Survey on early career travel support shows geographic, career stage, and indigenous status inequality in access to polar science events

Abstract

Abstract. Scientific meetings, conferences, field schools and workshops provide essential networking and training opportunities for early career researchers, but in highly international fields like polar sciences, attending these events can involve extensive travel. We surveyed Association of Polar Early Career Scientists members and other early career members of the polar science community to investigate the geographic and international variability in travel support relative to costs across the early stages of a researcher's career (Masters students, PhD students, post-docs and those in faculty or permanent research positions). 190 respondents from 38 countries answered questions on the perceived availability of different types and sources of travel funding and described up to three events they attended over the last two years. We found that the cost of attendance prevented nearly three-quarters of respondents from participating in at least one career-relevant events in the preceding two years. Due to insufficient research funding, early career researchers frequently have to top up partial support with personal funds. Increased event-based travel support would help to reduce out of pocket expenses, as would the timely notification of a travel award to benefit from early bird registration and cheaper travel and accommodation. Replacing the more common practice of travel reimbursement with a travel advance would remove another barrier to attendance. Large disparities in what kinds of expenses are covered exist between geographic regions and funding mechanisms. Addressing the disparities in travel support for career-relevant events will promote diversity and foster inclusion in the next generation of polar scientists.

Overcoming the Obstacles Faced by Early Career Researchers in Marine Science: Lessons From the Marine Ecosystem Assessment for the Southern Ocean

“…However, there are numerous obstacles to ECR involvement in such initiatives (Patterson et al, 2013;Sobey et al, 2013;Jaeger-Erben et al, 2018;Pannell et al, 2019). Examples include a lack of relevant research or support networks (Bridle et al, 2013;Macoun and Miller, 2014;Freeman, 2018), scarcity of long-term contracts (Sobey et al, 2013), failure to include contributing ECRs in papers (Maestre, 2019), a lack of travel support (Bradley et al, 2020) and a competitive academic hierarchy (Pannell et al, 2019). In this manuscript, we explore these obstacles and suggest actions to overcome these barriers using our experiences from the Marine Ecosystem Assessment for the Southern Ocean (MEASO) initiative.…”

The Need for Sustainability, Equity, and International Exchange: Perspectives of Early Career Environmental Psychologists on the Future of Conferences

“…Those facing visa issues or lacking funding for (long-distance) travel are systematically disadvantaged by in-person conferences ( McInroy, 2018 ). Caretaking responsibilities and physical or mental disabilities or illnesses similarly inhibit travel ( Bradley et al, 2020 ; Henderson, 2021 ). More recently, travel regulations put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., tests and vaccinations as entry requirements) may place additional travel burdens on some ( Matthies et al, 2021 ).…”

Shifting Perspectives in Polar Research: Global Lessons on the Barriers and Drivers for Securing Academic Careers in Natural Sciences

“…However, tenured researchers perceived networking as a stronger success factor than did developing researchers, who initially face practical challenges in building professional relationships in international contexts. A recent survey reported that the cost of attendance prevented nearly 75% of polar researchers from participating in at least one career-relevant event (scientific meetings, conferences, workshops) that could have provided essential networking, particularly for EMCRs, in the preceding 2 years (Bradley et al, 2020). While the COVID-19 pandemic has increased online conference/workshop attendance (e.g., the SCAR 2020 Open Science Conference), these virtual events make it hard to network (e.g., Blackman et al, 2020).…”