Rhythms of Grant Writing: Exploring Resonance in Academic Work

While previous research has approached the pursuit of external research funding primarily as a source of pressure in academia, this study extends the discussion by bringing the possibility of resonance to the centre of grant writing. Drawing on Rosa’s concept of resonance and Gibbs’s work on affective rhythms, we analyse how grant writing can become meaningful and engaging when the focus is on the process rather than on the end result. The analysis draws on collaborative autoethnographic reflections by three researchers working in science and higher education studies. The study identifies four interrelated rhythms of grant writing. Concentrated application periods intensify researchers’ engagement with their work and may produce an efficient applicant self, characterised by heightened capability and productivity. The anticipated release following the grant submission forms part of the appeal in the process. Application cycles also generate communal rhythms through collegial support, a sense of belonging among applicants and the formation of possible collaborations. Finally, grant writing becomes a form of academic identity work through which researchers imagine possible scholarly futures. Nevertheless, resonance in grant writing remains fragile. To capture this fragility, the study introduces the concept of shadow rhythms. They may surface, for example, when intensified work becomes difficult to leave behind, anticipated rest is postponed, application work creates tension with other areas of life, or awareness of the likely non-realisation of shared academic futures begins to unsettle efforts to engage other researchers in collaborative research.