Switzerland Fears Being Left out in the Cold
Swiss participation in some of the EU’s largest and most prestigious funding programmes is being threatened by rules proposed for 2021-27.
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Want to Find Investors for Your Research Idea? Change the Way You Pitch
A fundraising pitch involves vastly different style and substance than a scientific talk. Entrepreneurial scientists and engineers need to understand and manage the differences.
Is Competition Driving Innovation or Damaging Scientific Research?
Far from driving scientific progress, competition is actually taking a negative toll on research output. We need a new model of working that encourages transparency, openness and may improve research standards.
U.S. Legislators Back Larger Facilities Budget for NSF
Spending bills would boost construction account without cutting research grants, marking the second year that lawmakers have rejected President Donald Trump’s plans for the agency, which called for deep cuts in 2018 and flat funding in 2019.
Controversial NIH Study of "Moderate Drinking" Will Be Terminated After Scathing Report
Controversial NIH Study of "Moderate Drinking" Will Be Terminated After Scathing Report
The drinking study had raised concerns because NIH officials had solicited funding for the $100 million project from liquor companies, with the money funneled through the private NIH Foundation.
Embezzlement of Research Funds Is a Problem, Investigators Say
A "significant number" of fraud cases involving research funds and academia have been uncovered in recent years, including professional exchanges which never actually took place, or projects that never came to fruition.
EU Set to Snub Hybrid Open-Access Journals
Horizon Europe will pay article processing charges only "for purely open-access publishing venues (i.e. not 'hybrid' journals)". The change would be controversial as it could prevent researchers from publishing in their first-choice locations.
Science Europe Reaction to the European Commission Proposal on Horizon Europe
Science Europe Reaction to the European Commission Proposal on Horizon Europe
Science Europe recognises the proposed budget increase for the period 2021-2027 but remains disappointed that this increase does not live up to the ambitious scenarios that the European Commission defended in front of the Heads of States and Governments in March 2018.
Six Principles for Assessing Scientists for Hiring, Promotion, and Tenure
EU to World: Join Our EUR100-Billion Research Programme
European Commission’s next seven-year science-funding scheme - its biggest ever - will allow any country to join for a price. The proposal confirms that the programme will be open to all countries for the first time, which will allow the UK to take part after Brexit.
Europe’s Science Spending Set for Another Big Boost
On 7 June, the European Commission will lay out detailed plans for one of the biggest single research programs on the planet. Called Horizon Europe, the program could be worth EUR97.6 billion between 2021 and 2027, up from about EUR77 billion for the current 7-year program, Horizon 2020.
No Race or Gender Bias in a Randomized Experiment of NIH R01 Grant Reviews
No Race or Gender Bias in a Randomized Experiment of NIH R01 Grant Reviews
A randomized experiment of NIH R01 grant reviews finds no evidence that White male PIs receive evaluations that are any better than those of PIs from the other social categories.
How an Abandoned Lab Could Show us the Future
The Amani Hill Research Station in Tanzania was once one of East Africa’s leading laboratories – now it is a shadow of its past glory.
New Fund to Support Groundbreaking Open Research
Wellcome new Open Research Fund supports innovative approaches that enable data, code or other research outputs to be discovered, accessed and reused.
Scientists Get More Bang for Their Buck If Given More Freedom
Scientists are more efficient at producing high-quality research when they have more academic freedom, according to a recent study of 18 economically advanced countries. Researchers in the Netherlands are the most efficient of all. The existence of a national evaluation system that is not tied to funding was also associated with efficiency.
Against Metrics: How Measuring Performance by Numbers Backfires
By tying rewards to metrics, organisations risk incentivising gaming and encouraging behaviours that may be at odds with their larger purpose. The culture of short-termism engendered by metrics also impedes innovation and stifles the entrepreneurial element of human nature.
Are Funder Open Access Platforms a Good Idea?
Ethical, organizational and economic strengths and weaknesses of funder open access platforms: opportunities and threats presented by funder open access platforms in the ongoing transition to open access.
Limiting Grants to Well-Funded Labs
While no one is arguing for funding failure, the challenge is how we define “success.”
On Basic and Applied Science – and Red Herrings
Whatever we call it, investment in research will lead the way to important short- and long-term discoveries.
UK’s Powerful Funding Body Takes Shape
UK’s newly minted unified funding agency has released the first outline of its strategy. The long-awaited document gives the nation’s researchers an insight into how the mega-funding agency - which will command a budget of GBP6 billion (USD8 billion) - will work.
Billionaires Are Rushing into Biotech. Inequality Is Following Them into Science
Billionaires Are Rushing into Biotech. Inequality Is Following Them into Science
In this era of billionaires and unequal funding, where is research going? And perhaps more importantly, how will our changing resources affect the training, success, and diversity of the scientists of our future?
What was Missing in Australia's $1.9 Billion Infrastructure Announcement
What was Missing in Australia's $1.9 Billion Infrastructure Announcement
It’s not hard to get excited over money that will support imaging of the Earth, or the Atlas of Living Australia. But important as these projects are, there’s a whole set of infrastructure that rarely gets mentioned or noticed: “soft” infrastructure. These are the services, policies or practices that keep academic research working and, now, open.
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