Create 2026-07-21-direct-leadership-retreat.md

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+title: "DIRECT Leadership Retreat Shapes the Future of Digital Research Competencies"
+summary-image: "/assets/images/direct-leadership-retreat.jpeg"
+summary-image-desc: "DisCouRSE Network+ Logo"  # Used for alt tag on the image; important for accessibility
+categories:
+  - direct-leadership-retreat
+---
+
+DisCouRSE shares updates from the DIRECT Leadership Retreat, held on **6–7 July 2026** at the Alan Turing Building in Manchester.
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+Funded through the DisCouRSE Network+ Flexible Fund – [DIRECT Framework Development project](https://discourse-network.github.io/projects/1-9-DIRECT-framework-dev/) and supported by the Software Sustainability Institute, the two-day retreat brought together the DIRECT Framework leadership team to review progress, strengthen the project's direction, and plan future developments. Discussions focused on improving project documentation, developing clearer career pathways for digital Research Technical Professionals (dRTPs), advancing the DIRECT Web Application, and creating resources for institutions, funders, and the wider research community.
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+Key outcomes included the launch of a dedicated Zenodo community for open project outputs, a funding bid submission to the SHAREing Network+ Flexible Fund, planning for future funding opportunities, and preparations to present the framework at RSECon26. The team also opened proposals on dRTP role families and career pathways for community feedback.
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+Find out more about the DIRECT Framework through the project's [GitHub organisation](https://github.com/direct-framework) and [DIRECT Web Application](https://directframework.com/), and get involved in shaping the future of digital research competencies.