The University of Salford LNL, Sharon Coen, recently relaunched their local network. Sharon is keen to share her lessons learnt, so here they are.
The backstory: Sharon originally launched the local network in December 2023. She promoted the event within her department and more widely across the university. She bought lots of mince pies for everyone, however only 3 other people turned up, she was left disappointed and with a lot of mince pies to eat.
Build a network and raise awareness in your department: Sharon realised that she couldn’t launch a local network alone, she needed help. She built a small network of people within her department that she knew would be interested in UKRN. She also raised awareness by starting a newsletter to say ‘hey, we exist, this is what we do, this is why.’
Find out what else is happening across your institution: Open research has been gaining prominence within Salford, Library staff have created an open science web page and started various open science initiatives. Sharon reached out to the organisers of these events in the Library and they invited staff from the Postgraduate Office. In addition to open science, Sharon is also passionate about sustainability and, inspired by an online event on open science and sustainability organized by Sheffield University, decided to combine these two areas to create a relaunch event for the Salford local network. A lightbulb moment gave her the title: SOS – Sustainable Open Science.
Teamwork: Sharon reached out to her new network of colleagues within the Library (Wendy Taylor, Tanya Williamson, Roy Vickers) and the Postgraduate Office (Angela Midgley) asking to work together on the new launch event. Everyone played to their strengths. Sharon proposed the theme and devised a programme that included keynote presentations, panel discussion and a workshop. She identified keynote speakers and drafted the invitation letters. Staff within the Library and Postgraduate Office advertised the event through their networks, invited speakers, booked a venue and ordered catering.
Funding: Piggyback onto other events: Find out what other relevant events are being organised and tag your event onto a larger one, this allows you to pool resources and increases the likelihood that funds can be found to cover your section of the event. In Sharon’s case the launch became part of a larger programme which included a postgraduate conference and a celebration of innovation. Working with people across the university also increases the likelihood that one or more of them may have access to small amounts of funds to cover speaker travel costs and catering. Ideally they can book travel for visiting speakers so speakers don’t need to claim expenses following the event.
The event: Create a varied event with food and discussion. Sharon welcomed everyone and there was a short pre-recorded talk by Neil Jacobs, head of the UKRN Open Research Programme, which provided valuable background and context. The keynote presentation – Parallel Paths: Supporting Open and Sustainable Research with the Digital Humanities Climate Coalition Toolkit – was given by Lisa Otty (University of Edinburgh) and Christoher Ohge (University of London). The panel discussion included fellow LNLs Thomas Hostler from Manchester Metropolitan University and Kelly Loyd from University of Leeds, Samantha Gregory (a colleague and team member from Psychology at Salford) and Tanya Williamson, the Salford Academic Support Manager. Sharon discussed and agreed a set of questions with panel members ahead of the event so they came prepared to speak on particular topics. After a scrumptious lunch everyone joined the workshop on designing postgraduate and Masters student training on sustainability and open science.
Sharon is delighted to report that this time there were 18 attendees plus the organisers, this included the Head of Community Engagement, Head of Postgraduate Doctoral School, staff from Sociology and Data Science as well as her own School of Health and Society. Importantly attendees included both academics and professional services. ‘It was such a good day’ everyone liked the event and the speakers are keen to do future events.
Next steps: Sharon’s next newsletter will include details of the event and she will follow up with speakers to discuss potential collaborations. She hopes to organise another event next year. She is also keen to explore the links between sustainability and open science so if anyone knows of project funding in this area please contact Sharon.
Longer term: Sharon would like to see Salford join UKRN as an institutional member as part of the Open Research Programme and hopes that her work promoting UKRN through the local network and her newsletter will increase visibility of UKRN within the institution.
Sharon would also like to use her membership of a Reducing Bureaucracy Working Group to embed sustainable open science within Salford working practices. Given the current focus on open research practices within research culture and reducing carbon footprints for both sustainability and the financial bottom line, this may be of interest to senior management at many universities, including Salford.
Asked if we can change the world she replied ‘Well that’s what we’re here for no?’