research 18 research 19 efforts by offering attractive working conditions. It is the authority’s responsibility to come up with innovative strategies to raise the money needed to make this possible. The support of academic research by the Walloon region has to further improve. Funding agencies have a major responsibility in shaping the research landscape. It is not only about providing financial resources to the research community, but, equally importantly, it is about setting the conditions for access to these resources. If calls for proposals are opened transparently at pre-established dates with sufficient lead time, if the imposed structure of project proposals is to-the-point, focused on research rather than a multitude of abstract ancillary considerations, and the proposals exclusively evaluated by truly competent international peers without relationship to the applicants, researchers will have to work hard to come up with good ideas that are thought through and properly spelled out to obtain funding. This is a normal and very useful part of their job. It helps the community to do better research. If on the contrary timing for calls is erratic and not properly publicized, if it is important or mandatory to spend time to visit a non-specialist administration as part of the preparation, or even better to have private talks with politicians, if proposals require constraint, unnecessary relationships with local companies, if the proposals are evaluated by generalists, generating and thinking through good ideas will have little influence on one’s probability to obtain funding. Such practices do not help the research community to get better, on the contrary. In French-speaking Belgium we have two funding agencies/instruments that work properly: the FNRS funded by the “communauté”, and WELBIO (and now WEL-T) funded by the “region”. All the rest needs profound restructuring. The several years long process that our community just went through for the distribution of FEDER funding is a good illustration on how Kafkaesque things can become. The Walloon Region has sufficient money for research but it must continue to work on using it more effectively. What have these years at the head of GIGA brought you personally? When I proposed my candidacy for director eight years ago, I felt ready for it. I was already amongst the older PIs at the time, and I felt that it was my turn to step up the plate for a project that was close to my heart (i.e. GIGA). Indeed, I had been very much involved with Joseph Martial, Françoise and Bernard Rentier, and André Renard in setting up GIGA in its very beginning, and - with my laboratory – benefitted a lot from this new environment for years. It was time to give back. I think I had clear ideas about what I wanted to achieve and was prepared to invest substantial resources from our laboratory to make it work. Brigitte was somewhat imposed on me by the GIGA community and university authorities. This makes us (i.e. Brigitte and me) smile now. With hindsight it was an excellent “move”. I think we have worked together very well after some necessary adjustments in the beginning. To some extent I was entering in this adventure “Tête baissée”. I trusted that if our proposals were good, if we worked hard enough, things would work out. This is pretty much what I had experienced throughout my entire life. Our strategic plan was ambitious, but I was (and am still) convinced that our university needed something like that, and that it is doable: “To reach the possible, one sometimes has to aim for the impossible …”. Looking back, honestly, I am relatively disappointed about myself. I have not been able to help GIGA advance as much as I envisaged, as I wished. Some of our initiatives, such as GIGA grants and GIGA doctoral school, may soon die out (prove me wrong, please). It certainly has shown me the difficulties of leading large communities, especially academic. I felt pretty comfortable leading a laboratory of 25-30 people, which I suppose you can do being a tidbit individualistic, micro-managerial, not to say authoritarian. But leading 100+ “academically free” PIs and 600 people in a big university is “une autre paire de manches”. I feel that, to a large extent, things worked out reasonably well with the GIGA community. My (maybe naïve) impression is that the majority of GIGA PIs are very much on the same wavelength when it comes to overarching goals (maybe not entirely about the best way to get there). The real difficulties (for me) are higher up: the alternating rectoral teams, the alternating regional governments, with changing priorities, sensibilities and personalities. It is a distinct job, requires distinct talents, to be able to carry big projects at that level. I guess I may have experienced Peter principle first hand. This doesn’t mean that I regret anything. I am very happy of these eight years. It will have given more sense to my academic career. And I have very much enjoyed working on a day-by-day basis with wonderful people that I would barely have known otherwise. What advice would you give to the new direction team? What do you wish them? Of course, I wish them all the best (as I do to all GIGA members). I know they are full of energy and competent, eager to help our community. It was a good idea to go at it with a team of four, all with complementary expertise and focus. In addition to being a remarkable athlete, Brigitte – I believe – has the essential political skills. I don’t think they need my advice, and I certainly would not want to interfere. The only thing that comes to my mind is advice I got from my mother: “Doe wel en zie niet om …”, meaning, do what you have to do and don’t worry about what people think or say… Any last thoughts you wish to share? Having reached the end of my term of eight years as director of GIGA, I have a strong feeling of gratitude. Specifically, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the GIGA research community for the privilege of having worked with you for the last 8 years. It has given me the opportunity to get to know many of you much better than I would have otherwise, to experience – first hand - the diversity and many talents of our community. I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to all the members of the GIGA support units: administration, platforms, doctoral school and grants. I have worked with many of you, seen you in action, and witnessed your dedication and motivation for GIGA. In the name of the GIGA community: thank you for what you do, day in and day out, for all of us. My sincere thanks to the members of the bureau, and especially the director of the thematic research units, for helping to set GIGA’s course so that it benefits all. Thank you for having endured what were too often long monologues. Last but not least, I would like to thank Brigitte Malgrange, for putting up with me as vice director throughout these eight years. It would have been an impossible task without her dedication and efficacy. It has been fun to work together, as a real team. And I would like to close this interview by restating four values which I hope will continue to guide the GIGA community: balance, accountability, honesty/integrity, and kindness.
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