Writing retreat for researchers: Q&A with Julie Emontspool

 

How did the writing retreat contribute to your proposal writing? 

– We held two writing retreats, which had different purposes. The first writing retreat included a core team of consortium partners and lasted 1,5 days. This retreat allowed us to agree upon and carve out the broad lines - objectives, methods, work package contents, expected results etc - of the project. 

 

How did it contribute to the collaboration in your project? 

In addition to allowing for this joint work on main aspects of the project, the possibility of meeting physically for a longer stretch of time was important as it enabled us to learn about and discuss our respective academic approaches both theoretical and methodological, which ultimately contributed to the project’s overall consistency.

It allowed partners who did not know each other yet to learn about each other in a more informal way, which created trust among project partners and thereby contributed to the smooth running of the application process. 

What did you do in your second writing retreat?

We held a second, smaller writing retreat in the weeks running up to the application deadline with the local SDU team (researchers & RIO funding advisors).

This second retreat allowed us to collaboratively concentrate on filling gaps in the application’s contents but more importantly on ensuring that the application was coherent across its constituting elements, and its expected contribution was brought forward in the strongest possible way. 

Would you recommend it to peers and why?

– Yes, for the reasons named above.

Read more about the requirements for applying for writing retreats below.

Requirements for going on a retreat 

Researchers can apply for individual, or consortium stays of three to six days. This is one of the initiatives under SDU’s research funding strategy. Among other things, the initiative aims to ensure stronger applications. 

The retreat allows researchers to dedicate themselves to the application process without interruption. The time should be spent on project development or finalising an application.

Writing retreats are primarily awarded to researchers who are applying for funding from The Danish National Research Foundation, private Danish foundations, and EU funding.

When submitting applications to the EU, EU start-up funds must be applied for before applying for funds from this internal pool. Researchers can contact their head of department or faculty for more information about writing retreats.