A Rough Guide to Mentoring

What's the point of a research consortium? It's a tough, existential question to face on a snowy, February day, but a valid one. 

When I started as Director of Eastern Arc, the regional research consortium comprising the universities of East Anglia, Essex and Kent, I looked around at the other consortia across the UK. I managed to find at least 12, all with different raisons d'etre. For some it was to share equipment, for others it was to facilitate engagement with industry, and others it was to provide a framework for doctoral training. 

For me, it was broader than that. In the words of the ill-fated 'remain' campaign, it enables members to be 'stronger together,' to share knowledge and expertise and to find areas where they can work to support each other. 

However, it also allows us to think differently about how we work. Higher education in the UK has become increasingly marketised, and we are forced into competition more often than collaboration. Consortia run counter to that, and they enable us to find the commonalities from which we jointly benefit.

Changing a Toxic Research Culture

In January the Wellcome Trust published a report highlighting the ‘toxic environment’ in which much research is undertaken. Many of its findings pointed the finger at the funding structure that underpins it.

Seven Steps to Perfect Partnerships

Meshing about (Photo by Kumiko SHIMIZU on Unsplash)

As funders increasingly push for larger, strategic grants through such schemes as the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and the Industrial Strategy Challenges Fund, research development officers in universities are having to stimulate and support interdisciplinary teams of researchers working together, often for the first time.

This is no easy task. It is something I’ve been grappling with since I started in research development more than a decade ago. It is become more pressing in my new role as director of Eastern Arc, the regional research consortium that brings together the universities of East Anglia, Essex and Kent.

Horizon Scan: Research Funding in 2020

2020: all eyes to the horizon

What does 2020 hold in store for those working in the world of research funding? Here's what's on the horizon in the months ahead.
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Fundermentals Top 10 2019

It's been quite a year. One, I think, that we'd all rather forget. 

Well, as ever, you can trust Fundermentals to do the wrong thing. Here, with a reminder of every twist and turn of the Year that Brexit Never Was, is the top ten most popular articles on the site this year. 

Arc Welding

Arc welding (Photo by Pete Wright on Unsplash)

So today I start a new job. I'm taking on the role of Director of Eastern Arc.

If you've not come across Eastern Arc before, there's more on this regional consortium below. I'm really excited to be taking up this new challenge, and I think there's huge potential in this collaboation of three radical universities, born in a time of optimism and change, which form an arc across the outward facing prow of the UK.

Before I step up to this prow, I wanted a moment to take stock and share eight things I've learnt from my time in supporting academics with their proposals.

Global Challenges and Newton Fund: a Half Day Workshop

At a time when many funders are freezing or limiting their spending, the Government is investing heavily in research collaboration with developing (or ODA recipient) countries. This is primarily through the Global Challenges Fund and the Newton Fund. Following information days on both of these last year, this GROW event is an opportunity to talk about your plans with award holders, reviewers and funders, as well as other applicants. In addition, the workshop coincides with a visit by a small delegation of colleagues from Malaysian universities and Ministry of Higher Education. The full programme is given below.

The workshop is free and open to all at Kent and Eastern ARC partners, and refreshments (including lunch) will be provided, but places are limited and offered on a first come first served basis. Please register here.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions. 

A Hundred Years of Haldane

Philosopher-politician Richard Haldane

It was a very odd experience to read about the higher education green paper as I sat on a train rattling past Romford and Chelmsford. I was on my way to the first Eastern Academic Research Consortium conference at the University of Essex, and I was receiving emails and tweets about the approaching tsunami.

“If all its measures are enacted as planned,” suggested one commentator, “[it] will represent the biggest changes to the higher education sector since 1992.” I looked out the window. Chelmsford looked pretty much like it had always done. There was no evidence of “sweeping changes”, no apparent “battle lines drawn”. Just a grey autumn morning, rows of houses and early-morning dog walkers.

Playing in the Sand

In the last decade sandpits have become a familiar part of the academic landscape. For those of you not familiar with the concept, they are a way for academics to get together in a hotel far from the everyday pressures and demands of their university lives, to think about their research and work with others to develop new ideas.

Last week we invited Knowinnovation to run a sandpit for the new research consortium between the universities of Kent, Essex and East Anglia: Eastern ARC. It took a long time to get to this point as I had started talking to them about the possibility of such an event in October 2013.

Wanted: An Eastern ARC Officer

The Eastern Arc. No, not that one. 

I know I've been quiet for the past three weeks, but that's because I've been on holiday. Yes, it was lovely, thank you. But now back to work with a bang, and one of the first things on my to do list is to recruit an Eastern ARC Officer.

Now some of you may be wondering what an Eastern ARC Officer is. You might be forgiven for thinking it's some kind of forest ranger patrolling the mountains between Kenya and Tanzania. Nothing that exciting I'm afraid: the Eastern Academic Research Consortium (ARC) is a new collaboration between Kent, Essex and UEA to build on natural links between the three universities.

Interdisciplinary Research ‘Sandpits’

As part of the Kent’s 50th Anniversary celebrations, the University is funding three interdisciplinary research ‘sandpits’.

Sandpits are residential interactive workshops that take place over three days. Having a period of time to work with others, to focus on broad issues, test ideas and assumptions and develop interesting solutions to difficult problems is a rare opportunity in today’s academy, and goes back to the founding interdisciplinary, collegiate principles of the University.

