Ronja Hannebohm is the managing director of TRR 318. Her diverse tasks show how central this work is to the research at TRR 318. In this interview, she talks about her day-to-day work and what it means to organize a large research center.
TRR 318: Subproject Z is the central administrative project of TRR 318. Everything behind the research is organized here. What does that mean in practice and for you as managing director?
Ronja Hannebohm: As managing director of TRR 318, I am mainly responsible for three essential areas behind the scenes of our research network. The first is administration, which includes personnel management, budget planning, and controlling. Sometimes it’s very detailed, for example, when the expenses for about 80 student assistants have to be tracked down to the penny for each project. The second area is coordination, which includes internal communication with TRR members, people in the university administration, and the German Research Foundation, as well as internal event planning for our monthly group meetings, the annual TRR 318 conference, and many other events. The third area is monitoring: in the central administration project, we continuously evaluate whether everything is going well in TRR 318, whether research is progressing, and whether management can be optimized. A crucial aspect in this context is the synthesis that should emerge from the individual research projects. My role is to support the synthesis process and to work toward our second funding phase.
How do you keep track of the topics and tasks in TRR 318?
RH: I stay on top of things by mundanely having to-do lists for various tasks, making detailed project plans, and keeping structured notes – a well-thought-out system is half the battle. Many of my strategies have been with me for several years and have almost become second nature. And yes – I enjoy making lists and ticking off tasks! It also helps that I am not involved in the content of TRR 318’s work and can therefore look at the research network from the outside. From this perspective, it is much easier to keep track of the ‘big picture,’ to follow the various processes, and, if necessary, to remind people where the joint work was meant to lead.
A central task of subproject Z is to create an ideal research atmosphere in TRR 318. What does that mean in concrete terms?
RH: I try to strengthen the backs of the members of our TRR, or at least to keep their backs free, so that there is time and space for research. I demand of myself and my work that I take as much work off the researchers’ shoulders as possible and communicate with them as transparently as possible. In practice, this means, for example, that at the beginning of each year, I offer so-called budget talks – short discussions with all subprojects about the year’s financial resources and bureaucratic procedures. After these talks, all administrative uncertainties are cleared up, and the focus can be on the actual work and the research. I also take care of many small things that can significantly impact the research atmosphere in our TRR. For example, I am responsible for our open workspaces in Paderborn’s Zukunftsmeile 2, where our assistants and guests can work. In my opinion, well-equipped workplaces with prepared information, a functioning lending system, and a growing specialist library contribute at least as much to a good working and research atmosphere as a well-calculated budget.
TRR 318 brings together around 70 researchers. Most of them work at Bielefeld and Paderborn Universities but some also work at the Leibniz University of Hanover and even the Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich. How do you organize such a transregional research center?
RH: In this context, I am very grateful that in academia, as in many other areas, people have become accustomed to (post-covid) digitalization with e-mails, messengers, and video conferences – because with classic business letters, organization across four locations would certainly not work, or at least not at the same speed! Because I don’t have the same insight into the processes at the universities in Bielefeld, Hanover, and Munich as I do in Paderborn, I am in regular contact with people from the individual universities, such as officers of the respective funding administration. And since it usually works best if not just one person wants to keep an eye on everything, I use every suitable opportunity to invite the TRR members to contact me with their concerns. With around 70 researchers and more than 80 student assistants, it can happen that I don’t notice something immediately – but if the subproject asks me about it, I can react immediately and, for example, plan funds for a specific research purpose.
The research of TRR 318 is based on the concept of “co-construction,” which means that explanations are not only given but also developed in a collaborative process between the person who explains and the person to whom something is explained. Where can co-constructive procedures be found in administrative project Z?
RH: Co-constructive processes can be found wherever different people have to agree on a topic or a question. This happens in central administrative project Z, when processes have to be negotiated at the interface between research and administration. This can sometimes be quite difficult because research and management complement each other but do not always go hand in hand, have the same goals, or speak the same language. Then it is vital to communicate so that both sides understand each other and a satisfactory outcome is co-constructed.
What challenges are you currently facing in subproject Z?
RH: Preparations for our first joint retreat are in full swing. For this year’s TRR 318 retreat, all 70 researchers will come together in Hamm. My role is not only to plan the event itself – booking hotel rooms and budgeting travel expenses, for example – but also to coordinate the work in terms of content. It is essential to sound out a lot of ideas, develop concrete discussion questions and keep the different groups in mind so that the retreat is productive for everyone.
What are your wishes for TRR 318?
RH: I wish TRR 318 excellent research results and a successful application for the second funding phase. And it would be great if we could have a small summer party for all staff members this year.
Further information
The interview was published as part of the latest issue of the TRR 318 newsletter "Developing explanations together":
