This article written by Gerald Schweiger et al. offers valuable insights into the pros and cons of scientific funding! One of the first things I noticed as a young researcher is the considerable time and effort that researchers devote to writing proposals. Time that is lost for the main task of these researchers: Research!
Science of Science; Professor (Full) Intelligent Systems (TU Wien); CEO DiLT Analytics
We have written a perspective piece on the costs of competition in distributing scarce research funds. Together with my colleagues Adrian Barnett, Peter Van den Besselaar, Lutz Bornmann, Andreas Block, John P.A. Ioannidis, Ulf Sandström, and Stijn Conix, we analyzed the economic, epistemic, social, and ethical aspects of competition and proposed a road to progress. ✔ Funding agencies should make non-sensitive application and decision data publicly available for analysis and facilitate the responsible use of sensitive data. ✔ Investigate the reliability of decision-making processes across disciplines and in interdisciplinary research. ✔ Use bibliometric data to build more meaningful, valid, and reliable indicators; use measures beyond bibliometrics (altmetrics, Overton data, etc.). ✔ Experimentally test and compare different funding models and evaluation systems. ✔ Investigate the economic costs of competitive funding beyond the total costs for applicants. ✔ Go beyond survey studies with convenience samples to map and diminish the social and ethical costs of competitive funding and other funding methods. Technische Universität Graz, QUT (Queensland University of Technology), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam), Max Planck Society, KU Leuven, Stanford University, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Université catholique de Louvain #funding #science #scienceofscience #metascience
