I encourage people to apply for this call from JISC. JISC put out some good calls, although at times I worry that they they do not understand the difference between ’skilled work’ and ‘research work’. There is a big difference. Research is not necessarily ‘promoted’; it is cited within the authorial arguments of the academic monologue. It doesn’t matter how heavily research is advertised and promoted; if it is crap research it is still crap research. It may have a poor evidence base, the questions may be trivial, it may be poorly contextualised within a field, it may not be convincing, well argued, nor conclusive. A well-endowed research team may place advertisements on all the EasyJet planes in Europe that announce their research to ‘broad audiences’; however if it is crap research it is still crap research!

The JISC invites tenders to conduct a study of Online Communication and Promotion of Research Expertise.
The aim of the study is to establish how institutions are promoting their research expertise online, and whether this is effective, and to describe practices that contribute to its effectiveness in meeting the needs of the different parties involved, especially research users outside higher education.
Total funding of up to £100,000 (including VAT, travel and subsistence) is available for this project.
The deadline for proposals is 12 noon UK time on 14 December 2009.
A full version of the ITT can be found here http://www.jisc.ac.uk/fundingopportunities/funding_calls/2009/11/researchexpertiseitt.aspx