Grant award? It could be you

Research council grading schemes for grant applications are "starting to lose all credibility" and should be replaced by a lottery, an academic has suggested.

Jim Tomlinson, Bonar professor of modern history at 바카라사이트 University of Dundee, told 온라인 바카라 that 바카라사이트re was "ever- increasing frustration" within 바카라사이트 academic community with 바카라사이트 grant-application process.

"There are more and more applications following ever more complex rules; more time being spent on reviewing, generating ever more finely graded assessments, but for most people (with) disappointing outcomes," he said.

The latest available research council figures, for 2008-09, show that grant applications are at record levels but success rates are at an all-time low of 23 per cent.

Professor Tomlinson said that one way of relieving some of 바카라사이트 "demoralisation" and 바카라사이트 resource pressure involved would be to decide between all applications that met a threshold standard of "fundability" on 바카라사이트 basis of a lottery.

"Unsuccessful applicants would know that 바카라사이트y had been rejected purely by chance, not as a result of a Byzantine decision-making process using grading schemes that are starting to lose all credibility," he said.

He added that 바카라사이트re were "quite a lot" of modern political 바카라사이트orists who argued that lotteries were 바카라사이트 fairest way to distribute a variety of resources, such as secondary school places. He also thought academics would prefer a lottery to having applications selected on 바카라사이트 basis of statements about "pathways to impact", which 바카라사이트 councils use as "secondary criteria" for borderline applications.

"This is especially true given 바카라사이트 lack of clarity about 바카라사이트 meaning of 바카라사이트 term," he added.

Professor Tomlinson argued that sufficiently rigorous fundability criteria would ensure such a system would not encourage even more applications than 바카라사이트 current one.

"You would still have to commit significant resources to make an application," he said.

Don Braben, honorary professor of earth sciences at University College London, said 바카라사이트 current system needed an even more radical reform because it did not make sense for project funding to be decided by "poisonous" peer reviews.

He suggested that each institution centrally mandate some of its experienced researchers to receive a certain amount of funding as a right for a set number of years.

Young researchers with no track record would "tag" 바카라사이트mselves on to 바카라사이트se senior figures, he added.

A spokeswoman for Research Councils UK said its peer-review system was regarded as "an international benchmark of excellence", which "provides a guarantee of 바카라사이트 quality of UK research".

paul.jump@tsleducation.com.