This is one of those blogposts that started life as an email. I was asked for suggestions by a colleague who wanted to support their academic staff by creating friendly spaces in which they could share their concerns, build camaraderie, and not feel alone. This colleague could see that their Early Career Researchers (ECRs) were […] … learn more→

Every journal article is expected to make a contribution. The writer has to say something that adds to the conversation about the particular topic in the target journal. And through this addition, they participate in the discussion in the field. If a journal article does not offer a contribution, or if the contribution is not […] … learn more→

NOTE for those who don’t know what the ARC (Australian Research Council) or DECRA (Discovery Early Career Research Award) are: The funding body and specific scheme is not the crucial part here. Research grant cycles often include a step where you can respond to what reviewers say about your funding application. While this post focuses on rejoinders for ARC […] … learn more→

In the global academic community, there is a view that Indonesian scientists absorb scientific developments like following a mere trend. This is seen in the social sciences and humanities. The development of theory in a global scope is often used as a reference for Indonesian academics in teaching, research, and even as a topic of conversation […] … learn more→

For the last year I have been working on an evaluation for a client in London, England. The client is Trust for London, a grant-giving charity. I am helping to evaluate Strengthening Voices, Realising Rights, a pioneering initiative in which the Trust is trying to co-produce funding with grantees. I say ‘trying’ because it has proved extremely […] … learn more→

The recently released report of the review into initial teacher education recommends universities use randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to find evidence for effective methods of educating teachers. It says: Randomised controlled trials are indeed the “gold standard” for specific kinds of medical research. They are the best way to compare a new treatment to either a standard […] … learn more→

Over the past few years, the Morrison government has made A$2 billion funding commitments to everything from the critical minerals and rare earths industry to bushfire recovery. Now the government has made yet another $2 billion announcement of an “action plan to supercharge research commercialisation”. It’s a longstanding challenge, one that many said should have been acted on long ago. This […] … learn more→

Scott Morrison recently announced a $2.2 billion Research Commercialisation Action Plan for the next ten years. The plan centres on a competitive grant scheme to promote start-ups and industry partnerships. The prime minister’s message to universities was clear: “we need to find and develop a new breed of researcher entrepreneurs in Australia”. The statement came on the heels of […] … learn more→

When a paper is published could seem obvious but this is not a trivial question. For some time now, a research article can display several different dates that can prove confusing when trying to work out when a scholarly publication is actually released. In the hardcopy print era, before the Web shook up the academic […] … learn more→

The polarization of the discussions but also the scale of the public health issues in the debate on the scientific reliability of preprints have not always allowed the general public to grasp the importance of the peer review process – also called “evaluation” – for the functioning of the scientific community. The publishing model in today’s academic […] … learn more→