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DORA's First Funder Discussion: Updates from Swiss National Science Foundation, Wellcome Trust, and the Dutch Research Council
DORA's First Funder Discussion: Updates from Swiss National Science Foundation, Wellcome Trust, and the Dutch Research Council
DORA launched a new virtual discussion series for public and private research funders. The goal of the series is to increase communication about research assessment reform by providing a space for funders to share and discuss new initiatives, with the hope that this will ultimately serve as a platform to accelerate the spread of good research assessment policies and practices.
The Global Research Council's Compilation on National Responses: Confronting COVID-19
The Global Research Council (GRC) is calling on its participating organisations and the global research community to collaborate in the fight against the virus and encourages openness in sharing research findings and data which will help ensure diagnostics, vaccines and prevention measures are developed rapidly for the benefit of every nation.
How Research Funders Are Tackling Coronavirus Disruption
As lockdowns force scientists worldwide to put their research on hold, funders are introducing measures to minimize stress.
ETH4D Research Challenges
The goal of the ETH4D Research Challenges is to enable collaborations on project-based research between ETH researchers, non-academic partners and partners from the Global South to develop effective solutions for poverty reduction combining technologies, policies and a profound understanding of human behaviour.
Graduate Students Seek Time-to-degree and Funding Extensions During COVID-19
Graduate Students Seek Time-to-degree and Funding Extensions During COVID-19
Graduate students face many of the same challenges as faculty members during COVID-19 but have received fewer assurances. Top on their wish list are extended funding and time-to-degree extensions.
Leadership to Change a Culture of Sexual Harassment
How, then, does an agency like NSF—which has considerable influence but limited direct authority—work with the community and other institutions to implement change on issues that cannot wait? The case of NSF's work to combat harassment in the science community, a persistent problem for decades that remains shockingly widespread, is illustrative.
Funding Information in Web of Science: an Updated Overview
Despite the limitations of funding acknowledgment (FA) data in Web of Science (WoS), studies using FA information have increased rapidly over the last several years. Considering this WoS' recent practice of updating funding data, this paper further investigates the characteristics and distribution of FA data in four WoS journal citation indexes.
NSF Marshals Data Science, Blockchain to Streamline Federal Grant Processing
The National Science Foundation is testing a creative mix of machine learning, blockchain technology and data science to tackle a stubborn challenge: How to better evaluate more than 60,000 grant applications it receives each year.
COVID-19: Funding Bodies Around the World Pledge New Money for Virus Research
COVID-19: Funding Bodies Around the World Pledge New Money for Virus Research
Research charities Wellcome Trust and the Gates Foundation announced they are joining forces with the credit card company MasterCard in a $125 million push to speed up development of drugs for treating COVID-19 infections, in the latest example of the rush to fund research into the novel coronavirus.
How China's New Policy May Change Researchers' Publishing Behavior
How China's New Policy May Change Researchers' Publishing Behavior
A researcher from the Wuhan University of China offers a view of how Chinese researchers are reacting and are likely to alter their behavior in response to new policies governing research evaluation.
Testing a New Approach to Open Access Fees
New OA payment models are needed make open access implementation practical, journal editor says.
Free Lists of Grants and Fellowships Around the World Available Online
Free Lists of Grants and Fellowships Around the World Available Online
Three searchable databases provide information on global opportunities for graduate students, postdocs and junior faculty members.
Invest 5% of Research Funds in Ensuring Data Are Reusable
This article argues it is irresponsible to support research but not data stewardship.
What to Do when Your Grant is Rejected
What to Do when Your Grant is Rejected
Failed funding applications are inevitable, but perseverance can pay dividends.
Metrics of Inequality: The Concentration of Resources in the U.S. Biomedical Elite
Metrics of Inequality: The Concentration of Resources in the U.S. Biomedical Elite
Academic scientists and research institutes are increasingly being evaluated using digital metrics, from bibliometrics to patent counts. These metrics are often framed, by science policy analysts, economists of science as well as funding agencies, as objective and universal proxies for scientific worth, potential, and productivity.
