Beyond Individual Projects: United by shared purpose around our Science Challenges
This piece was written by our Director, Professor Paul Matthews.
One of the developments that excites me most at the Rosalind Franklin Institute is the way our new scientific challenges are bringing together people from across disciplines to tackle problems that no single investigator could solve alone. They are helping us realise one of the Institute’s greatest strengths: an extraordinary community of scientists with diverse expertise working side by side.
Although it has only been a short time since we first discussed the Challenge programme, it is worth reflecting on why we created it.
When I joined the Franklin, I wanted to understand three things: What is the Franklin doing that really sets it apart? What excites its scientists most? And how could work in the Franklin make the greatest difference?
To answer those questions, I invited scientists across all levels to “pitch” the scientific opportunities they found most exciting. Over three days across as many months, individuals and small teams shared ambitious ideas about where their science could go next. The discussions were energetic, imaginative and, above all, optimistic.
As the presentations unfolded, clear themes began to emerge. Because of this, rather than suggesting that those ideas should develop independently, we together recognised the opportunity that lay in bringing them together. By clustering related project ambitions as a smaller number of major scientific challenges, we could create critical mass, encourage collaboration across disciplines and build something greater than the sum of its parts.
This is what led to the construction of our Challenges as a collection of focused projects. These projects are where ideas are tested, new technologies are created and discoveries are made. They are led by scientists with the freedom and responsibility to drive their research forward while contributing to a much larger scientific vision.
This balance is important.
The Challenges are intentionally ambitious. They address questions that are too important to ignore but too complex to solve through a single experiment or within a typical short funding cycle. They span advances in the physical sciences and their application to understanding biology and have the potential to transform the way we study disease and ultimately improve people’s lives. They give us long term direction for our science.
Within this long-term framework, the projects provides us with the agility to explore new ideas quickly, accept scientific risks of failure essential for bold work leading to genuine innovation and adapt our science flexibly as new opportunities arise.
Not every project will succeed and maybe only a few will succeed in every respect. That is exactly what ambitious science looks like. Some hypotheses will be disproven. Some technologies will not deliver what we first imagined. A few, however, will exceed our expectations and open entirely new directions for research! Progress depends on creating an environment where thoughtful risk taking is encouraged – that is where the most important discoveries are often found.
The challenge-project model gives us something important for our science portfolio: stability without rigidity. The challenges provide a coherent scientific identity that helps attract collaborators, partners and investment. The projects ensure that we can afford to pursue some high-risk ideas and remain flexible enough to pursue unexpected opportunities as they emerge.
Perhaps most importantly, the associated roles will help us develop the next generation of scientific leaders. The Franklin is fortunate to possess exceptional facilities and technologies, but our greatest strength has always been our people. As we pursue today’s scientific questions, we must also be investing in those who will define tomorrow’s research agenda.
By appointing Challenge Leads, Emerging Area Leads and empowering Project Leads, we are creating opportunities for scientists to develop experience not only in research but also in scientific leadership, strategic thinking and the management of ambitious programmes. Leading a focused, milestone driven project, particularly one that tackles difficult, high-risk questions, is one of the best ways to develop the confidence and judgement needed to lead larger scientific endeavours in the future. This is why I believe the challenge and project model is about much more than organising research. It is about building an environment where ambitious science, interdisciplinary collaboration and scientific leadership grow together.