The Radical Power of Fun: Playfulness as a Catalyst for Research Culture Development

In this talk, I explore the radical power of fun as a serious strategy for shaping cultures of development. As sociological insights into play and human relations (e.g., Huizinga 1950; Simmel 1972; Stebbins 2001) make clear: fun is not frivolous. Building on experiences of what works (and what doesn’t) when fun is built into researcher development, I consider its creative potential to foster research cultures that are impact-oriented, inclusive, and inspiring. To ground the discussion, I draw on a two-year series of research development events designed to support interdisciplinary team formation, collaboration with user communities, and the communication of compelling research, innovation, and knowledge exchange stories. Focusing on activities that foregrounded non-instrumental pleasure, joyful laughter, and spontaneous play, I highlight the capacity of fun to enhance collective solidarity, temporarily suspend the normal order of things, invert power differentials, and stimulate cultural development through new, reciprocal attachments. Fun can shift individuals away from an outmoded ideal of the lone scientist towards collaborative co-production, galvanize researcher development through memorable, durable effects, and help overcome systemic barriers to inclusion by flattening hierarchies. Yet its radical potential rests on careful design and thoughtful deployment to build trust, safety, and credibility so participants feel able to ‘let go’ and engage playfully. Ultimately, I suggest that fun is an underused asset: a powerful catalyst for widening participation and strengthening connection, for encouraging experimentation by celebrating imperfections, and for (re)animating a collective sense of purpose that underpins academic work as ‘good work’.