Calling all mid/senior career IR academics, please read this thread. URGENT APPEAL for support on behalf of @MyBISA, from @chasing_dragons and @ruthblakeley
https://www.bisa.ac.uk/become-a-member  1/15

Many of you have expressed concern about the impact of COVID19 on early career IR academics. @MyBISA provides vital opportunities for ECRs to build communities for themselves, through the PGN network, working group events and annual conference 2/15

In recent years @MyBISA has invested ~£95k a year in the postgraduate network, working group funding, research awards, bursaries, the LHM First Book prize, and founders fund - support for those finishing PhDs 3/15

The PGN and many of the @MyBISA working groups are led by ECRs, all of whom donate their time voluntarily. We have supported hundreds and hundreds of ECRs through this investment 4/15

Many of us mid/senior career IR academics will have built our own networks and established ourselves in the discipline through BISA. We will have also seen our PhD students engage and get a lot out of @MyBISA 5/15

We had to cancel the @MyBISA 2020 conference because of COVID19, meaning many ECRs missed a valuable opportunity to present, network, and build their careers and confidence 6/15

We have quickly moved online to replace the many valuable encounters we provide through the @MyBISA conference, over the coming months. This includes Meet the Editor events, career development webinars, and working group panels and roundtables 7/15

We will be offering ~3 online events per week over the coming months, open to @MyBISA members and non-members alike, to keep engagement and debate alive, and provide a vital lifeline for our ECRs especially, see https://www.bisa.ac.uk/events  8/15

Our fantastic @MyBISA staff of 3 are working incredibly hard to develop and sustain this activity, ensuring the vibrancy of our IR community throughout the pandemic and beyond 9/15

We also do a lot of advocacy for IR academics. @MyBISA regularly submits to national consultations on e.g. REF and TEF, and open access publishing, always seeking to push for humane approaches that take seriously issues of equality, diversity & inclusion 10/15

But we have a problem. Our @MyBISA membership has dropped by half since the pandemic, partly because conference registration normally triggers membership renewal. As a charity, there are limited ways we can accrue income, membership is one of very few income streams 11/15

If this trend continues, the long-term sustainability of @MyBISA will be under threat. We keep operating costs low, but our salaried staff members are vital to maintain our activity & keep us up to date with charity commission obligations, so income must be sustained 12/15

It would be disastrous to lose @MyBISA and all it does to sustain our discipline and support early career colleagues 13/15

Therefore, if you are a mid/senior IR academic with a secure job and stable income, we appeal to you to renew your @MyBISA membership or re-join. Do this to sustain our profession for those following in our footsteps 14/15

Please, please, please renew your @MyBISA membership, or-re-join, and set up an annual direct debit. Full instructions and rates are here: https://www.bisa.ac.uk/become-a-member . Please also urge all your colleagues to do the same. Thank you so much. 15/15