They Wanted Research Funding, So They Entered the Lottery
A survey of New Zealand scientists found that recipients of a randomized funding program favored random allocations of some kinds of grant money.
Macron: 'We Are Not Fast Enough in Investing in the Future'
Emmanuel Macron has urged EU member states to put more money into the collective Brussels pot so Europe can invest in key technologies of the future. The French president said he is "not frustrated but impatient" for the EU to take on bigger projects.
Trump's 2021 Budget Drowns Science Agencies in Red Ink, Again
White House proposes big cuts to NIH, DOE, NASA and other programs
Providing a Framework for Research Funders to Drive the Transition toward FAIR Data Management and Stewardship Practices
Providing a Framework for Research Funders to Drive the Transition toward FAIR Data Management and Stewardship Practices
This article elaborates on the role of research funding organizations in developing a FAIR funding model to support the FAIR research data management in the funding cycle.
Funders Launch Curation Awards for Learned Societies
Up to £200,000 per society available for flagging important biomedical research outputs.
China is Closing Gap with United States on Research Spending
The United States is no longer the 'uncontested leader' in science globally, the National Science Foundation says.
ERC Awards over €600 Million to Europe's Top Researchers
How will climate change shape the Earth's surface? What are the long-term health effects of food additives? How can online tools change political advocacy and what does this mean for democracy? These are just some of the questions that researchers from around Europe have proposed to explore, and will now be able to, thanks to newly-awarded EU funding.
Science Funders Gamble on Grant Lotteries
A growing number of research agencies are assigning money randomly. The Swiss National Science Foundation is the latest funder to experiment with random selection.
Scientists Were Hunting for the Next Ebola. Now the U.S. Has Cut Off Their Funding.
Scientists Were Hunting for the Next Ebola. Now the U.S. Has Cut Off Their Funding.
Predict, a government research program, sought to identify animal viruses that might infect humans and to head off new pandemics. Now the program has been cancelled.
Assessing the Impact of a Research Funder's Recommendation to Consider Core Outcome Sets
Assessing the Impact of a Research Funder's Recommendation to Consider Core Outcome Sets
Background Core outcome sets (COS) have the potential to reduce waste in research by improving the consistency of outcomes measured in trials of the same health condition. However, this reduction in waste will only be realised through the uptake of COS by clinical trialists. Without uptake, the continued development of COS that are not implemented may add to waste in research. Funders of clinical trials have the potential to have an impact on COS uptake by recommending their use to those applying for funding. The aim of our study was to assess the extent to which applicants followed the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) programme's recommendation to search for a COS to include in their clinical trial. Methods and findings We examined the outcomes section and detailed project descriptions of all 95 researcher-led primary research applications submitted to the NIHR HTA between January 2012, when the recommendation to search for a COS was included in the guidance for applicants, and December 2015 for evidence that a search for a COS had taken place and rationale for outcome choice in the absence of COS. A survey of applicants was conducted to further explore their use of COS and choice of outcomes with a response rate of 49%. Nine out of 95 applicants (10%) stated in their application that they had searched the COMET (Core Outcome Measures for Effectiveness Trials) Initiative database for a COS and another nine referred to searching for a COS using another method, e.g. a review of the literature. Of the 77 (81%) applicants that did not mention COMET or COS in their application, eight stated in the survey that they had searched the COMET database and ten carried out a search using another method. Some applicants who did not search for a COS gave reasons for their choice of outcomes including taking advice from patients and the public and choosing outcomes used in previous trials. Conclusion A funding body can have an impact on COS uptake by encouraging trialists to search for a COS. Funders could take further steps by putting processes in place to prompt applicants to be explicit about searching for COS in their application and notifying the funding board if a search has not taken place. The sources of information used by trialists to make decisions about outcomes in the absence of COS may suggest methods of dissemination for COS.
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