Research funding in the news

Two quick bits.

One, tonight the finalists for the prestigious Canada Excellence Research Chairs program will be presented. This program is superficially similar to the kind of big-funding initiatives I argued are needed in Canada and already exist in the US. The difference, as usual, is that these are focused on applied research:

The CERC program invests $28 million a year to attract and retain the world’s most accomplished and promising minds and help Canada build a critical mass of expertise in the priority research areas of environmental sciences and technologies, natural resources and energy, health and related life sciences and technologies, and information and communication technologies.

Two, the Liberal party has released some stats on the actual funding that the government is delivering for research, and it is nothing like what we’re being told is being allotted.

Bad decisions about scholarships.

The current administration is making a big deal out of its investment in graduate scholarships. Complaints have already been raised about the ridiculously high scholarships that they have instituted for a small number of awardees ($50K, or about twice the operating grant for many new labs) and the requirement for SSHRC to focus on business-related programs.

The other significant change that I don’t know has been discussed widely is the cut to the MSc graduate scholarship duration by NSERC. It used to be that both the MSc and PhD scholarships were for 2 years (and you could get both, for 4 years of funding overall). No one does a PhD in science in 2 years, so it is good that this has finally been extended to 3 years. However, the MSc scholarship has now been cut to 1 year.

Anyone who does a PhD in Canada either completes an MSc first or transfers from the MSc to the PhD directly. Many students complete the MSc and move on to non-academic careers, so there are far more MSc students than PhD students. In other words, whether they will finish with an MSc or go on to a PhD, all recruitment decisions of graduate students involve admission to an MSc program at some point.

Scholarships are an important supplement to operating grants which, as everyone now knows, are small in Canada and mostly are used to fund students and their research (if you have $30K, $25K may be spent on salaries for 2 MSc students, for example). If a student can obtain a scholarship, he or she is essentially “free” to an advisor because the stipend is then paid. This makes it much more likely that a student will get into a lab of his or her choice, and it also increases the number of students who can be trained. However, if the funding is only available for 1 year, then an advisor has to decide whether he or she can afford the second year.

Cutting the MSc scholarship to 1 year will, I predict, significantly reduce the positive impact that the program has at the MSc level. It may also indirectly affect the PhD level by causing advisors to suggest that students transfer to the PhD even if they are not really qualified.

There is another effect that will surely arise. In addition to the NSERC scholarship program, students in Ontario can seek funding from the Ontario Graduate Scholarships (OGS) program. Most students apply to both. Generally speaking, if a student receives an NSERC they also get an OGS, as the latter is slightly less competitive. However, a student can only accept one, which means that NSERC and OGS fund different students and therefore increase the total number with support. Now that NSERC is 1 year, scholarship holders will no doubt be applying for OGS for the second year. This means that the pool of applicants will soon include former NSERC winners along with new applicants for OGS. Unless OGS greatly increases the number of awards, this means fewer scholarship students and thus fewer graduate students trained.

What’s driving cuts to basic science?

As you no doubt are aware from reading this blog and others (CanadaResearchFunding.org and Don’t Leave Canada Behind), NSERC, CIHR, and SSHRC are having their budgets cut by around $148 million over the next three years. They also cut $30 million from the National Research Council.

Surely unrelated, Minister Clement Acts to Advance Automotive Research in Canada. At the bottom of the story, we find:

Automotive Partnership Canada (APC) is a five-year (2009–2014), $145-million initiative to support significant, collaborative, industry-driven research and development (R&D) that benefits the Canadian automotive industry.

APC involves funding from the following agencies:

  • Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC): $85 million;
  • National Research Council Canada (NRC): $30 million;
  • Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI): $15 million;
  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC): $5 million; and
  • Canada Excellence Research Chairs program (CERC): $10 million.

Proposals funded under this initiative will be led and submitted by university or government (NRC) researchers, but they must be clearly driven by industry needs.

Protect Science Funding in Canada (Facebook group).

The Don’t Leave Canada Behind letter has been signed by more than 2,000 scientists. But what about the other individuals who are just as affected, namely graduate students and postdocs? Given that most of the small amount of funding provided by NSERC goes directly to paying student stipends, they are stakeholders in this as much as anyone else. There is now a way for them to express their support for research in Canada and to send a message that the cuts are unacceptable.

Join Protect Science Funding in Canada at Facebook!

Hat tip: CanadaResearchFunding.org

Another Earth Day, Canadian scientists concerned.

From the Quirks and Quarks blog by Bob McDonald, beloved host of the CBC program of the same name.

Another Earth Day, Canadian scientists concerned

While people around the globe celebrate the beauty of our planet on Earth Day, April 22nd, scientists in Canada are concerned that government funding is heading in the wrong direction to provide sensible solutions to environmental problems. More than 2000 scientists from across the country have signed an open letter to Prime Minister Harper and the Leader of the Opposition, expressing concerns over cuts to basic science research. It’s basic science that takes the pulse of the planet.

