Academic Freedom Does Not Require Funder Neutrality
Do funding priorities restrict academic freedom? Or can setting clear boundaries between funder problems & the answers academia can provide be productive?
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EU Governments to Debate a 19-Partnership Horizon Europe Portfolio
EU Governments to Debate a 19-Partnership Horizon Europe Portfolio
EU governments are set to have a strategic discussion on the next set of Horizon Europe partnerships with new initiatives on railways, space technologies, and climate and water resilience.
MSCA research career scheme gets €210M funding boost
The additional funding for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions comes amid record-low success rates.
Horizon Europe 2027 Plans Updated With €507M in New Calls
Additional funding will cover biodiversity and “bridging” grants to next EU research programme amid plummeting success rates
Is Metascience Being Co-opted?
Academia is dysfunctional, says the White House, and needs radical solutions. But is the research reform agenda being used to defund universities, or moving too fast?
Parliament to Discuss Moving 'Sectoral Plans’ to Pillar 2 of Horizon Europe
Parliament to Discuss Moving 'Sectoral Plans’ to Pillar 2 of Horizon Europe
Budget pragmatism prompts shift of bottom-up funding for institutions to programme area devoted to collaborative research.
Proposal for Horizon Europe Expert Councils Exposes Parliamentary Rift
Proposal for Horizon Europe Expert Councils Exposes Parliamentary Rift
Research committee MEPs are concerned about potential conflicts of interest in councils intended to set priorities
Parliament Haggle over EU-wide Spending Rules Delays Vote on Horizon Europe
Parliament Haggle over EU-wide Spending Rules Delays Vote on Horizon Europe
Votes on all EU programmes are postponed until MEPs in the budgets committee agree the Performance Framework Regulation.
The World Bank is Right to Prioritize Reproducibility
The development bank and others are starting to publish and verify the raw data and code accompanying their research-based reports and papers. Other agencies should do the same.
EU Must Support Research Managers in Central and Eastern Europe, Says Visegrad Fund Head
EU Must Support Research Managers in Central and Eastern Europe, Says Visegrad Fund Head
Grant support is still a developing practice in the region, a hangover from the Soviet style of funding research.
Swiss Innovation Fund Faces Conflict of Interest Concerns
Swiss Innovation Fund Faces Conflict of Interest Concerns
The Swiss Innovation Agency, which funds start-ups, faces questions over conflicts of interest.
Worldwide Study of Diseases Gets Historic Funding Influx
Gates Foundation pledges $540 million to a project often criticized for its opacity.
Does Europe Dare to Invest in the Arctic?
Prioritising long-term strategic investment in the Arctic requires courage, but it is a choice Europe cannot afford to postpone.
What Kind of Discipline is AI?
Universities are creating AI schools alongside disciplines such as logic, economics and communication without addressing their shared foundations. Mouhamdy M. Dahoud argues that this reflects an ontological gap, with current research funding and assessment taxonomies overlooking an entire category of science.
Nova Scotia's Experiment in Research That Solves Real Problems
Nova Scotia's Experiment in Research That Solves Real Problems
Locally focused research investments enable coalitions of scientists and citizens to serve community needs.
NIH Proposes Major Revamp of How It Scores Research Grant Proposals
NIH Proposes Major Revamp of How It Scores Research Grant Proposals
Proponents argue that the current system creates a false sense of precision, but critics fear that the change could increase political interference.
Just following the money? How research funding shapes the governance of university research
Just following the money? How research funding shapes the governance of university research
The authors investigate how funding structures influence university governance and research behaviour. The paper contributes to broader discussions about autonomy, incentives, and the organisation of research systems.
Homophily in Grant Evaluations
This study examines whether similarity between applicants and evaluators influences grant-review outcomes. The findings contribute to ongoing debates about fairness, bias, and the design of competitive research-funding systems.
The Rise of Large Language Models and the Direction and Impact of US Federal Research Funding
How to make your science business succeed when you’re a female founder
How to make your science business succeed when you’re a female founder
Sexist assumptions and a male-dominated culture can make it harder for women to attract investment for the companies they set up.
Co-constructing the ERC Proposal: Grant Writing Support Professionals, Domains of Expertise and Value Conflicts
Co-constructing the ERC Proposal: Grant Writing Support Professionals, Domains of Expertise and Value Conflicts
Professional grant-writing advisers help researchers construct ERC proposals—and thereby influence what institutions present as competitive science, affecting efforst to change research culture.
When the Best Decision is No Decision: the Rise of Randomization in Grant Funding
When the Best Decision is No Decision: the Rise of Randomization in Grant Funding
If reviewers can't reliably tell the difference between top grant proposals, why should they pretend they can? A new wave of funders is turning to lotteries to break the tie.
OSF Changes: A Note to Users
The Center for Open Science announced a significant change to the Open Science Framework (OSF). This post shares what led to the change, implications, and what's next.
Chemistry Advances When Disciplines Connect
Universities and funding agencies should organize research around problems, reward shared achievement, and support ideas that fall between established fields.
The Guardian view on the Lovell telescope: budget cuts to physics are bad science and worse politics
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