ARMA Getting out of Here

Well excitement's mounting for the ARMA Conference next week. I hope to see some of you there: I'll be taking part in sessions on Key Performance Indicators with Jon Deer (lots of heckling for this, please), and on Using Social Media in Research Support with Adam Golberg, David Young and Julie Northam (heckling voluntary).

In addition I've teamed up with Jacqueline Aldridge to do a poster around the 'Grants Factory' concept. I've used my moribund cartooning skills to try and reinvigorate the lost art of the conference poster. Come along and see the real thing in all its g(l)ory.

If you tweet, the hashtag for the Conference is #arma2012, so you can join in virtually if you can't make it in person.

Research Funding Toolkit

My colleague Jacqueline Aldridge has collaborated with Prof Andrew Derrington (Executive PVC, Liverpool) to write a brilliant new handbook on how to prepare a successful grant application.

As I'm sure regular readers will know, drafting an application is no walk in the park, and it's easy to take rejection personally. This book gives you practical advice on how to structure and write a proposal so that it has the best chance of success. It offers hints and tips on understanding your audience, helping them to see the importance and urgency of your project, and making sure that your application stands out from the pile.

But enough sales talk. Have a look yourself. There's a sample chapter on the Amazon website, here. Jacqueline and Andrew have also set up a website, complete with blog, here.

Last Grants Factory Workshop Today

Prof Andrew Derrington, the Dean of Social Sciences here at Kent, will be giving the last of his 'Grants Factory' workshops today. These proved to be extremely useful and popular over the summer, and helped applicants understand how to frame their proposals so that it was clear what their research question was, why it was important, how it was going to be answered and how it was going to be effectively disseminated.
Prof Derrington will be heading off to be PVC at Liverpool in the new year, and we wish him well. In his absence the 'Grants Factory' will develop into an ongoing internal peer review system, with 'monthly mock panels' being led by senior academics who have had experience of sitting on funders' panels. Applicants will be able to bring their proposals along to the mock panels and have them reviewed by their peers. More details to follow.