Peer Review Panel Archetypes

Another great post from Prof Athene Donald, which chimes in with what our own Prof Mick Tuite spoke about in his recent talk. Delicacy has meant that I drew a veil over his own descriptions of panel archetypes - you have to come along to his next Grants Factory talk to find out how he defined his fellow members! - but Prof Donald provides a great typology, including:

• Dr Mouse: inaudible, tentative - and ubiquitous;
• Dr Underprepared: but always an excuse on hand for his being so...
• Drs Centre of Attention & Bore: a Jekyll and Hyde combination, holding centre stage at the opposite end of the spectrum from Dr Mouse.

Read the rest of her excellent and eye-opening blog for more on those - and other - archetypes. And do make sure you come along for Mick's next talk to get his take.

EPSRC Call for Advisory Panel Nominations

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is seeking nominations for its three principal advisory bodies, the Technical Opportunities Panel (TOP), the User Panel (UP) and the Societal Issues Panel (SIP).

The panels consist of senior, experienced figures from the academic, industrial, and commercial communities, and help to formulate policy by advising the EPSRC Executive.
This is an open invitation to nominate people who you think would be suitable for the panels. It is also possible to self-nominate. More details as to how to do so are available here.

I'd always encourage staff to go for this: it gives an insight into the workings of a major funder, raises your profile, and - hopefully - offers an opportunity to influence policy. What's not to like?