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Deans/VPs for Research in UK #academia - those high impact papers and FEC grants you salivate over for REF, almost certainly have some roots in ‘unfunded’ research that you despise. Unfunded research is a myth - it’s paid for by UG project student effort hours, 1/n
PG students multitasking, post-docs running side projects, faculty working well past contracted hours, people sharing reagents and data and consumables across projects to maximise output. And it is the foundation of all research that we perform in the UK. 2/n
FEC hasn’t been keeping the lights on since March when the pandemic restrictions started - staff working to support students, care for patients, convert years of material for online delivery, with support staff helping facilitate, have been keeping the lights on. 3/n
For these people, research activities stopped in March, with little to no chance of re-starting again soon. These people have tried to create online learning experiences that the students deserve, even though it takes 10X as long to prepare. 4/n
They’ve spent months in crisis meetings, planning curriculum, adjusting awards & assessment arrangements, appeased regulators for professional requirements, tried to convert hands-on research projects for students to something meaningful (and safe) on line, 5/n
and then battled with new pieces of software to try to become proficient online educators. Meanwhile, their research has stopped, their chances of contributing to your REF requirements has stopped - and yet the metrics used to judge them have not. 6/n
The people most likely to be doing this are (probably) disproportionately female and/or non-caucasian - so, the very people already disadvantaged in academia. COVID highlights the disparities in academia as it does elsewhere in society. 7/n
Where will the support come from to help them restart their research productivity? How will their perceived lack of productivity (in terms of research) be accounted for in their career progression? 8/n
What will you do in your roles as research leaders to improve inclusivity and equity, and see that true value lies in the breadth of talented people in your institutes, and not in the FEC and glamour impact factors you crave? 9/n
Seize the opportunity to do something good for people, rather than portfolios. Wishing you a Merry Christmas, and a happier 2021. 10/10
