Researchers should encourage each other to apply for funding
Many colleagues who are hesitant about joining the funding application race might actually develop themselves as researchers – and also as leaders – if they dared to take a chance, says Anne Marit Waade.
"We should be much more encouraging in the environments so that it became part of our culture to encourage each other to apply for funds," says Anne Marit Waade. She is research programme director for 30 academic staff in the research programme Cultural Transformations at the Department of Aesthetics and Communication. The researchers are divided into smaller units under the research programme, including audio culture, creativity and culture production, fan culture and celebrities, participatory culture, democratic society and cultural tourism.
As research programme director she organises joint events for the academic staff and is responsible for creating the space to discuss questions like: How do we improve our publishing? Which calls interest us? How do we best apply for funds?
"Many people might keep quiet because they think they aren’t good enough, or that it doesn’t need to be right now, or maybe they aren’t completely certain that they have the energy on top of teaching for example," says Anne Marit Waade.
Greater acceptance will make it easier
Anne Marit Waade believes that researchers should be more open than is the case at the department today, both in relation to showing greater interest in applying for funding, and in relation to creating a culture where they support each other in working on applications.
"I believe that a greater acceptance of the fact that it is self-evidently also part of our work would make it easier for some of our colleagues."
Do not keep ideas to yourself
She continues:
"We have to be able to talk about what interests us instead of the way it is now, where some people keep their ideas to themselves for different reasons. In a way ideas are also trade secrets, but we don’t make any money on them. Instead we should have a much more open dialogue about issues like: What is a good research question, a good research idea. We ought to take a look at each other's formulations and read each other’s applications. And discuss them much more openly."
Translated by Peter Lambourne.