Shoot first, ask questions later - research funding edition
December 24, 2022 9:43 AM Subscribe
Earlier this year, my supervisor (not academia) submitted a proposal for funding for a research idea. However, having dug into it a bit more, it looks to me like big chunks of the projects will be unfeasible, or at least not feasible to an acceptable standard. How to proceed?
Some context on my workplace: I do not work in academia, but my organization produces white papers and research-type projects, among other types of work. This project will undergo some degree of peer review, but not as rigorous as if we were to publish it in an academic journal.
Some context on my work goals: I am working towards moving away from the white-paper-research-type work into a related area in the coming year or two, maybe while staying within my organization, but maybe outside of it.
I was not expected to (and did not) play a big role in the ideation or the proposal writing, as I was busy with other work. Without knowing much about the project, everything seemed fine and I trusted Boss’ judgment. We have since then received the funding and I am expected to work on the project. The project that contains two related parts, for anonymity, say, Yule log recipes and Yule log production technology, with the latter being the more innovative (and thus important) part of the proposal. Since I started working on the project, I’ve come to realize that while Boss is an expert in Yule log recipes, Boss has little background in Yule log production technology. I am more knowledgeable about log production technology and was able to identify major issues with the production technology part of the proposal once I looked at the details. I am convinced that the final product will not be good enough to add to the existing literature on Yule log production technology and, while I can put my head down and doing the work as Boss intends to, I would not want my name to be associated with it.
Following AskAManager’s advice, I tactfully communicated my worries to Boss multiple times, expressing that I have major concerns about the feasibility of the Yule log production technology section, and suggesting that we discuss our plan for that section with an expert on log production technology before we proceed. Boss appeared to understand and to be open to discuss with an expert, but I’m not sure that they understand (or want to admit to) the gravity of the situation, as they are in no rush to discuss with the expert and instead intend to submit a progress report to funding body promising the same product that was outlined in the proposal.
I wish I had been more involved in the project ideation stage. At that stage, Boss had consulted individuals with some knowledge of Yule log production technologies, but no one who was involved enough to actually work through the technicalities. I’ve tried coming up with alternatives for the production technologies section, but nothing that would work given the current funding and timeline. Unfortunately, this also affects my motivation at work (which was already kind of waning - see below), and the esteem I have for my supervisor. I’m not sure how to proceed without harming what is an important (and otherwise good) working relationship.
Should I just with the analysis as requested even though it’s frustrating and demotivating, especially considering that this is a long and labour-intensive project? (This is not the first time a suggestion I have made have been ignored in this team - about a year ago, I suggested a project idea, which was received with very little enthusiasm, then picked up by someone else on the team several months later only to be scooped by a different team... It was very angering - getting scooped proved that it was a good idea proposed at the right time.) Should I request that my name not be on the final product? I feel like that would hurt Boss and I’s rapport. Should I speed up my move to the different area I'd like to work in? That would throw a wrench in Boss’ plan for the project, as hiring a replacement would take a while. I'd like to avoid burning bridges.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the situation.
Some context on my workplace: I do not work in academia, but my organization produces white papers and research-type projects, among other types of work. This project will undergo some degree of peer review, but not as rigorous as if we were to publish it in an academic journal.
Some context on my work goals: I am working towards moving away from the white-paper-research-type work into a related area in the coming year or two, maybe while staying within my organization, but maybe outside of it.
I was not expected to (and did not) play a big role in the ideation or the proposal writing, as I was busy with other work. Without knowing much about the project, everything seemed fine and I trusted Boss’ judgment. We have since then received the funding and I am expected to work on the project. The project that contains two related parts, for anonymity, say, Yule log recipes and Yule log production technology, with the latter being the more innovative (and thus important) part of the proposal. Since I started working on the project, I’ve come to realize that while Boss is an expert in Yule log recipes, Boss has little background in Yule log production technology. I am more knowledgeable about log production technology and was able to identify major issues with the production technology part of the proposal once I looked at the details. I am convinced that the final product will not be good enough to add to the existing literature on Yule log production technology and, while I can put my head down and doing the work as Boss intends to, I would not want my name to be associated with it.
Following AskAManager’s advice, I tactfully communicated my worries to Boss multiple times, expressing that I have major concerns about the feasibility of the Yule log production technology section, and suggesting that we discuss our plan for that section with an expert on log production technology before we proceed. Boss appeared to understand and to be open to discuss with an expert, but I’m not sure that they understand (or want to admit to) the gravity of the situation, as they are in no rush to discuss with the expert and instead intend to submit a progress report to funding body promising the same product that was outlined in the proposal.
I wish I had been more involved in the project ideation stage. At that stage, Boss had consulted individuals with some knowledge of Yule log production technologies, but no one who was involved enough to actually work through the technicalities. I’ve tried coming up with alternatives for the production technologies section, but nothing that would work given the current funding and timeline. Unfortunately, this also affects my motivation at work (which was already kind of waning - see below), and the esteem I have for my supervisor. I’m not sure how to proceed without harming what is an important (and otherwise good) working relationship.
Should I just with the analysis as requested even though it’s frustrating and demotivating, especially considering that this is a long and labour-intensive project? (This is not the first time a suggestion I have made have been ignored in this team - about a year ago, I suggested a project idea, which was received with very little enthusiasm, then picked up by someone else on the team several months later only to be scooped by a different team... It was very angering - getting scooped proved that it was a good idea proposed at the right time.) Should I request that my name not be on the final product? I feel like that would hurt Boss and I’s rapport. Should I speed up my move to the different area I'd like to work in? That would throw a wrench in Boss’ plan for the project, as hiring a replacement would take a while. I'd like to avoid burning bridges.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the situation.
