Category Archives: University culture

Grant Writing Mistakes part 94: The “Star Wars”

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Adam

Have you seen Star Wars?  Even if you haven’t, you might be aware of the iconic opening scene, and in particular the scrolling text that begins “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away….” (Incidentally, this means that … Continue reading →

Posted in Application advice, British Academy, Career Young Researchers, ESRC, Frustrations, Funding, University culture | Comments Off on Grant Writing Mistakes part 94: The “Star Wars”

ESRC success rates 2013/2014

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Adam

The ESRC Annual Report for 2013-14 has been out for quite a while now, and a quick summary and analysis from me is long overdue. Although I was tempted to skip straight through all of the good news stories about … Continue reading →

Posted in Application advice, ESRC, Frustrations, Funding, Funding Policy, Research Costs, University culture | 1 Comment

Pre-mortems: Tell me why your current grant application or research project will fail

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Adam

I came across a really interesting idea the other day week via the Freakonomics podcast – the idea of a project “pre-mortem” or “prospective hindsight”  They interviewed Gary Klein who described it as follows: KLEIN:  I need you to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Application advice, Funding, Funding Policy, University culture | 4 Comments

MOOCing about: My experience of a massively open online course

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Adam

I’ve just completed my first Massively Open Online Course (or MOOC) entitled ‘The mind is flat: the shocking shallowness of human psychology run via the Futurelearn platform.  It was run by Professor Nick Chater and PhD student Jess Whittlestone of … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, Public Sector, Research Impact, University culture | 3 Comments

Adam Golberg announces new post about Ministers inserting themselves into research grant announcements

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Adam

Here’s something I’ve been wondering recently.  Is it just me, or have major research council funding announcements started to be made by government ministers, rather than by the, er, research councils? Here’s a couple of examples that caught my eye … Continue reading →

Posted in British Academy, ESRC, Funding, Funding Policy, Research Impact, University culture | 4 Comments

Six writing habits I reckon you ought to avoid in grant applications…..

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Adam

There are lots of mistakes to avoid in writing grant applications, and I’ve written a bit about some of them in some previous posts (see “advice on grant applications” link above).  This one is more about writing habits.  I read … Continue reading →

Posted in Application advice, Career Young Researchers, ESRC, Frustrations, Funding, University culture | 4 Comments

ESRC success rates by discipline for 2012-13

Posted on November 15, 2013 by Adam

Update: 2013/14 figures here. With all of the fanfare of a cat-burglar slipping in through a first floor window in back office of a diamond museum, the ESRC has published its Vital Statistics for 2012-13, including the success rates by … Continue reading →

Posted in ESRC, Frustrations, Funding, Funding Policy, University culture | 1 Comment

On strike again, and why you should join a union

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Adam

Last time I took strike action was almost two years ago, and I didn’t like it then and I don’t like it now. Nevertheless, then  (as now) I think strike action is justified, and that if you’re not already in … Continue reading →

Posted in Frustrations, University culture | Comments Off on On strike again, and why you should join a union

Meanwhile, over at the ESRC…

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Adam

There have been a few noteworthy developments at the ESRC over the summer months which I think are probably worth drawing together into a single blog post for those (like me) who’ve made the tactical error of choosing to have … Continue reading →

Posted in Career Young Researchers, ESRC, Frustrations, Funding, Funding Policy, University culture | Comments Off on Meanwhile, over at the ESRC…

Demand mismanagement: a practical guide

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Adam

I’ve written an article on Demand (Mis)management for Research Professional. While most of the site’s content is behind a paywall, they’ve been kind enough to make my article open access.  Which saves me the trouble of cutting and pasting it … Continue reading →

Posted in Application advice, Frustrations, Funding, Funding Policy, Open Access, University culture | Comments Off on Demand mismanagement: a practical guide