Using an Individual Development Plan (IDP): For Students, Postdocs and Faculty

Postdocs who wrote research/career plans at the start of their appointments were 23% more productive than those who did not. They also produced 30% more first-author papers and 25% more grant proposals.

- 2005 Sigma Xi Postdoc Survey

What is an Individual Development Plan (IDP)?

An Individual Development Plan is both a product and a process.

As a product: an IDP is a written list of training and career goals mapped to a timeline. It serves as a framework for discussion between PI and the student/postdoc.

As a process: an IDP is a framework with four phases: 1) assessment, 2) career and professional development considerations, 3) goal setting, and 4) implementation

Learn more about IDPs

What are some different IDP format options? (Includes a video highlighting IDP variations)

We highly encourage PIs to decide which format suits their needs. However, students/postdocs can bring a suggested format if one isn't recommended by the PI. Here are some recommendations:

Appropriate for early stage graduate students: My Annual Plan (MAP) was developed by the UCSF Graduate Division. It is a less structured IDP that focuses on big picture plans and goals. We recommend the MAP for students in their first and second years, before their qualifying exams.
Appropriate for late stage graduate students and all postdocs: The myIDP was developed by a team of scientists and career advisors including some staff from UCSF Office of Career and Professional Development (OCPD). In addition to setting goals for research projects, it encourages exploration of a full range of career options, and involves a 4 phase process: Self-assessment, Career Exploration, Goal Setting, Implementation. We suggest myIDP for postdocs, and for students who have passed their qualifying exams.
See the video Part 3: Variations of IDPs to learn about other formats and structuring the IDP conversation

What are the benefits of an IDP for students and postdocs? (There are benefits for faculty too!)

Trainees who complete a written plan report improved productivity and had more effective interactions with their mentors with respect to career and research goals.
In the 2005 Sigma Xi Postdoc Survey, postdocs who wrote research/career plans at the start of their appointments were 23% more productive than those who did not. They also produced 30% more first-author papers and 25% more grant proposals.
In addition to having a clear agreement on what one will achieve in the lab/team, students and postdocs can use the IDP as a conversation starter with their PI on what research they will be able to take with them when they leave the lab and what their career goals are.

What does an IDP not do?

An IDP is a powerful tool to come to an agreement, with common language about what level of productivity a student/postdoc will need to achieve their goals.
But an IDP does not state specific training goals. It will help you map out your goals, but won't tell you what those goals should be. It won't tell you, the number of publications competitive candidates need to have for R1 positions, or whether you need a postdoc if you are pursuing a career in science communications.
To determine appropriate training goals, students and postdocs can:
- Speak with their PI
- Speak with other mentors, like lab/team alums, previous PIs, helpful PI down the hall...
  - Don't have any mentors besides your PI? Find some!
- Use the Academic Career Readiness Assessment (ACRA) - for faculty positions
- Use myIDP - for all science-related careers
- Conduct informational interviews with people who are in the position/career you want to be in after your training
- Make an appointment with career counselors in the Office of Career and Professional Development
- Speak with your point person in the Postdoc Office - for postdocs
- Speak with your point person in the Graduate Division - for graduate students

How do an IDP and the ACRA (Academic Career Readiness Assessment) work together?

ACRA is an evidence-based tool that articulates WHAT training goals and levels of productivity should be based on a student/postdocs need to be competitive to faculty positions. These competitive benchmarks differ based on the type of institution.

An IDP is a planning tool to help students/postdocs discuss and clarify with their PI HOW and WHEN a student/postdoc will achieve those goals.

What are the NIH requirements around IDPs?

In July 2013, the NIH issued a notice encouraging institutions "to assist graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to achieve their career goals within the biomedical research workforce through the use of Individual Development Plans (IDPs)." In August of 2014, that notice was updated. UCSF and other institutions are encouraged to report on progress toward this goal in all progress reports submitted on or after October 1, 2014.
The OCPD has created wording that may be edited to fit your interpretation of the requirements in your RPPR. This text is for guidance only; it must be adapted to your specific program and practice. Program administrators and PIs can view sample wording for Reporting Your Use of the IDP.
In response to the NIH's call for institutions to require IDPs for all their trainees, the myIDP website was developed to assist with institutional compliance. A feature of myIDP will allow users to print out or send a certificate to any email address documenting their progress in creating an IDP. The certificate will have a checklist that reports which sections of myIDP have been completed and whether there has been a discussion with the mentor. This will allow PI’s or administrative officials to determine which sections of the myIDP need to be completed to comply with the new requirement. We hope this helps make myIDP more useful in supporting your efforts to facilitate the careers of your graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. View a sample Completion Certificate.

What are PIs encouraged to do in this process?

Institutions (PIs and training programs) are encouraged to report on their use of the IDP process in all progress reports submitted on or after October 1, 2014, using the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR). Do not include the actual IDPs; instead the report should outline current practices that document that IDPs are used to help manage the training for those individuals. PIs are encouraged to assign the writing of an IDP to trainees and then to use a summary of the IDP as a basis for a PI-to-trainee discussion about the trainee's goals.

More information

OCPD offers training seminars for graduate students and postdocs on how to create an IDP. See our next upcoming programs.

In her July 23, 2013 blog, Sally Rockey, NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research, provided guidance about NIH's intentions with regard to IDPs.
In his September 7, 2012 Editor's Letter in Science, Bruce Alberts made note of the importance of career planning for members of tomorrow's biomedical workforce.
For more information about what an IDP is, see this article from ScienceCareers.

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Using an Individual Development Plan (IDP): For Students, Postdocs and Faculty

What is an Individual Development Plan (IDP)?

An Individual Development Plan is both a product and a process.

Learn more about IDPs

Navigating Your Time at UCSF