Faculty, Freelancers, and Fairness: Rethinking How We Value External Experts

Faculty, Freelancers, and Fairness: Rethinking How We Value External Experts

In academia and healthcare, inviting external experts to speak or facilitate sessions is a common practice. These engagements add richness, new perspectives, and practical value to learning. But it is worth reflecting: Do our systems of honoraria and reimbursements really acknowledge the different situations of invited faculty? Sharing an Experience Not long ago, I was invited by a reputed institution to deliver a talk and facilitate a group activity. There was no honorarium given to speakers. Happens off and on. I accept that in the spirit of sharing.  But when it came to travel reimbursement, things became unexpectedly complicated. Since…
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What do you do when you are not doing workshops or lectures?

What do you do when you are not doing workshops or lectures?

I have often been asked this question, especially after a full day workshop. Recently a young student asked me "You have recorded your ELearning programs and put them up. What else do you need to do? Why do you need more funds?" It always reminds me of the fact that many believe that women who are home makers have nothing much to do. In fact the term "sitting at home" is often used, to talk about this population! No one knows how much a home maker does. Rarely do people see the efforts that precede "any success, achievement or even…
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The challenges of fundraising

The challenges of fundraising

Raising funds to run a not for profit organization is a challenge. Sounds pretty obvious? Okay - maybe if you are an expert fundraiser you may disagree, but that applies to experts. Who may have fundraising abilities in their blood , or developed them over years. Over the years, my colleague and I have learnt several things about how to fundraise - thanks to inputs from several people including those from other NGOs, and people like Dhaval Udani , Noshir Dadrawala and more. We implemented many of these great strategies - including softer aspects like how to stay in touch…
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How to Peer Review Search Strategies

How to Peer Review Search Strategies

I recently did a short course on "How to Peer Review Search Strategies". This was offered by INSTATS - an organization that offers several excellent research related courses. What is Peer reviewing of search strategies? In India, we have a lacuna of knowledge about search strategies and the need for them to be structured. Most often very little thought is given to the strategy and it is done in an ad-hoc manner. Peer reviewing is something no one even thinks about.. The six hour session over two evenings - run by two expert Information Professionals - Carol Lefebvre - and…
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Decision making / taking responsibility

Decision making / taking responsibility

The years 1990 - 1992. I was an Assistant Librarian of the Indian Institute of Geomagmetism. Fresh out of Library School. However I was not in my twenties like most of my batchmates were. I was married and had two school going children. But having got married immediately after graduation, I was still carrying the mindset of - Listen to your elders / Do not break any rules and all the generally good/ethical stuff that one is taught. However, as a "professional", one is not often taught to make decisions that may not fall under the above We had a…
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