As one of the "peer reviewers" for the EPSRC scheme on public awareness, I
have seen proposals from "experienced" communicators and newcomers.
The schemes run by the research councils are open to all comers. Indeed, the
EPSRC has recently gone out of its way to encourage engineers with no
previous experience to join in the fun.
Having said that, as a reviewer I would expect to see at least some evidence
that the person seeking funds had exhibited at least a bit of enthusiasm for
communication. This does not have to be an expensive project - a list of
talks given, articles written or web pages presented.
Think of it as a research project. You cut your teeth on an undergraduate
project, then go on to get your PhD with your supervisor's support, and can
then venture out and begin to do your own thing. Research grants do not
begin to flow until you are some way down this road.
In the past, when assessing proposals for the Wellcome Trust for example, I
found that proposals from beginners showed little evidence that they had
looked at existing communications activities.
Too many bids set out to reinvent the wheel, especially when it came to web
sites. These proposals often seemed like thinly disguised attempts to fund
the purchase of new hardware. With luck we are now beyond that phase.
_______________________________________________________________________
Michael Kenward OBE / Phone: +44 (0)1444 400568 Fax: 401064
/
Science Writer & Stuff / My other computer is a slide rule
-----Original Message-----
From: psci-com: on the public understanding of science
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jonathan Tedds
Sent: 26 May 2004 11:23
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [PSCI-COM] Awards and encouragement
Hello
Is it just me or do many of the current funding and award schemes as
typically posted on psci-com, for example, reward those that have
*already* significantly distinguished themselves rather than encouraging
the vast majority of practising scientists and communicators who would
wish to? I recognise that in reality it becomes a difficult job to decide
who should and shouldn't receive such funds/awards without some
distinguishing mechanism and rewarding success in this regard is
in itself desirable! But when you see recipients of e.g. NESTA dreamtime
awards who already have science/art books in print at time of application
and so forth it can seem rather daunting.
So perhaps an annual open forum could be created where anyone can come
for a day and present their raw ideas for innovative science
communication to a panel and then be invited back if warranting
further interest and hence a further investment of time and effort on
behalf of the applicant? This then does not involve an excessive
time investment in the initial stages. Eventually a limited number of
applicants might be offered financial assistance/secondment and advice
having sufficiently convinced the judges. By the way, I apologise if such
a forum already exists!
I think the problem for many practising scientists is that the
usual combination of work and family responsibilities make it extremely
difficult to put into action many of the good ideas we might have. You
feel you might jeopardise your current career (where there is always that
pressure to do your job well and write up and publish ever more while on
short term contracts) if you devote the significant effort required to
invest in serious science writing. On the other hand just a small amount
of encouragement from your peers might make all the difference. Perhaps
the best will always find a way but I believe we can definitely encourage
more to try?
Cheers,
Jonathan
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr Jonathan Tedds, Tel: +44 (0)116 252 3502
XMM-Newton Survey Science Centre (XID), Fax: +44 (0)116 252 3311
Department of Physics and Astronomy,
University of Leicester, Email: [log in to unmask]
Leicester LE1 7RH, UK http://xmmssc-www.star.le.ac.uk/~jat
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