Some ideas for your consideration…Can you be more direct with your boss about your concerns? Is it feasible to give them an alternative proposal, where you take the lead on the expert consultation? Can you just propose a plan that requires little from your boss besides saying “sounds good”? It may be that they don’t care enough to take action, but also don’t care enough to object to a reasonable idea.
In this kind of situation you ideally want to find a solution that elegantly pivots from the infeasible idea to something that has value for everyone, even if it’s different from the original idea (unless that would risk the funding). All that said, an awful lot of research doesn’t really advance the state of the practice. If you write up obvious conclusions very neatly you may still do some good.
posted by chocotaco at 10:22 AM on December 24, 2022
In this kind of situation you ideally want to find a solution that elegantly pivots from the infeasible idea to something that has value for everyone, even if it’s different from the original idea (unless that would risk the funding). All that said, an awful lot of research doesn’t really advance the state of the practice. If you write up obvious conclusions very neatly you may still do some good.
posted by chocotaco at 10:22 AM on December 24, 2022
It may be worth discussing how tightly your funding body likes to keep its organisations to what they put in their applications. Some are very lucky about the specifics, others are more willing to bend.
posted by biffa at 10:28 AM on December 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by biffa at 10:28 AM on December 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
"they are in no rush to discuss with the expert"
Is it up to them? Could you go ahead and start the discussion?
I don't know what you should do. I do know that every time I've allowed myself to be talked into a project I expected to fail, I've regretted it. Better to fail at the start than to fail after months of unmotivated effort, if those are the only choices.
posted by floppyroofing at 11:25 AM on December 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
Is it up to them? Could you go ahead and start the discussion?
I don't know what you should do. I do know that every time I've allowed myself to be talked into a project I expected to fail, I've regretted it. Better to fail at the start than to fail after months of unmotivated effort, if those are the only choices.
posted by floppyroofing at 11:25 AM on December 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: If you were an outside consultant hired by your boss to recommend a course of action based on this realization (i.e. part of the promised work not being a good idea):
- What else would you need to find out? Is the grant flexible? Are there ways to amend the scope of work, or re-focus the work, that would be more valuable? Can you opt out of it? Can you find another expert to bring in? Are there questions or issues about manufacturing yule logs that could be addressed in a valuable way? Can the work be re-steered or the grant re-focused?
- Do you know this, or can you estimate it: If some kind of change is possible, how much work and expense would that involve?
- Do you have a full understanding of at least three reasons your boss wouldn't want to change course? Understanding that will also help you get a handle on your boss' character and how you feel about them (and about continuing to work for them).
- Given the above conclusions, what course would you recommend to your boss? Is there a good second choice strategy?
- What is the most emotionally savvy way you could bring that up to your boss? (A consultant would put thought into how to present the information).
- If you do all the above but don't get a useful amount of attention, is there an ethical, responsible, sensitive way you can try to prompt more attention? (i.e., making the downsides of a bad decision more prominent -- losing credibility, worse future hires, losing enthusiasm in current staff, funding difficulties in the future, waste of research resources when more efficiently produced yule logs are desperately needed?)
- If all of that fails, then what are your boundaries?
posted by amtho at 2:32 PM on December 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
- What else would you need to find out? Is the grant flexible? Are there ways to amend the scope of work, or re-focus the work, that would be more valuable? Can you opt out of it? Can you find another expert to bring in? Are there questions or issues about manufacturing yule logs that could be addressed in a valuable way? Can the work be re-steered or the grant re-focused?
- Do you know this, or can you estimate it: If some kind of change is possible, how much work and expense would that involve?
- Do you have a full understanding of at least three reasons your boss wouldn't want to change course? Understanding that will also help you get a handle on your boss' character and how you feel about them (and about continuing to work for them).
- Given the above conclusions, what course would you recommend to your boss? Is there a good second choice strategy?
- What is the most emotionally savvy way you could bring that up to your boss? (A consultant would put thought into how to present the information).
- If you do all the above but don't get a useful amount of attention, is there an ethical, responsible, sensitive way you can try to prompt more attention? (i.e., making the downsides of a bad decision more prominent -- losing credibility, worse future hires, losing enthusiasm in current staff, funding difficulties in the future, waste of research resources when more efficiently produced yule logs are desperately needed?)
- If all of that fails, then what are your boundaries?
posted by amtho at 2:32 PM on December 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
I’m in a somewhat similar boat - my boss’s research program covers a lot of ground, and she’s been a bit scattershot applying for funding for some wildly different projects, and our projects have some conceptual problems that could have been avoided if she’d done a good lit review. Bring it up as often as you feel you can, do the work, try to get out. I had some success tying it back to the literature, like, we need X skill, all papers in Yule log production have it, I’m going to talk to Y person at our institution (ideally) who’s experienced with it, given the timeline we might need to bring in another author.
Also, I’ve peer-reviewed some really, really bad papers. Most research is pretty incremental. Do you have a mentor / friendly peer you feel safe talking to about this? Standards between fields vary, maybe this could be salvageable.
posted by momus_window at 7:15 PM on December 24, 2022
Also, I’ve peer-reviewed some really, really bad papers. Most research is pretty incremental. Do you have a mentor / friendly peer you feel safe talking to about this? Standards between fields vary, maybe this could be salvageable.
posted by momus_window at 7:15 PM on December 24, 2022
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I'd speed up that move, in your shoes. Boss's need to hire a replacement for you is not your problem to solve, and shouldn't burn bridges unless Boss is extra-unreasonable.
posted by humbug at 10:17 AM on December 24, 2022 [2 favorites]