All That Matters

Whenever these days you talk to scientists about their funding situation, the situation is bleak. In the US whichever way you look at the issue, funding cuts are on the horizon. Japan had a national debt exceeding its gross domestic product already before the earthquake, with science budget cuts implemented already then. It’s even worse now. Most European countries are also reducing science funding. And that’s not just Portugal or Greece. The UK, the Netherlands, Italy, Ireland all are cutting back research. And what I hear from science policy makers in Germany, their relatively comfortable funding situation will not last forever either.

All in all, the situation is rather depressive, despite the fact that along with many others I strongly believe a strong scientific effort is one of the best long-term investments a country can make. Not investing in science and technology to me means a negative spiral for wealth and prosperity. But sometimes, whether you like it or not, a healthy science funding just isn’t possible. Adding to that depression is then that these deep funding cuts are not followed up with structural reforms to make sure academic research can survive those challenging circumstances.

It’s certainly time now to ask: how do you conduct science in such an environment?

There is a broader range of solutions adopted by different countries. A possibility is simply to cut back across the board, which is an option for smaller budget cuts. But that’s too simplistic and only hurts the research infrastructure indiscriminately. The question is rather how to use the available money most effectively.

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