The Way We Ask for Money: The Changing Logics of Grant Writing in German Academia (1975-2005)

• In Event: 540 - Section on Science, Knowledge, and Technology Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 02. Evaluation and Science

Abstract

The paper addresses the question of how academic grant writing practices have changed over time. The growing importance of external funding in the academic world has affected both individuals and research organizations in significant ways. Starting from the assumption that grant writing performances are a reflection of field-wide dynamics, we argue that including the “peer“ in the review process of research proposals made research communities a central player in the allocation of scientific reputation and resources. The study will shed light on these developments and their impact on grant writing practices by linking practice theory and an institutional logics approach (Friedland and Alford 1991). While field-level dynamics have pushed competition as organizing principle of research work, we shall argue that research communities managed to buffer professional practices from radical changes by incorporating “elemental categories” (Thornton et al. 2012) of the market into the dominant professional logic. The argument draws on a qualitative, longitudinal study of grant proposals and funding program documentation in Germany from 1975 to 2005.

Author

• Kathia Serrano Velarde, Heidelberg University