Tied up in red tape, Chinese scientists seek bigger say over research funding
- Researchers say they spend so much time on grant applications that they get no time to do science
- Funding applications are said to be too onerous and inflexible
Chinese scientists are appealing for a bigger say over research funding as they buckle under a rigid and bureaucratic application system.
The appeal from delegates to the country’s peak advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, comes as the central government prepares to launch a pilot project that will give research teams greater flexibility in the way funds are used.
Despite slowing economic growth, the central government also plans to increase the budget for science and technology by 13.4 per cent this year to 354.31 billion yuan (US$52.7 billion) as Beijing tries to challenge the United States in the race for high technology.
But researchers have been hampered by a funding structure that demands they clearly state the use of their research and submit a detailed plan with a deadline for delivery of results.
Application rules have become stricter in the last few years, partly a result of a crackdown on corruption, which has led to a dozen university presidents and top scientists being arrested for embezzling research and infrastructure funding.
CPPCC delegate Yuan Zhiming, an agricultural scientist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan, said he spent so much time filling out funding applications that he did not have time to do any research.
