Simon Hettrick
Professor Simon Hettrick is Deputy Director of the Software Sustainability Institute, and a Director of the Southampton Research Software Group.
The Enterprise Community in FEPS
Simon Hettrick, Philly Broadbent and Anthony Quinn
22 July 2022 - Enterprise Away Day - Southampton - @sjh5000 ORCID: 0000-0002-6809-5195
Why?
- No one really knows any detail about the "enterprise community"
- Fantasy-based policy making
- The enterprise community is much broader than most people think. We can't support it, if we don't understand it.
- Solution was to run a survey, to gain broad understanding, followed by focus groups, to gain in-depth insight.
Survey
- 1352 staff in FEPS (all pathways)
- We received 224 responses
- Generates a confidence level of 95% with a margin of error of 6%
- These results are preliminary and the charts are basic
Which School/Unit?
Do you conduct enterprise activities or plan to conduct them?
Only 91 ERE (Enterprise) staff
What kind of activities?
To what extent do you believe the University values enterprise
To what extent do you believe the University values enterprise
How well does the University support its staff in conducting enterprise activities
How well does the University support its staff in conducting enterprise activities
Barriers to enterprise
Have you ever applied for promotion?
To what level was your most-recent promotion application
Were you successful?
How do you rate the promotion process?
Focus groups
- 9 focus groups with 22 people in total
- Analysis is not complete
Recognition
"[Enterprise is] the word of mouth of everyone, but the policy of no one"
"Senior management pay lip service to enterprise, which is a veneer over what is actually happening"
"Why does the Associate Dean (Enterprise) keep quitting?"
Support
"Enterprise opportunities are of our own making"
"Why am I adding 150% overheads and then I have to pay for everything in addition?"
"We know one person in finance who's pretty good. We go to them."
"If someone goes on holiday, you're sunk"
Promotion
"Three external referees for a £50k job is a joke"
"The balanced pathway does not allow us to represent what we're doing"
"[The balanced pathway] is not balanced three ways. It's balanced research and teaching."
Workload
"Monday to Friday is for admin and the weekend is for research"
"What do you want me not to do?"
What next?
- Write a report and make recommendations
- Publish the data under an open licence
- Continue to lobby
The Enterprise Community in FEPS
By Simon Hettrick
The Enterprise Community in FEPS
Presented at the FEPS Enterprise away day on 22 July 2022.
