The faculty’s Brainstorm initiative supports new research ideas. First workshop helped develop global network for large project research
Online discussions have led to the creation of a network of 35 researchers from 27 countries around the world within a few months. The GRASP initiative, co-founded by Petr Witz from the Institute of Sociological Studies FSV UK, connects experts working on large projects and their sustainability. An important impetus for the further development of the network was its first joint meeting, which was made possible by the new faculty program Brainstorm.
So-called large projects include, for example, the construction of a new high-speed railway or nuclear power plant, a large-scale urban transformation, a space program or an initiative related to the development of artificial intelligence. What they have in common is their complexity: they last for many years, involve a number of institutions and actors, and their success depends on the ability to reconcile different interests, resources and decision-making methods.
“If they are to meet expectations and be sustainable in the long term, they require a comprehensive approach and coordination of a number of institutions and organizations,” explains researcher Petr Witz. According to him, appropriately set methods of governance and coordination are therefore one of the basic prerequisites for success. However, it is certainly not guaranteed. “We see a whole range of examples of failures of large projects around us, which are almost becoming the rule. Hence the GRASP initiative.”
Furthermore, according to Witz, knowledge about major projects remains largely scattered. GRASP (Governance for Sustainability of Major Projects) therefore wants to connect and systematize them. “The network currently includes experts in the fields of transport infrastructure, energy, sustainability, spatial development, architects, specialists in major events and activities, and many others,” adds Witz.
From online networking to real collaboration
The first opportunity for a joint in-person meeting was brought about by support from the new faculty program Brainstorm. Ten researchers gathered for the two-day meeting, with other colleagues joining remotely. The result is a concrete work plan for the next year and an outlook for the next three years. “The first hybrid meeting enabled by the faculty program Brainstorm was in many ways a breakthrough and an impetus for the further development of the GRASP network. It generated a whole range of new, stimulating ideas and specific tasks,” says Witz. “The FSV UK has also demonstrated that it can play a leading and coordinating role in similar international research initiatives.”
Joint discussion of new research topics is at the heart of the Brainstorm program, which focuses on a phase of research for which there is often not much space left in normal academic operations: developing new ideas through open scholarly discussion. “Academics are under great pressure to publish, submit grants and produce demonstrable results relatively quickly,” explains Arnošt Veselý, Vice-Dean for Science and Research at FSV UK, who initiated the program. “This is largely understandable, but the side effect is that there is surprisingly little time and space left for truly open and creative scholarly discussions. Yet these are often where the most interesting research questions and findings arise.”
As part of the program, the faculty provides institutes with funds for small professional workshops with foreign researchers. Instead of a classic conference or seminar, a smaller group of participants will meet and be given one or several days for discussion. An important part of the program is minimal administration. Organizers do not have to promise a publication or a new grant application in advance. The result of the meeting may be an international project or long-term research collaboration – but also the discovery that the original idea is not leading anywhere.
“We wanted to build Brainstorm a bit the other way around: to create a safe space where it is possible to come up with something new, not yet finished, discuss it with people from different backgrounds and also accept that some ideas will ultimately come to nothing,” describes Vice-Dean Veselý. “Of course, we will be happy if some workshops later result in joint articles, international projects or longer-term research networks. However, Brainstorm is based on the belief that before all this, there must be a space where the ideas themselves can arise and mature,” he adds.
Map of world megaprojects
In the case of GRASP, the first joint meeting has already brought concrete plans for the next period. One of them is the completion of a web platform that is to connect experts involved in large projects and concentrate knowledge from different parts of the world. It will include a so-called case bank – a database of case studies, to which researchers and practitioners will be able to add structured knowledge about specific projects. The network wants to gradually collect and systematize information on major projects from around the world and later also incorporate advanced analytical tools into the database.
In addition, the initiative is preparing joint publications, a thematic issue of a professional journal, a series of webinars and a program for doctoral students. They can join GRASP now and contribute, for example, with knowledge of specific cases. The long-term goal is to also raise funds for joint doctoral programs.
Space for ideas
Brainstorm is not limited to specific research topics. What is important is innovation – new and little-researched topics or ideas that lead researchers beyond their current field of interest should receive support. The composition of the participants is also important. Brainstorm is intended to connect not only researchers from different institutions and countries, but also scientists at different stages of their academic careers – from established researchers to postdocs and doctoral students.
“In the long term, I would like Brainstorm to contribute at least in a small way to further improving the scientific culture at the faculty. Today, FSV UK is very successful in publications and obtaining grants, but in my opinion, further qualitative progress requires even greater involvement in international research networks and, above all, an environment in which new and bolder research questions will naturally arise, which may then be advantageous, for example, in European Research Council (ERC) projects,” says Veselý.
The success of the program will therefore not be measured only by the number of workshops held. The ambition is longer-term: to make it natural for the faculty to devote time not only to the implementation of already prepared research, but also to the uncertain phase that precedes it. “I consider such a space for intellectual experimentation to be absolutely crucial for long-term quality science,” concludes Veselý.
