Government Social Research
An article in The Scientist of 26 July 2005 reports scientists' worries that budget cuts may harm the European Research Council. The ERC is envisaged as a source of funding for fundamental research at an EU level. The goal has been for it to support research purely on the basis of excellence. But there are concerns about the future of EU science funding [Scientist website], following the collapse of negotiations over the region's overall budget [Scientist website].
The article notes that, even under the European Commission's current proposals, funds for curiosity-driven research only amount to about 20% of that allotted to program-driven research.
The article suggests a possible way to ensure higher success rates for funding applications and lower expenses, would be to use funds for collaborative research projects, gathering teams from several European countries, and to call for proposals from time to time rather than annually.
Some scientists argue that setting selection criteria for ERC funds should remain the decision of the Scientific Council, not that of the European Commission or any other policy body. However, another commentator is not too worried if the amount of money is limited to start with, which would allow schemes to grow organically. He has confidence in the willingness of the European Commission to make the ERC work.
The full report can be viewed on The Scientist website.