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Over the past several months, SESYNC has been carefully observing the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and taking measures daily to maximize the safety of our staff and participants, while still striving to provide the support our researchers need.
After much consideration, SESYNC has made the difficult decision to not move forward in issuing our requests for proposals (RFPs) that are traditionally posted in the fall. This decision includes RFPs for our Postdoctoral Fellow Program, Graduate Pursuit Program, and Pursuit and Workshop Program.
We are disappointed, but due to the continued uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic and the global nature of our researchers’ work, we feel it is in everyone’s best interest to not invite proposals for additional projects until the future looks a little clearer. Right now, there is no indication of when that might be.
As you know, part of what makes SESYNC so special is our ability to bring researchers together for intensive in-person collaboration. We know how important that component is for building community—whether it be lively discussion among our postdocs during Immersion workshops; getting to know one another during team dinners out in Annapolis; or the ease that being together in the same room brings to brainstorming sessions, breakout groups, and more.
Sadly, the pandemic has impacted our ability to provide this space for in-person interactions. In response, all of us at SESYNC have been working to adapt and especially to provide new ways for our teams to make progress. We have now moved our scheduled Pursuit meetings, short courses, and workshops online, and our resident postdocs have resumed working on their research remotely. While our research teams and staff have risen to this occasion, we also know that there will continue to be challenges inherent to this new working situation. By not issuing RFPs this fall, we believe we will have a greater capacity to support our current teams and postdocs to ensure that they can complete their research projects successfully and within their designated time frames.
We deeply appreciate your understanding in this matter. To all of our currently supported researchers, we thank you for your flexibility and unwavering commitment to your projects these past few months. We encourage you to continue to reach out to us for any additional support you may need. Please visit our resources page for more information. We will post any updates to SESYNC's website, social media, and newsletter.
Sincerely,
SESYNC
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