The team members of a particular fieldwork project are not limited to the people who actually travel and carry out the research. In many cases, there are people who stay at the back office, or other people who are helping out on site as well. We cannot ignore the existence of these people who support the project.
The role and necessity of such supporting members vary depending on the project. It might be because it is difficult to carry out technical support or do routine work on the go, or there are things that may be hard to attend to in emergency cases, and it is convenient to have a back office that can help with different kinds of duties. Friendly professionals and advisers who think in favor of the team can also be considered as one of these supporters for the team.
Trust between the members who are traveling and the supporters, is the most important element that is required in order for the back office to run smoothly. Once the project members leave and start traveling, time and space between the two gradually becomes further away. Obviously, it is not possible to see each other face-to-face, and there might be circumstances where contact is cut off. During these times, it is best to believe that “no news is good news” because it is important for the project members to fully immerse in their traveling experiences. It is a burden for the people who are traveling and it is not a sensible move to constantly contact them. If there are any unsettling factors regarding the journey, it should be resolved beforehand and everyone should be aware of the procedures and what they should do during emergencies. The best back office or supporters are those who prepare thoroughly and allow themselves to watch over the project without interfering.
Or course, it is not unusual that the supporter might feel a sense of loneliness of being left behind. Because of this, it is even more important to establish trust and define the role of the supporter with everyone in the group before the journey commences.
It is probably best to minimize the burden on the members who are traveling, and it is ideal to create a set format for the members to fill in and send easily if the office needs some kind of regular report. For Traveling Research Laboratory, we asked research assistants who were students at that time to fill in the sheets because they can probably observe the journey in a more objective perspective, and they also have less responsibilities on other duties. Even though there might be slight delays, it is still extremely useful to share the current situation of the journey, and it also has a great side effect to be able to also pick up the unique perspectives of younger members of the team.
After the journey ends, it is also important for the traveling members and supporters from the back office to reunite and meet again as a team. At Traveling Research Laboratory, we have always arranged a time for both parties to talk together after coming back from the trip. We could be talking with a cup or tea or the team could be even out drinking – we need these debriefing sessions to share insider’s stories and all the excitement of the journey.
