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Research Data Management Training Proposal, And: Introducing Pitch Decks

I’m starting my “Pitch Decks” category on the blog today, to start showing off some of the pitch materials I’m creating. This answers an ongoing need: how to explain what I do to people who could use my help but aren’t clear on the how or why yet. Pitch decks also help me to articulate what my process is for particular sorts of consulting, where we start, and how we define and refine a description of the need. So here’s my Data Management Skills Training Proposal. You can view it on Google Slides or as a PDF: And you can view and download it on OSF: Sarah Oelker Research Data Management Training Proposal

Expectation setting in academic projects, and the “F*** You, Pay Me” principle

Sometimes your academic project suffers from a lack of clear documentation of expectations. I recently watched Mike Monteiro’s talk “F*ck You, Pay Me,” which is aimed at creative freelance and small business people (think web design and graphic design and copywriting and things like that), and I realized that hey, I know this particular heck from library and educational technology projects. It’s not that all projects I’ve worked on in academic project spaces have been messes: far from it! But over and over in academic spaces, people are glad when I ask for clear expectations, when I bring along documents and other tools for getting us to clear and shared expectations, when I am gently firm about getting these expectations recorded. Why are they so happy about it? And why… Read More »Expectation setting in academic projects, and the “F*** You, Pay Me” principle

Research Data Management Consulting and Faceting

Last week I had a really good conversation about my RDM consulting offerings with a friend who is in an allied health field, is self-employed, and has been out of academia for a while. As I continue to refine my consulting services page and reach out to colleagues about what I’m doing, it has been really good to talk to a variety of people about what I do. My friend had trouble wrapping her head around this admittedly broad slate of things I offer as an RDM consultant. With good reason: at one point she said that my consulting services page was trying to do an awful lot, perhaps too much, and I immediately agreed. Now, there are reasons the page needs to be set up the way it is,… Read More »Research Data Management Consulting and Faceting