No matter what age you are, if you identify as an Early Career Sociologist then this forum is for you.  While the BSA has a long-standing history of support for its postgraduate members, recent discussions have identified the need for specialised support services for postdoctoral or early career sociologists.  The EC Forum (ECF) has now been ratified by the BSA Executive Management Committee, and was formally launched at the Annual Conference in April 2009.

We recognise the distinct set of challenges facing Early Career Sociologists in the current academic and employment climate, and the forum seeks to meet the specific needs of the BSA’s ECF members.  Working in conjunction with the BSA’s thriving Sociologists Outside Academia group (SOAg) and other organisations (e.g. C-SAP), we hope that the EC Forum will become a network for support and career development.

Intended Services:

• Training/skill enhancement days (e.g. module design and teaching; academic job applications; publications; funding applications; article refereeing; knowledge transfer strategies).
• Quarterly e-newsletter (ECF member profiles, events, call for papers, etc.).
• Representation in Network for our members to discuss ECF issues.
• Specialised ECF area on the BSA website (including discussion forum, regularly updated list of forthcoming ECF events, database of funding bodies/awards for ECFs, space to share good teaching practice).
• ECF workshops at the BSA Annual Conference.

We recognise that securing grants to attend conferences or run small research projects may be difficult early on, as Early Career Sociologists are no longer eligible for postgraduate funding and may not be financially supported by their departments. As such, we hope to develop financial assistance for Early Career Sociologists through this Forum and will work hard to make this a reality in the first year.

Following a successful launch of the EC Forum at this year's annual conference, we are currently canvassing the EC Forum members for their thoughts and ideas for the development of this group so watch this space!  We are open to your ideas and suggestions for how to best support the BSA's EC community, so please contact us.

If you are interested in joining the EC Forum, please email Sandra Harris.  Alternatively, join us on facebook - search for 'BSA Early Career Forum'.

Ruth Lewis (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) & Lara Killick (University of the Pacific)
BSA EC Forum convenors