last time, but um, yeah, we’ll be obviously
offering Yes, correct
Ruth Are we there already? Obviously
Sorry, can I just jump in for a a moment?
Just two little, uh, things I’d like to, uh, just add
to the, the great answers that you’ve been providing
Um, just a little addition regarding the keeping, um,
the portal kind of up to date
Obviously as we move forward,
that’s gonna be done on an ad hoc basis
Uh, not quite as systematic as we’ve been able to do,
but we will be adding, um, bits to reflect, explore
and act as we go because we’ll be doing our own development
at University of the law still
So we’ll be able to do that bit
And here’s the thing, Kerry, I think it’d be nice to, to,
uh, comment on and get your view on, sorry, I, I, I uh,
reading Allison’s question around, um, the time limit,
I read it the other way actually
and I actually thought what Jo also thought was a good, uh,
a good question is do we have any time limit
for when we expect from the moment which they prosper,
give a thing to the moment at which an institution has
to pay us back?
So are we saying, oh,
it’s gotta be done in six months, eight months,
months? What are we saying Kerry?
That’s, thank you That makes more sense
Alison, I thought you were saying how much could you,
how much can you possibly give me?
Um, so in terms of time limit, I think that’s something
that we are setting at the moment, at the point
of conversation with, um,
with you when we, when we have the call
So for example, it’s gonna be more useful to us
to have a case study if we deliver someone a portal talk
Um, you know, we wanna see a little bit of impact,
um, there
So I think that’s really important that we can
maybe set a timeline so that we can see
what the impact has been at your institution
of whatever intervention has been brought by Prosper
Does that make sense? Yeah
Um, so in, in a word, Alison, it, it may well be
within six months
That makes sense It may well be that we’re, you know,
contributing to something that’s, that’s more immediate
If you’re running a session, um,
and you can get immediate feedback,
then obviously we will probably be able to,
to have a case study sooner
And yes, Alison, I agree, that was good question
that I’d never thought of before either
Um, good point
Jori, I think, um,
that’s something which we can talk about when we consider,
um, when we talk to you in terms of the, um,
yeah, you know, the reciprocation call, I guess, you know,
what else can you do in terms of case studies
and I think everything we would like to share on,
on the Prosper portal, to be honest
So if there’s a, a quote
or something we’re gonna put on socials,
we’ll probably find a way of embedding
that into the portal as well
’cause we want that to be a one stop shop
Yes, thank you Alison
Um, so Alison’s just made the point that, um,
we did a portal tour for S Field
and we, um, had a, you know, a, a time gap
I think it must have been about six
months actually, wasn’t it Alison?
Um, after that, before we actually, um,
went ahead and did the case study,
Can I jump in on this as well?
I think like if we’re providing support, for example,
for those institutions that might run a cohort,
the exchange might be even longer if the cohort is over six,
eight months, you know, every institution will
decide how they run a cohort
Yeah If that’s what, if that’s what they can afford
and want to do, of course
So we might start the exchange six months
before the actual cohort
because they might need,
that institution might need supporting the recruitment
So then the actual exchange, say the case study,
the final case study might come months later
And that’s also fine It’s about agreeing that timeline
Yeah Okay
Alex, your question, how do we control the exchange?
Ed eeg, someone may ask for something
but not have the authority to provide reciprocity, um,
or be unexpectedly unavailable
to provide it for a range of reasons
Um, I think that’s fair to,
to take up the last part of the question
I think in that instance, you know, we’d probably reach out
to the institution and
or someone else at the institution as a contact
and kind of try to, to navigate that situation
Um, but in terms
of someone not having the authority again there,
that’s something we’d address in the conversation
You know, if they say, oh, I’m not sure
what I can give back, let’s talk about some options
Um, you know, if it is a case of a person, uh,
Leicester having to go back
and find the authority to, to give it, um, I think
that’s something we we’d look into as well
So it’s all, that’s all about conversation
and us starting to come across these situations
during the pilot period that we can then find ways around
You can also download the slide deck from the pilot launch event below:
The Prosper Exchange in practice

Prosper: Ran a Prosper Portal tour/introduction session for Heriot-Watt research staff and PGRs.
Heriot-Watt University: Provided information for a case study looking looking at Heriot-Watt's Prosper series, which you can read here.

Prosper: Provided data reports on Prosper Portal usage by Heriot Watt staff and PGRs
Heriot-Watt University: Provided Prosper with anonymised evaluation data from its Prosper series for PGRs and postdocs

Prosper: We're running a workshop for their BOOST career development programme
University of Leeds: Will be leading an upcoming PI Network session

Prosper: Provided ongoing data reporting on registered usage of the Portal by University of Manchester users
University of Manchester: Led a PI Network session on 6th June 2024: 'Improve your wellbeing with Positive Intelligence'

Prosper: Provided ongoing data reporting on registered usage of the Portal by Newcastle University users
Newcastle University: Provided information for a case study looking at Newcastle University's implementation of Prosper, including their Prosper cohorts.

