Dear Behavioural Science Cluster,
I hope I am catching most of you before heading out the door for a well-deserved break!
As you probably know, IAS has announced a new competition round for PhD scholarships for the coming year.
Gözde and I (as PIs of this year’s bid) have had a post-mortem meeting with Iain to receive feedback on why our cluster was unsuccessful. One of the key points that held us back was that our cluster theme was perceived as too broad. We always knew that a catch-all strategy (cluster theme = Behavioural Science), which set us apart from the other, much narrower, cluster themes, could go either way. Now we know, which way it went: the wrong one.
Anyway, what was very clear to us after meeting with Iain is that (if we want to have another go in 2024), we need to significantly narrow the cluster theme. We asked Iain if this was possible under the IAS rules that only previously pre-approved clusters were able to compete next year and he said that it would be.
So, after some pondering, Gözde and I have decided that we’d be willing to throw our hats in the ring once more - provided we have the support from the cluster.
Together with Iain, we had a look at the competing cluster themes (many of which are behavioural science in nature already) and the clearest opening (as in: least crowded field of competing bids) was in Environmental Behaviour. Given the abundance of expertise in our cluster in Behavioural Health, we are also considering a cluster theme that combines, Behaviour, Health, and Environment. This would also be a great match for the University’s new R&I strategy (Spaces, Places & Lives), as we will have to reframe our initial proposal to this R&I strategy anyway (see details here<https://stir.sharepoint.com/sites/InstituteforAdvancedStudies/Shared%20Docu…>).
So here are our questions to you:
(1) Are there any objections to entering the 2024 competition with a theme narrowed to Environmental Behaviour (and possibly added Behavioural Health)?
* Importantly: The narrowing of our cluster theme would only affect our PhD studentship bid. The theme of our Behavioural Science cluster as a research group would remain a broad tent!
* Also: If you have an alternative idea for rebranding our IAS bid (and/or would be interested in Co-PIing it), we’d be very keen to hear it
(2) Who would want to join such a revised IAS bid?
* Just as last time, we are looking for a healthy mix of senior colleagues and ECRs
(3) Optional (but highly welcome): If you raised your hand under (2), could you give us a concrete example of a potential research topic or two?
* The less general our proposal, the better our chances
We would be very happy to hear from you regarding these three points.
The deadline to submit our revised bid is Tuesday, 9th of January (thanks IAS... ;-) ). If we feel that the support from the cluster is there, Gözde and I would be willing to give it another go.
Best wishes, and happy holidays, once they come!
Gözde and Till
________________________________
Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence
The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159
