A proposed new system for awarding nearly $3-billion in government funds to universities in England would require them to show that their research influences the economy, public policy, or society in order to secure the biggest grants, according to The Guardian.
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One Response to Britain to Emphasize Economic Relevance in Research Grants
davi2665 - September 23, 2009 at 5:28 pm
It is about time for this change. The NIH is already initiating such changes in biomedical research funding through the CTSA grants (Clinical Translational Science Awards, very large awards that emphasize immediate applicability to the bedside in favor of esoteric studies that no one will ever see other than other scientists involved in the same esoteric pursuits. The taxpayers, who are footing a huge bill for research in an era of economic downturn have a right to ask what is being produced that benefits those paying for it. Academics do not have a right or entitlement to resources to pursue trivia or esoterica at taxpayers expense in lieu of other societal demands. There may be some call for “pure” research, and that should be a decision of the University that hires such faculty. Let the multi-billion dollar endowments of our elite establishments pay for the salaries and research of those who choose to pursue research that cannot be justified as relevant to those funding it. I realize that some surprises emerge from seemingly esoteric research, but all one needs to do to understand the scope of non-relevant research being done is to check the citations for a vast majority of the peer-reviewed publications. A vast majority are not cited by anyone other than the author and one or two other souls in field. We need to remember that scientific and biomedical funding agencies are not high-level entitlement programs to foster the promotion and tenure of elite faculty at elite Universities.