Prosper: Providing data reporting on usage of the Prosper Portal by University of Sheffield registered accounts
University of Sheffield: Led a PI Network session on 2nd April 2025: 'Career development: what do postdocs want and do PIs provide it?'

Prosper: Provided local gap analysis to help the University of Southampton prepare for its first Prosper cohort
University of Southampton: Created a new Prosper resource - a set of Prosper-branded value cards - for use in its own Prosper cohort and also to be shared on the Portal

Prosper: Provided data reporting on usage of the Prosper Portal by University of Southampton-registered accounts
University of Southampton: Led a PI Network session on 22nd November 2024: 'Welcome to the Panic Room: Managing Challenging Scenarios'

Prosper: Provided guidance and consultancy (including communications support) for the University of Southampton during the initial setup and preparations for its first Prosper cohort
University of Southampton: Provided information for an institutional case study looking at Southampton's implementation of Prosper.

Prosper: Provided data reports on usage of the Prosper Portal by University of York-registered accounts
University of York: Led PI Network session on 27th January 2025: 'How lab handbooks can help shape research culture in your team'
Frequently asked questions
- Will we be implementing any form of quality assurance process?
The Prosper community of practice brings together a group of professional practitioners that naturally supports a shared approach to collaboration quality assurance.
For example, if you come across a resource uploaded by a colleague at another institution that you think could be enhanced or built upon, you can reach out directly to the contributor.
This peer-to-peer engagement enables an informal but effective form of peer review and continuous improvement.
Additionally, the portal gives community members the ability to post comments or questions directly, to further support and enable the quality of the resources and support available.
- How will we continue to deliver with a smaller team?
Our collective efforts to ensure the Prosper Exchange thrives are what will enable us to deliver with a smaller central team.
A collaborative approach to sharing resources, disseminating expertise and seizing opportunities for partnership will build sector wide Prosper knowledge. The Prosper Exchange is being piloted with the team capacity in mind to ensure what we propose can be delivered.
On a practical level, the University of Liverpool has committed to financially supporting the Portal, so the resources on the Portal will remain free to access across the sector.
- Do I have to fill out the form every time I use the Prosper Exchange?
Yes. During the pilot period, the form is central to us tracking important metrics such as how much the Exchange is being used, how much time we are spending on the requests, and which services are used most frequently.
We will be regularly reviewing these findings and using them to refine the processes with a view to creating an Exchange which is fit for purpose after the pilot.
Filling out the form should take a couple of minutes, but the value of the information provided will be critical to informing the final Prosper Exchange processes.
- Why do I have to give something away to University of Liverpool?
The University of Liverpool is acting as a facilitator for the exchange of resources, expertise and development opportunities across the sector. Anything you contribute to the Exchange will be made publicly available on the Portal to benefit the wider sector, and you will be able to utilise everything shared by your colleagues and peers from other institutions.
- How do you determine what constitutes a fair exchange?
Working closely with you, we’ll develop a clearer understanding of appropriate exchanges as we move through the pilot. To start, we’re using time investment as a guide.
For instance, if you request a data report, it takes the Prosper team around 30 minutes to fulfil that request. A fair exchange would be something that requires a similar time commitment from you—such as providing a short quote reflecting on your experience with Prosper, either from your own perspective or that of a postdoc or PI at your institution.
- How can this benefit higher education institutions with less resource?
The Prosper Portal is free-to-access and will continue to be. The Exchange is particularly valuable for resource-limited institutions, as it provides access to a broader pool of expertise—from both the Prosper team and peers across the sector. Rather than paying for a new session to be developed, for example, institutions can turn to the Portal and its community of practice as a starting point, where they may find existing resources that meet their needs.
- Will there be guidance and templates to support the exchange?
Yes. These will continue to be developed and uploaded to the Portal throughout the pilot period.
- I will be using Prosper in Mode 1 – is this enough for case study?
Definitely. All modes of engagement with Prosper are inherently valuable, and sharing your experience is incredibly helpful to others. One of the most common questions we hear is, “How can I raise awareness of Prosper among my postdocs and PIs?” The more examples we have of how different institutions have approached this, the more useful it is for the wider community.
- Can I use the Exchange for guidance on using Prosper with non-postdocs?
Yes! We will be more than happy to share advice to support engagement with Prosper amongst all early career researchers. We caveat that our resources have been cocreated with and for a postdoc audience, so leave it to your professional judgement if they need adjustment to fit your proposed audience.