The scientists are concerned that government money is overlooking vital areas. For example, the current Conservative budget allocates $2 billion for university infrastructure – in other words, renovations to aging buildings. But those funds come with a catch. They must be matched with private funding, something everyone is having trouble finding during these tough economic times. Keeping roofs on buildings is important, but if there are no scientists to work in them, what’s the point?

The Canada Foundation for Innovation, a major source of science funding, did receive $740 million, but it also comes with that match-funding hook. The other funding agencies, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, have had their budgets cut back, while Genome Canada was essentially ignored.

The rest of the government’s support for science is going towards the automotive industry, carbon sequestration, biofuels and scholarships for business students. In other words, applied science is taking precedent over basic science.

While we do need both, when it comes to the environment, the two types of science are often at loggerheads.

Politicians like to support applied science because it leads to jobs and products, such as more efficient cars or new wireless devices. Basic science, on the other hand, can’t promise an immediate economic return because it simply looks at nature to understand how things work – and more importantly these days, how things are changing. As we’ve seen with climate change, basic scientists have been out in the field watching ice caps disappear before their eyes, carbon dioxide levels rise and climate patterns shift. At the same time, those dealing with the technology at the heart of the problem resist the basic science to keep the current systems in place.

The beauty of Earth Day is how we come together for a short time to appreciate the complexity and unity of our planet. Basic science describes the many spheres we live on and within. There’s only one atmosphere, one hydrosphere, one biosphere, one cryosphere, one geosphere, and they all interact with each other in ways we’re just beginning to understand.

We need those scientific eyes to keep track of this dynamic Earth. We also need to see how our technology is impacting every one of those spheres.

Applied science and the technology it provides have made us who we are, but it needs to be guided. An airliner can fly itself but it still needs the eyes of a pilot to see the destination. Basic science is our eye to the future destination of our spaceship called Planet Earth.

New NSERC grants! Yay! Oh wait.

Apparently simply not canceling the standard, yearly Discovery Grants awards from NSERC warrants a press release nowadays.

Government of Canada Invests in Research Through Discovery Grants Program

OTTAWA, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – April 17, 2009) – The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology) announced new grants for Canada’s top researchers through the Discovery Grants Program (DGP), administered by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).

“The Discovery Grants Program supports researchers judged by their peers to be among the very best,” said Minister Goodyear. “Our Government is proud to invest in research and development because it improves the quality of life for all Canadians and builds a stronger, more resilient economy. That’s why Canada’s Economic Action Plan is investing $5.1 billion in science and technology.”

etc.

Not included: the fact that NSERC (and CIHR and SSHRC) are being chopped by $150 million in the next three years.

HT: CanadaResearchFunding.org

Gary Goodyear’s letter in Nature.

From tomorrow’s issue of Nature.

Canadian government reaffirms support for science and discovery
Gary Goodyear

Sir,

You report researchers’ concerns about the Canadian government’s support for science in two recent News stories (Nature 457, 646; 2009 and Nature 458, 393; 2009). As Minister of State for Science and Technology, I can say that, despite the global economic situation, the government of Canada remains committed to innovation and discovery. We have increased funding to researchers, both in universities and in the private sector.

In the past three years, for example, we have significantly increased the budgets of federal granting councils, increased scholarships through the Canada Graduate Scholarships Program, and increased the Industrial Research Assistance Program for small and medium-sized businesses. The Budget 2009 announcements include Can$750 million (US$590 million) for the Canada Foundation for Innovation to attract and retain world-leading researchers, and a Can$2-billion infrastructure programme. The government has also put in place two five-year funding agreements with Genome Canada that are worth Can$240 million, to support large-scale, world-class research.

Your readers should therefore rest assured that the government of Canada will continue to fund research for the benefit of all scientists and Canadians.

Also in the next issue:

Genome Canada cancels stem-cell project funding

Genome Canada, a not-for-profit organization, has pulled its support for an international stem-cell consortium.

The International Regulome Consortium, which involves 12 countries and aims to understand the regulatory networks that guide cell behaviour, expected Genome Canada to provide Can$20 million (US$16 million) over 5 years towards the Can$80-million project.

Genome Canada’s head Martin Godbout says that the organization decided not to continue its support after an interim review of the project’s science, management and budget recommended substantial changes. The consortium head, Michael Rudnicki, says that the decision was made because the organization lacked the funds after receiving no money in Canada’s 2009 federal budget (see Nature 457, 646; 2009).

“This is about the conservative government failing to support science,” he says. Rudnicki says he is working to organize funding and revamp the structure so that the consortium can continue.