Geography
FACULTY OF Environment
Living with Difference in Europe:
making communities out of strangers in an era of super
mobility and super diversity
Professor Gill Valentine: g.valentine@leeds.ac.uk
Geography
FACULTY OF Environment
Outline of Presentation
•
ERC Advanced Investigator competition
•
The characteristics of my own award
•
Some tips based on my experience
•
My career profile as PI: why my bid was successful
Geography
FACULTY OF Environment
The ERC Advanced Investigator Competition
Parts: B1 & B2
B1: The PI must have a track record of significant research
achievement (especially in last 10 years)
•
international recognition (pubs, translation, invites, prizes)
•
ability to inspire younger researchers/teams
•
establish new interdisciplinary approaches/change fields
Geography
FACULTY OF Environment
The ERC Advanced Investigator Competition
B2: quality of the proposed research
•
promote advances in the frontiers of knowledge
•
new methods and techniques (including ‘unconventional’)
•
at the interface of disciplines; high risk; potential impact
Assessment: 2 stages –
i) quality threshold (B1 -graded by panel);
ii) B2 -external evaluation (8 reports), no interview
Project C: Spaces of Conflict
Geography
FACULTY OF Environment
Programme Design
RQ: How do we develop the capacity to live with difference in an
age of supermobility and superdiversity? (€2.2.M over 4 years)
Project A
Mapping Social
Diversity
Project B
Lived Experience
of Difference
Project C
Spaces of Conflict
Project D
Meaningful
Contact
Project E
Spatial
Experimentation
Opportunities for
encounters
Transmission of
attitudes
Competing values
and rights claims
Generating social
change
Creating
meaningful contact
• Analysis of census
data to identify areas
of ‘high’, ‘medium’ and
‘low’ diversity.
• Informants sampled
from A.
• Identify examples of
existing or emerging
tensions and conflicts
in research sites.
• Identify key e.gs of
micro-publics.
• To be developed in
response to projects
A-D.
• International survey
to explore
opportunities & types
of encounter, &
experiences of
‘difference’.
• Multi-method case
studies with
individuals to explore
when, where and
how attitudes
develop over time.
• Analyse media
reports of tensions &
interview key
informants.
• Multi-method case
studies (innovative
audio-video).
• Focus groups &
video diaries with
members of the
conflicting groups.
• Recommendations
tested through focus
groups.
Geography
FACULTY OF Environment
Characteristics of my Research Design
•
All projects are inter-linked to answer one over-arching RQ
•
Leeds colleagues: early career research; interdisciplinary input
•
New staff: 6 PDRAs; 2 Ph.D. students; administrator
•
Methodological innovation (quantitative & qualitative)
•
Comparative research: West v East Europe
•
Advance theorisation
•
Provide an integrated evidence base to inform European policy
•
Budget/resources
Geography
FACULTY OF Environment
Tips:
Section B1:
•
Don’t count yourself out: science v social science model (h-index)
•
Do your homework to chose the right panel
•
Recruit an assistant to help with your career archaeology
•
Impact of work: draw on colleagues’ advice
•
It’s not too late to develop professional standing
•
Be aware the assessors have a PC to check h-indices
•
Update your web page
•
EPSS: On-line submission
Geography
FACULTY OF Environment
Tips:
Section B2:
•
Focus on a European challenge
•
Include relevant interdisciplinary literatures
•
You don’t need an international co-applicant
•
Trust the ERC guidelines and take risks with research design
•
Include methodological detail; show it is thought through
•
Involve ECRs & PhDs to demonstrate capacity building
•
Research environment: your institution needs to prepare material
•
Budget issues & start-date
Geography
FACULTY OF Environment
A tale of two professors…
Gill Valentine
• £2.2 million research income
Professor X
• Unsuccessful ESRC Centre and
LT programme bid
• 14 grants
• 3 unsuccessful applications
08/09
• 22 PhD students
• Has time-consuming
international & mature Ph.D.
students
• 152 publications
• Openly talks about rejected
paper
• 24 international visits
• Spends time being a ‘good
citizen’ in Leeds.
• Record 36 hour ‘day’
• Takes multiple holidays
So why was my ERC bid successful?
Geography
FACULTY OF Environment
Build on or learn from ‘failures’
Being a successful researcher doesn’t mean you can’t also be a good
citizen of your institution & discipline
If you don’t play, you don’t win!
So Just Do It!
(and good luck!!)