Many of you have contacted me with questions about the Research Plan that should b submitted as part of the job application package for the two postdoc vacancies ART/DATA/HEALTH- Research Officer in the project (deadline 5th April). Below are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions. This should help with your application. Good luck!

Q: What do I need to include in my research plan?

A: The 500-word Research Plan should contain just that – information on how your background matches the project aims. It is a short statement of how you think you can contribute towards meeting the projects aims with your expertise and experience. It is an opportunity to highlight aspects of your CV that you think are very relevant.

Focus on:

• methods and your empirical skills – this is a participatory action research project
• team working skills – you need to be able to work with partners, artists, academics, participants from disadvantaged communities.

Q: Do I need to come up with a new idea?

The 500-word statement is not a new project plan – you should not present a new idea for a completely new project but elaborate how your profile fits the Job Description, and how you will work for the project. The project outline can be found here and the most important part is this:

This Inter-disciplinary Interface Innovation Fellowship project uses health data as the source of experiential stories and as the source material for creative expression. In a series of exploratory workshops, a community of artists, academics and members of disadvantaged population will use a combination of creative media, storytelling and data analytics to explore evidence around health in their local communities. They will co-produce creative work that takes various forms (such as 3D-printed data sculptures, sound art and data murals around the city), which is inspired by both anonymised personal and open statistical health data.

Q: Will I become a Fellow? 

A: No, you will be employed as a Research Officer, assisting the Principal Investigator Dr Aristea Fotopoulou. She is the UKRI-AHRC Innovation Leadership fellow.

Q: My PhD is in X, am I a suitable applicant? 

A: Please read the relevant disciplinary fields in the Job Description and the job ad. If your themes and disciplinary background are included there then the answer is yes. If they don’t but you have done a lot of community work/professional work in these areas and you are excited about the challenge then again, yes. If all the above are NO and you need a job you can still apply but we will shortlist candidates who fit the criteria only.

Q: I don’t have a PhD yet but I am close to completion, what are my chances? 

A: If you look closely at the Job Description you will see that a PhD is desirable but not necessary for being shortlisted. So the answer is that your chances are good, go ahead and apply. The question to you will be of course, can you work 0.5FTE for the project while submitting your thesis/preparing for your Viva?

Q: Can we meet/talk on the phone/Skype for clarifications?

A: As much as I would love to talk to you, there is just not enough time to talk to everyone. The good news is that all the info is included on the website, blog, ad and job description so have a close read through everything.