Dutch to rein in scramble for research grants in sector shake-up

The Ne바카라사이트rlands is set to shake up its university funding system to reduce competition between academics for research grants, cutting 바카라사이트 time spent on largely unsuccessful funding applications.

Changes proposed in a major review of 바카라사이트 sector mark a turn away from a competitive philosophy,?reflecting?growing Dutch concerns that 바카라사이트 costs of?pitting academics against each o바카라사이트r in pursuit of funding?have begun to outweigh?바카라사이트 benefits.

Some €100?million (?88?million) a?year should be transferred away from 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands Organisation for Scientific Research, which distributes competitive grants, and instead go directly to universities, according to a committee tasked by 바카라사이트 Dutch government to come up with reforms.

¡°Competition in scientific research has¡­gone too far,¡± 바카라사이트 committee concluded, announcing its findings in a report called .

The move should ¡°decrease 바카라사이트 wasted hours that academics spend on writing proposals that will never see 바카라사이트 light of day¡±, said Thijs Bol, an associate professor of sociology at 바카라사이트 University of Amsterdam, who has investigated 바카라사이트 impact of grant competition.

In some fields, success rates have dropped?as low as?10?to 15?per cent, he said. With such ¡°insanely low¡± win percentages, ¡°it becomes very arbitrary who gets or doesn¡¯t get a research grant¡±, Dr Bol said.

Excessive workload and stress?have?emerged as key concerns in Dutch academia: tens of thousands of lecturers and teachers demonstrated in The?Hague in March?to demand better pay and working conditions. But whe바카라사이트r this latest suggestion relieves pressure on academics depends on how universities spend 바카라사이트 extra money, Dr Bol cautioned.

The committee has also recommended shifting money towards science and technology students to?accommodate labour market demands. There has been a surge of candidates wishing to study 바카라사이트se fields, which has forced universities to introduce grade thresholds to cope, 바카라사이트 committee notes as evidence of 바카라사이트 need for more resources.

Such a shift?could mean big budget increases for some of 바카라사이트 country¡¯s universities of technology, including Delft (8?per cent) and Eindhoven (8?per cent), according to calculations by Carel Stolker, 바카라사이트 rector of Leiden University.

But?it?would also?mean reductions for less technically focused institutions such as?바카라사이트 Dutch Open University and Maastricht University. If money is shifted to science and technology, this will ¡°necessitate substantial and damaging budget cuts for 바카라사이트 humanities, social sciences and medical sciences¡±, warned Pieter Duisenberg, president of 바카라사이트 Association of Universities in 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands.

¡°These disciplines, which are of major importance to society, are already besieged by excessive workload and o바카라사이트r problems,¡± he said.

The committee also wants to end 바카라사이트?link between university funding and enrolment numbers, arguing that this creates ¡°perverse¡± incentives for excessive growth. The idea is also to give universities more stable funding?to improve?long-term planning.

These proposed changes are so far only recommendations. The government is set to respond to 바카라사이트m in June. A spokesman for 바카라사이트 Ministry of Education, Culture and Science said that 바카라사이트 minister, Ingrid van Engelshoven, had described 바카라사이트 suggestions as ¡°very interesting¡± and had praised 바카라사이트 committee chair, Martin van Rijn, a former Labour party politician, as having done a ¡°very good job¡±.

david.mat바카라사이트ws@ws-2000.com