Overview of the Future Directions Forum

Learning how to do great science requires a toolbox of skills. Skills for effectively communicating science. To secure funding for scientific work. To identify where and when job opportunities arise. To get the offers to start your first job and build the record to keep that job. No one takes a class to acquire this toolbox, who has the time? Yet, we still need these tools, so where do we find them?

We launched the Future Directions Forum to help you build your scientific toolbox. At the Future Directions Forum, we offer professional development workshops, as well as small group and one-on-one expert consultations on all aspects of academic work, such as publishing, grants, job negotiations, mentoring, and building partnerships with community partners. Yet, your toolbox of skills is not limited to these tools. Your toolbox must also help you address a perennial challenge with working in academic settings.

To lead a healthy, balanced academic life, we at the Future Directions Forum are mindful of the need to disengage from your work on a regular basis, to reduce the effects of job-related stressors as well as the risk of burnout. However, how often do we have a platform for learning strategies to lead a balanced academic life? How do we stay productive in our work and at the same time, stay human and find time to unwind? To help you build these skills, our programming literally strikes a balance between academic skills and skills for balancing work and life. 

2024 Programming

For 2024, we have prepared what, in my estimation, is the most exciting set of opportunities the Future Directions Forum has ever offered. Our 8^th Future Directions Forum includes two keynote addresses, held on the evenings of our first two days, and based on featured content from a leading mental health journal, the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (JCCAP). Our 2024 addresses will be delivered by recent authors of articles in JCCAP’s Future Directions series with expertise in:

• Mentoring (Tim Cavell, University of Arkansas)
• Culturally Responsive mHealth (Henry Willis, University of Maryland)

Our 2024 Professional Development Team includes scholars with a wealth of knowledge across areas of interest to you. A complete list of our team members, along with a description of workshop and consultation opportunities, can be found here: https://bit.ly/JCCAPFDF. Some highlights of our programming include:

• Workshops on science skills including building collaborative networks, multidisciplinary teams, storytelling in science, dissemination practices, economic analyses, and writing productivity
• Workshops on work-life balance skills including burnout, cultural taxation, imposter feelings, family planning, and creating safe, affirming spaces across people’s identities and life experiences
• Opportunities to consult or seek advice in one-on-one and small-group settings from our professional development team on workshop topics or others where you seek advice, including advice on manuscripts or grant applications you are working on, applications for jobs or graduate programs you seek to prepare, and navigating mentoring relationships where you could use some help

Copious networking opportunities across our workshops, presentations, and social events!