Research funding

Even in disciplines in which research is inherently inexpensive, ‘grant capture’ is increasingly being adopted as a metric to judge academics and universities. But with success rates typically little better than one in five, rejection is the fate of most applications. Six academics give their tips on how to improve the odds

The next EU commissioner for research and innovation must fight for the Horizon Europe budget but resist timetables for scientific delivery, says Jan Palmowski

US’ top producer of research papers hopes stance will force major gains in open access

Budget for 2019-20 promises £45 million in quality-related support, but universities say more is needed

Budget restrictions, a focus on teaching and a paucity of internationalisation all hold back Turkish research, says Hakan Ergin

UK’s public research funding overseer argues debate over political control of public finances is a ‘false dichotomy’ and distracts from bigger societal issues

But multibillion-dollar cash injection risks further sidelining the humanities

Sector leaders question why it has taken so long to address long-running decline in value of quality-related research funding

Final budget, pending Senate and White House input, may be slightly less generous

Chris Skidmore tells peers he hopes for announcement soon but acknowledges that UK is ‘in a very strange place politically’

Director of Universities UK International says some institutions have modelled falls in EU student enrolment of up to 80 per cent

UCL vice-provost warns that universities' ability to cross-subsidise grants is declining

Raising UK outlay to international levels will reap rich technological, social and political rewards for the next Conservative Party leader, says Sarah Main 

There is nothing devilish about government oversight of research, but the Haldane Principle checks more sulphurous instincts, says Paul Jump

Last year’s scandal over the ministerial vetoing of Australian research grants coincided with the centenary of the fabled principle that politicians should keep out of such decisions. But with governments becoming increasingly ideological and desperate for innovation-fuelled growth, does scientific autonomy have a future? Rachael Pells investigates 

Private funders and charitable foundations urged to support vital studies

Next step of Plan S will require publishers to release acceptance rates and review times

Consultation responses had called for start of mandate to be pushed back from January 2020

C$30 million cut also hits research on regenerative medicine

‘Competition in scientific research has gone too far,’ says government-appointed committee proposing wide-ranging reform package

Nanomedicine pioneer will replace Jean-Pierre Bourguignon

Call follows revelations about Coca-Cola’s influence over some sponsored research

Gravy train being shunted into siding as interest from Chinese mainland wanes

Harvard experiment finds nearly half of academics amended their assessment of a research application after seeing randomly generated ‘expert scores’

Coalition, Labour and Greens respond to sector survey

Academics say evaluation conducted to decide distribution of Performance-Based Research Fund is no longer helpful

Research agency stresses workforce risk in low number of emerging researchers

Vice-president says private sector funding is vital to compensate for decline in public investment in basic research

Jean-Eric Paquet tells university heads that there is now a ‘consensus’ that research must help deliver sustainable development goals

Skewed funding blunts government influence over what gets researched, expert warns

Leading academics express doubt about UK government’s ability to underwrite large EU funding packages

After more than doubling its spending since the financial crisis, Germany’s long budget boom is set to come to an end

Agreement that EU research funding should continue to be distributed according to quality is an important step forward, writes Jan Palmowski

Government affirms Medical Research Future Fund but raids dormant infrastructure kitty

Country wins biggest share of advanced grants, but could soon lose access to fund

Post-Brexit UK grants scheme would find it ‘almost impossible’ to match European Research Council’s international competition and quality, former European Commission research head warns

University said to have known of problems with lab technician’s faked data for several years

Average success rate for European Commission programme stands at 12 per cent

Lack of detail, not due process, is at the heart of concerns about medical research handouts in Australia, writes John Ross 

Call for more transparency over disbursement of Australia’s A$20 billion (£10.7 billion) Medical Research Future Fund

Cash flows are not moving fast enough to keep pace with technology, malaria expert cautions

Europe-wide temperature check of university-business interactions unearths concerns over loss of curiosity-led research 

Universities’ vocal opposition to government plans for vastly increased international fees has yielded only minor concessions, says Juliette Torabian 

Conference hears that nationalist politics could hamper efforts to tackle pandemics

Academics highlight brain drain of researchers and loss of international research partners as concerns in wake of latest government ‘attack on autonomy’

Large research groups may be less flexible and more risk-averse, study suggests

New £5.7 million institute at the Technical University of Munich triggers ‘ethics washing’ debate

Seeking special status will further antagonise non-members faced with curtailed access to EU research funding, says Jan Palmowski

MIT expresses ‘deep sense of revulsion’ over Khashoggi killing but won’t override faculty choice of partners

Plan needed as UK and EU ‘may not get back into detail’ on association until November, warns science minister Chris Skidmore

Research council says that ‘careful thought’ should be given to potential Horizon 2020 collaborations

Britain again edges ahead of Germany in EU research funding race despite Brexit concerns

Restrictions on use of federal money predicted to widen

Study’s authors suggest women are better able to communicate the value of science to score public donations

Federal funding has slowed to a trickle over the past two decades

Don’t fixate on funding cuts and market challenges, UK-born star scientist Michelle Simmons tells Australian peers

University spokesman says decision also covers donations but does not affect ongoing partnerships

UK ‘would still like to explore option’ of association but talks cannot begin until April at the earliest, says new universities minister

Agencies including the National Science Foundation are without funding

Universities should use federal budget boost to help companies keep innovating, not to do it themselves, top science policy expert says