What makes scientists happy?

Hello helloooo,

Sooo I’ve been thinking about what makes scientists happy.
And collaboration keeps coming up as the favourite aspect of being a scientist. Bringing different skills and resources together to tackle ambitious research problems brings back our childhood memories when we used to play together. It’s even better when this collaboration is well funded for longer periods of time, say 6 years.

This is exactly what ERC Synergy Grant are for. ERC is European Research Council and it gives grants up to €10 million (additional €4 million when justified) for 6 years to a team of scientists. Two to four principle investigators (PI) coming together and working towards a shared vision. It’s awesome!

Until it’s time to communicate the shared vision and research results. That’s when things start falling apart. Because each PI and their host institution have their own preference and agenda. This leads to confusion, mixed messaging and uncoordinated posts. Almost always, the responsibility falls on the shoulders of the coordinator who is already overwhelmed with project work, teaching and other tasks.

What’s the solution here?

**Plan and allocate outreach budget when you are writing your grant proposal.**This is the only way you are able to focus entirely on the research aspects of your project. For grants like ERC Synergy, which run for 6 years and have millions at stake, your outreach has to compliment your scientific excellence. Your deserve better than some last minute, scrappy and uncoordinated LinkedIn posts. Because at the end of the day, when you’re working on something super awesome, you should tell your community about it. 😉

☝️this is valid for all kinds of research grants, not only ERC Synergy. 😉

I would love to help you with outreach aspects of your grant proposal.
I’m opening a few 20-min slots where I’ll audit your research proposal for free.

Reply to this email if you want to book a 20-min-audit with me. 🧡

Cheers,
Pranoti

PS: Registration is now open for the next edition of my Personal Branding Workshop on March 24th. Send me an email and I’ll send details your way.

Pranoti Kshirsagar, PhD
*Founder,*The Science Talk

Mannheim, Germany