I mentioned in a previous blog post that I started the cottage industry that is my research area without a grand plan or vision in mind. I aimed for the low-lying fruit, did what I could with the resources I had, and never really thought too much about what happened next or where it was all going.
Despite a lack of vision, the group has done pretty well. 2011 has been especially good to us, ending with the conferment of the two CHED Best Higher Education Institution Research Program awards.
In the silence that follows, I find myself wondering: What now? What do we do for an encore? I refer not to awards but to the work in general. Over the last five years, I've done what interested me and I've let the awards come if they come. Am I missing an opportunity, though? Is there a big picture I'm not seeing or considering? Should I be acting with a little more direction, beyond the next research grant? One of the other candidates for the awards was given the opportunity to describe their project. It was a multi-million dollar project investigating poverty in different countries--just the sort of thing that could make me feel horribly self-indulgent.
How do we level up? What *is* the next level up? Something to think about.
