DrJonathan O'Donnell

I'm interested in new models that might help universities be better places.

Crowdfunding and micro-patronage
My PhD has looked at crowdfunding as a new way to fund research. Academics can appeal to their networks to promote their work and to fund it. It is hard work, and uncomfortable work, but some academics have found that it really works for them. If you are interested in doing a research crowdfunding campaign, let me know. I'd be happy to help.

Building on that work, I'm interested in looking at academics who are using micro-patronage to fund their research. Academics who have YouTube channels, blogs, podcasts or are producing useful tools can ask their audience to show their appreciation with regular donations. About 1% - 2% will be happy to do that. Again, this only works for a small number of academics, but it is a radically different way to think about funding research work. It works well for areas like research communication (sci comm), which can be hard to fund through other means. Again, if you are interested, drop me a line.