The power of peer networking for improving STEM faculty job applications: a successful pilot programme

The Influence of Human Connections and Collaboration on Research Grant Success at Various Career Stages: Regression Analysis

BACKGROUND

Documenting the grant acquisition characteristics of a highly selective group of researchers could provide insights into the research and faculty development of talented individuals, and the insights gained to foster such researchers will help university management strengthen their research capacity.

OBJECTIVE

This study examines the role of human connections in the success of biomedical researchers in Japanese universities.

METHODS

This study used grant data from the Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (GIA) program, the largest competitive research funding program in Japan, to collect information on projects and their implementation systems obtained throughout the participants' careers. Grant success was measured by the number and amounts of the awards obtained while participants occupied the role of principal investigator. Human connections were quantified by the number of projects in which the participants took part as members and were classified by their relationship with the project leader. Data were matched with information on career history, publication performance, and experience of the participants with government-funded programs apart from GIA and were analyzed using univariate and multivariate regression analyses.

RESULTS

Early-career interpersonal relationships, as measured using the h-index value of the researchers who provided the participants with their initial experience as project members, had a positive effect on grant success. The experience of contributing to prestigious research programs led by top researchers dramatically increased the cumulative amount of GIA awards received by the participants over time. Univariate logistic regression analyses revealed that more interactions with upper-level researchers resulted in fewer acquisitions of large programs (odds ratio [OR] 0.67, 95% CI 0.50-0.89). Collaboration with peers increased the success rate of ≥2 research grants in large programs in situations in which both the participant and project leader were professors (OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.06-1.26). Tracking the process of research development, we found that collaboration during the periods of 10 to 14 years and 15 to 19 years after completing a doctorate degree determined the size of the project that the participant would obtain-interactions with peer researchers and subordinates during the 10- to 14-year postdegree period had positive effects on ≥2 large-program acquisitions (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.09-2.09 and OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.10-1.57, respectively), whereas interactions with subordinates during the 15- to 19-year postdegree period also had positive effects (OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.25-1.07). Furthermore, relationships that remained narrowly focused resulted in limited grant success for small programs.

CONCLUSIONS

Human networking is important for improving an individual's ability to obtain external funding. The results emphasize the importance of having a high-h-indexed collaborator to obtain quality information early in one's career; working with diverse, nonsupervisory personnel at the midcareer stage; and engaging in synergistic collaborations upon establishing a research area in which one can take more initiatives.

The power of peer networking for improving STEM faculty job applications: a successful pilot programme

To attain a faculty position, postdoctoral fellows submit job applications that require considerable time and effort to produce. Although mentors and colleagues review these applications, postdocs rarely receive iterative feedback from reviewers with the breadth of expertise typically found on an academic search committee. To address this gap, we describe an international peer-reviewing programme for postdocs across disciplines to receive reciprocal, iterative feedback on faculty applications. A participant survey revealed that nearly all participants would recommend the programme to others. Furthermore, our programme was more likely to attract postdocs who struggled to find mentoring, possibly because of their identity as a woman or member of an underrepresented population in STEM or because they changed fields. Between 2018 and 2021, our programme provided nearly 150 early career academics with a diverse and supportive community of peer mentors during the difficult search for a faculty position and continues to do so today. As the transition from postdoc to faculty represents the largest 'leak' in the academic pipeline, implementation of similar programmes by universities or professional societies would provide psycho-social support necessary to prevent attrition of individuals from underrepresented populations as well as increase the chances of success for early career academics in their search for independence.