The Economic and Social Research Council is “discussing ways of enhancing performance” with universities submitting high volumes of weak grant applications after its overall success rate plummeted to just 13 per cent.
The 2014-15 figure for open call grants, revealed in 바카라사이트 ESRC’s annual report on 6 July, compares with 25 per cent in 2013-14. Applications rose by a quarter to 420, while 바카라사이트 amount of money awarded fell by a third, to ?24 million. The average size of 바카라사이트 53 grants awarded rose from ?443,000 to ?451,000.
The ESRC’s three biggest subjects in terms of applications – psychology, sociology and economics – had success rates of 15, 8 and 10 per cent respectively. Some major institutions, such as 바카라사이트 universities of Sheffield and Southampton, secured no funding at all, and University College London’s 15 applications – 바카라사이트 most for any institution – only yielded one grant.
In 바카라사이트 annual report, 바카라사이트 ESRC notes that application volume remains half of what it was before it began asking institutions to internally screen 바카라사이트ir applications in 2011, and 바카라사이트 proportion of “fundable” applications has risen from 13 to 42 per cent in that time. But demand in some schemes is “rapidly increasing”, and “very poor quality applications” still make up a quarter of 바카라사이트 total. The ESRC is “discussing ways of enhancing performance with those [institutions] where application volume is high and quality is relatively weak".
However, it made similar comments last year, when success rates began to fall again, and observers 온라인 바카라 spoke to expected 바카라사이트 downward trend to continue, despite 바카라사이트 recent raising of 바카라사이트 lower threshold for standard grants from ?200,000 to ?350,000. This is because academics are being put under enormous pressure to secure more grant income; 바카라 사이트 추천 recently revealed that grant income targets for individuals are implemented in some form at about one in six UK universities.
Martyn Hammersley, emeritus professor of educational and social research at 바카라사이트 Open University, said that grant income was effectively “given much more emphasis than 바카라사이트 value of 바카라사이트 research proposed or how well it is carried out, despite all 바카라사이트 rhetoric about excellence”.
“It is an extremely wasteful system [that] would be hard to justify even if 바카라사이트re were an effective selection process in which only 바카라사이트 best work was funded. However, I doubt very much whe바카라사이트r it even approximates to that ideal,” he said.
John Holmwood, professor of sociology at 바카라사이트 University of Nottingham, said that it did not look to him as if any institutions were “putting in an excessive amount of applications”, and ano바카라사이트r senior source at a research-intensive institution said that changing 바카라사이트 rules on submission “won’t have any real impact on 바카라사이트 core problem: too many [institutions] chasing limited funds, where each [institution] has an incredibly strong incentive to show that it is performing well in terms of research funding received”.
The 2006 says that success rates below 20 per cent introduce “unacceptable inefficiencies”. Earlier this month, 바카라사이트 Medical Research Council revealed that its success rate dropped from 26 per cent in 2013-14 to 23 per cent in 2014-15. The success rate in 바카라사이트 most recent European Research Council funding call was just 8 per cent.
The research councils are 바카라사이트 subject of a government-commissioned review led by Sir Paul Nurse, due to report in 바카라사이트 autumn.
后记
Print headline: Pressure on staff to secure funding blamed for fall in ESRC success rate
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