Acting as the Chair of the EMCR Forum in 2020 was one of the great honours of my career. The year started much as the previous years had, with the Executive working hard to put the finishing touches on our plan for the year. However, the arrival of COVID-19 and the shockwaves it sent through the research sector necessitated a swift pivot. We made the difficult, but ultimately wise, call early on to postpone the Science Pathways conference and shift our focus to doing everything we could to support EMCRs through the pandemic and advocate on their behalf.
As one of our first steps we designed and conducted a national survey investigating the impacts of COVID-19 on EMCRs. This provided extremely valuable information throughout the year for our numerous submissions, meetings with funding bodies and government, and media engagements, where we fought hard to ensure the impact of COVID-19 on EMCRs was not overlooked. The responses to the survey also helped us appropriately tailor a series of online webinars, virtual catchups and panel sessions. The development of a stronger online presence has been one silver lining during COVID-19, and I am confident it will prove a useful and accessible means for providing professional development opportunities for EMCRs for many years to come.
While responding to the unfolding pandemic's impact on EMCRs become our primary focus, we were able to continue to execute many of our plans for the year. For instance, the Executive rolled out a new social media strategy which saw a significant increase in our engagement through Twitter. We also began implementing changes to the Representative Network following on from a review of the initial trial period; I'm confident these changes will see the Representative Network continue to grow into an invaluable conduit for connecting EMCRs with the Executive.
The EMCR Forum evolves over each generation of the Executive and in response to the changing landscape for EMCRs in Australia. This approach has many advantages, including allowing the Executive to build enduring relationships with key decision-makers, which provides us with the access we need to advocate effectively on behalf of EMCRs.
The future of EMCRs is critical not just to the future of science in Australia but to the wealth and prosperity of our nation as a whole. Now, perhaps more than ever, the EMCR Forum is needed to provide a voice for EMCRs as they navigate through these challenging times. As I move on from my time on the Executive, I look at the 2021 Executive with a sense of immense confidence and excitement to see the great things they will achieve for EMCRs.
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