For anyone interested: Recently the guideline to the UK science funding councils have been changed (google ‘EPSRC’ or ‘PPARC’ and ‘funding guidelines’ for more info), to favour projects with known outcomes, limiting both acedemic freedom and the chance of making new discoveries.

A new e-petition against this, started on 2nd June, is circulating acedemic science departments (and elsewhere – obviously): Petition clicky
Please sign up if you agree with it.

If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn’t be called research, would it?
— Albert Einstein

good work!

signed

Done.

Signed

Not sure quite how to take that to be honest. Sure research should have unknown outcomes to be valuable, but isnt research proving an assumed point also valid? If I were to propose a project to show that green is green, then fair enough – shouldnt be funded, but if my project were to determine if grass is green under some suspicion that it may have another outcome even if it appears to be green, then that is equally valid. Its a very complex subject, I’d need to read more into the wording of the policy to put my name to anything.

Done good job

In fact the last time I looked at the proposal guidelines it specifically stated that the proposal should not have a known outcome, but should have reasonable likelyhood of success. Seems fair? What I do disagree with is the 3-strikes rule the EPSRC is employing.

Did you see the EPSRC backed off a little on their original position coffeeking? It’s still bad, but they are delaying implementation and I think those black listed can still put one in per year or something similar. Still a terribly mis-guided policy.

Hear hear!

Garry – not seen that, I’ve been up to my eyeballs in something else but that’s at least good to know. Still not great but better.