Biggest Challenges Faced By A Research Specialist At University Of Southern California
Ruth's biggest challenge as a Research Specialist at USC is the lack of feedback in the grant writing process; the lengthy wait times—"sometimes it's 10 months later"—for results hinder improvement because learning from mistakes is impossible due to the lack of communication with funding teams.
Grant Writing, Fundraising, Feedback Loops, Delayed Gratification, Resilience
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
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Traits
Ruth McCormack
Research Specialist
University of Southern California
Barnard College, 2015
University of Southern California, Masters of Public Administration
History, Art History
Education, Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking
Sales and Client Management
LGBTQ
Video Highlights
1. The long wait for grant feedback can be frustrating and nerve-wracking.
2. The lack of immediate feedback makes it difficult to learn from mistakes.
3. Grant writing requires patience and persistence due to the lengthy review process and uncertainty of outcomes.
Transcript
What is your biggest challenge in your current role?
My biggest challenge in my current role is that while I love writing grants, they don't provide instantaneous feedback. There isn't a great feedback loop for the processes involved.
I don't really know how great my processes for completing grants are until months later. The fundraising world is structured such that you submit a grant and don't hear back for a couple of months.
Sometimes a couple of months is generous. It might be 10 months later, almost a year later. With that much time leading the way, it can be a frustrating and nerve-wracking experience.
If you're trying to raise money for a certain goal, you have no control over the result. You can't usually talk with the team you're asking for funds from because they try to stay impartial.
While that's good, it makes it hard to learn from any mistakes you might make. The way we learn in life is by making mistakes. If you can't learn from them, it can be a bit frustrating.
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