Piece of Mind

We have already reported that the success rate for NSERC’s Discovery Grants have fallen from 71 per cent in 2008, to 64 percent in 2009, and to a record-low level of 58 per cent this year.

Not to be outdone, CIHR’s success rate for this year’s individual Operating Grants competition is down to 15%.
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Here are some answers to the questions in yesterday’s post, put in the global context of the granting system.

1.   Let’s start with the boring stuff. The three programs are new, though “Frontiers” is newer and just off the ground, while “Engage” and “Interactions” were launched last year.
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I have blogged in the past about an imminent threat to the Erwin Schrödinger Institute (ESI) in Vienna, Austria. The Austrian Ministry of Science had informed the ESI on November 8, 2010, that the institute’s funding would be terminated on January 1, 2011, which essentially coincides with the 50th anniversary of Schrödinger’s death.
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Take a guess. Answers and more will be given tomorrow.

See attached presentation below, to get the full shpeel.
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“Attacking early research efforts as wasteful seems akin to telling 8-year-olds they shouldn’t waste their time dreaming about their future.”

But the merchants of ignorance, south of the border, are back gearing up for a new cycle. The new republican majority in the US has launched an Internet site “YouCut”, where citizens can propose targets for cutting government spending. Target number one: The National Science Foundation (NSF)
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Finally, the long-awaited announcement from the Council of Canadian Academies: “The Minister of Industry, on behalf of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), asked the Council of Canadian Academies to examine the international practices and supporting evidence used to assess performance of research in the natural sciences and engineering disciplines.”

That’s weird! A blue-ribbon panel for that?
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