Important words from @AtheneDonald about researchers giving credit to all those who contributed to their findings. One notable group of contributors, who are not always given the credit they're due, are technicians. https://twitter.com/AtheneDonald/status/1386298131818635266

Technicians can make vital contributions to research ( https://www.gatsby.org.uk/uploads/education/technicians-and-innovation.pdf, pp. 18-19). Yet their contributions are not always appropriately acknowledged. A classic article by Harvard historian of science Steven Shapin suggests why. https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/shapin/files/shapin-invis_tech.pdf

"In the moral economy of the laboratory there appear to be certain fundamental elements in the scientist-technician relationship," Shapin writes. In particular, "If the distinct roles of scientist and technician exist, it is the scientist who possesses the acknowledged....

authority and the scientist who is in a position to define the nature, scope and meaning of technicians' labour". Scientists can therefore "decide how officially to arrange their relationship [with technicians], whether to 'make them' ... co-authors, what counts as genuine ...

knowledge as opposed...to mere skill, and what technicians' work signifies in scientific terms." In this relationship, to use @David_Goodhart's words, head often triumphs over hand, with technicians' labour being accorded less value than scientists', so it becomes 'invisible'.

However, as Shapin also writes, "the very criteria of authority, dependence and knowledgeability used to distinguish scientist and technician are contestable in principle", so more can be done to ensure that technicians are given appropriate credit for their contribution.

Against this background, it is very good to see top scientists like @AtheneDonald also @UKRI_CEO acknowledge the key role of technicians in research. See https://wonkhe.com/blogs/we-need-to-bolster-the-research-and-technical-workforce-to-reach-the-2-4-per-cent-target/
https://twitter.com/UKRI_News/status/1357268739645964289?s=20 and https://twitter.com/UKRI_News/status/1357268739645964289?s=20

The efforts of
@TechsCommit and @MI_TechTalent are also critical in raising the visibility of the work done by technicians.

Also see https://twitter.com/PaulLew16394851/status/1361324602266431494?s=20