Schizophrenia and the Funding of Regional Universities

Hull: one of 'Wave 2 Growth Hubs'

In February the Government announced that it was offering £32m to 20 regional cities in the UK to support economic growth and development. The cities, which included areas as diverse as Milton Keynes, Hull, Stoke and Sunderland, were offered the funding in return for a promise to 'improve a serious local economic problem'.

Eastern ARC Research Fellows

Last week Mel Rhose and Dean D'Souza wrote in The Guardian about the lack of entry level academic jobs. 'Securing employment is becoming increasingly difficult', wrote D'Souza. 'I do a quick search for advertised jobs. Hmm… these are few and far between. "What if there are no jobs out there for you?" a little voice in my head asks. "Perhaps you should search for a teaching job?" I pause to ponder the suggestion.'

Well, ponder no longer, Dean, for the mighty Eastern ARC is at hand with nine newly minted research fellowships which should, after five years, lead to permanent academic positions.

Now I wouldn't be surprised if Eastern ARC is new to you. To be honest, it's new to all of us. It was established in September 2013 by the Universities of East Anglia, Essex and Kent ‘to build on the universities' existing research and partnership activities to become a significant new force in research, and research training.’

Such geographic clustering has happened elsewhere. GW4 brought together Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter; and M5 and N8 have grouped universities in the Midlands and the North. Such development are perhaps not surprising, after the vacuum left by the implosion of the 1994 Group. I mulled over this in a previous post.

Initially, Eastern ARC will focus on three areas of strength across the universities:

• Digital Humanities;
• Quantitative Social Sciences; 
• Synthetic Biology.

The nine Eastern ARC Research Fellows (one in each area in each university) will develop world leading research within and between the universities. They will be appointed from 1 August 2014 at Grade 7 (£32,590-36,661), initially for a period of five years during which time s/he will be supported to gain his/her own external funding.

Not only will they be a catalyst for interdisciplinary work, but they will also play an important part in recruiting and supervising the 18 EARC students who will be recruited in 2015-16.

If successful, the Fellow will be offered a permanent lectureship after five years. The Fellow will act as the focus and catalyst for interdisciplinary research within Kent and will facilitate interaction with the other Eastern ARC partners.

Details of the positions are available on Kent's website as follows:

• Digital Humanities
• Quantitative Social Sciences
• Synthetic Biology

If you're interested in any of the positions, do drop me a line, and I'll put you in touch with the best person to answer your questions. Alternatively, you would be very welcome to come and visit Kent to look at the University, meet people, and see what potential the position offers.

Hail the Phoenix

Joni Mitchell captured it perfectly: 'you don't know what you've got til it's gone'. The repercussions of the demise of the 1994 Group will, I think, be felt for some time yet. Whilst I took plenty of sideswipes at the 1994 Group in its last, doddery years - it was such an easy target, wasn't it? - the gap that it's left is a significant one for the UK's higher education sector.

In essence, we've now got a one brand market place. The Russell Group is the Acme Corporation. It is GUM. I've heard rumours that the Russell Group was not exactly passive in the self destruction of the 94 Group last summer. If this is true, it should be ashamed of the part in played. Whilst all is fair in love, war and the feuding of mission groups, having one citadel of research is not good for the long term health of the UK's research ecosystem.

I've made no bones about believing that increasing funding concentration is a Bad Thing, and  I hope that HEFCE sticks to its guns and 'fund excellent research in all its forms wherever it is found'. I think it would be incredibly detrimental to the whole sector if we moved to a situation where we had a divide between 'research' and 'teaching' universities. It would be harmful to the early careers of many academics, but also to the experience of students. Research should inform teaching, and teaching inform research. Having a strong research ecosystem across the sector is good for the UK as a whole.

However, to ensure its survival this ecosystem needs to be protected. Someone needs to fight the corner of the non-RG universities. Someone needs to speak for the majority. I think its disingenuous - or just plain stupid - to think that individual universities can speak as loudly or be heard as widely as a collective voice.  In the weeks that have followed the closure of the 1994 Group a number of possible candidates have been suggested, such as Universities UK (UUK), University Alliance, and even the Association of Research Managers and Administrators (ARMA). 

I don't think any of these are appropriate. Both UUK and ARMA should be looking after the interests of all in the sector, both non-RG and RG. The University Alliance has a particular mission in supporting and encouraging innovation within it member institutions. What we need instead is either to get rid of all mission groups and just have a single body speaking on behalf of the whole UK HE sector, or a body who can safeguard the smaller research intensive universities. The former is never going to happen; the RG brand has become too useful to its members. The latter isn't going to happen anytime soon either: too many fingers have been burnt, I think, in the sad end of the 1994 Group. The idea behind the Senate Group was a good one, a positive one, but it was ultimately scuppered by delays and self interest.

What we are left with, for the time being, is the RG, and a patchwork of regional groupings, from N8, M5, GW4 and Kent's own Eastern ARC. These do, I think, offer a solution for the moment. They allow the member universities to be more than the sum of their parts, and to spark interesting, interdisciplinary collaborations. They may even, in time, lead to a more 'federalised' sector. But there's always a danger that 'federalised' might lead to 'factionalised', with inter-regional scrapping and the building of walls between the groups.

Despite what some say, and despite the silly playground politics they engender, I think 'mission groups' do have their place. Or rather, in a world where some belong to a powerful mission group, the rest need to have the advocacy offered by one. Let's hope that a phoenix rises from the ashes of the 1994 Group. And soon.