Engaging with Politicians & Policymakers

Academics and politicians don't, traditionally, mix. The academics often see the politicians as Machiavellian mischief makers; politicians see academics as detached boffins. There's mutual distrust.

Last week's Grants Factory tried to remedy that. The Parliamentary Outreach Service (POS) showed that, not only were politicians not antagonistic to academics, but they actually valued and benefited from their research. Prof Jagjit Chadha (Economics) also spoke about the potential benefit for academics, in engaging with the parliamentary system, of understanding how decisions are made, and of playing a part in helping those decisions to be better informed.

He felt that it could be an immensely rewarding experience, both from just being part of the “process”, but also from having a real route to impact for your work. He did, however, warn of a couple of pitfalls that he had observed. Firstly, you need to beware of “capture” by politicians and policy makers, who will try to influence your input and research. Secondly, you may be exposed to potentially hostile media interest. This is outside the experience of most academics, and he advised that you get good media management support.

MPs are, by their very nature, generalists. They're paid to have shallow opinions on a broad range of issues. To deepen these opinions somewhat, they rely for their information on three sources:

AHRC Announces Emergency 'Car Park Excavation' Scheme

AHRC: 'Plenty more where he came from'

The excitement surrounding the discovery of the remains of the last Plantagenet king, Richard III, under a car park in Leicester in August 2012, was reignited by his reburial at the weekend.

The AHRC has responded to the public excitement by issuing a NERC-style 'urgency' grant for anyone interested in digging up a local car park in the hope of finding a king.

ECR Network: How to Overcome 'Imposter Syndrome' - 8 April 2015

It’s very easy to feel like an ‘imposter’ when you’re starting out in academia. Prof Ruth Barcan wrote about this in Times Higher Education last year: “many of my colleagues (especially women) gave out subtle signs that they did not feel they were up to the job—almost as though they had been employed in error and would sooner or later be found out.”

This is known as the Imposter Syndrome and symptoms include:

• Secretly worrying that others will find out that you're not as bright and capable as they think you are?
• Shying away from challenges because of nagging self-doubt? 
• Hating to make a mistake, to be less than fully prepared or doing things less than perfectly?

These are classic symptoms and are understandable.  The good news is that we are far from alone, and there is plenty that we can do to overcome the situation. 

Dr Caron Wood will be visiting the University to run a half day workshop that will provide an introduction to:

• The history of the Imposter Syndrome
• What is it and what causes it
• Why having the Imposter Syndrome is good news, and perfectly normal
• The symptoms of this syndrome – how to spot it in ourselves and others
• Practical tips for managing the causes, symptoms and effects of the syndrome

This pragmatic and highly participative workshop will ensure that participants become more aware of the syndrome, how it affects them, and what they can do to make sure that the effects are appropriate, managed and do not adversely affect performance.  Participants will leave with an understanding of some practical tools and techniques to enable them to manage their experiences of the Imposter Syndrome, ensuring that self-esteem, confidence and performance do not suffer as a result.

It is free, and open to all University academics and researchers. However, do let me know if you plan to come along so that I can ensure that I can book an appropriate room and refreshments.

University of Kent Research Prizes

I wrote last year about the development of a research prize competition here at Kent. If you read the post you'll know that it wasn't a straightforward gestation; however, when we launched it there was a good deal of interest, and we received 40 applications by the deadline in January.

After the hours of fretting, worrying, and of explaining the potential benefit to a sceptical audience, I was really pleased to see this interest. Moreover, I was pleased to see the quality and diversity of the research that had been put forward. It demonstrated a vibrant research culture, and I felt humbled to be a part of this world, both at the University, and as part of a national and global endeavour.

There were 12 winners in total: three faculty winners in each of the three categories, and three overall winners. They were:

Grants Factory: Engaging with Politicians & Policy Makers

As part of this year's Grants Factory programme, we will be holding a session on engaging with politicians and policy makers.

Academics are increasingly being urged to produce "impactful" research but how do you actually achieve that impact? One key route could be to engage with politicians and policy makers. Governments (of all political persuasions) need research results and advice from experts from a wide breadth of disciplines to help develop good, evidence-based, policies.

In this event, Kate Anderson, from the Parliamentary Outreach Service will discuss how Parliament uses academic research and the ways that you can engage with Parliament using your own work. Kate will be joined by Professor Jagjit Chadha from the School of Economics. Jagjit will share his extensive experience as an adviser to the Bank of England and the Treasury, to provide an insight into how this relationship works in reality.

The session is taking place this Thursday (19 March) between 12-2pm. It is free, open to all Kent staff, and lunch will be provided. However, do let Brian Lingley know if you are planning to come along so I can make sure the room and catering are sufficien