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Winning support and establishing a basis for science funding

Winning support and establishing a basis for science funding. ...from the perspective of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research. Jos Engelen NWO and NIKHEF/University of Amsterdam. About NWO. National research council Competitive research funding

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Winning support and establishing a basis for science funding

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  1. Winning support and establishing a basisfor science funding ...from the perspective of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research... Jos Engelen NWO and NIKHEF/University of Amsterdam

  2. About NWO • National research council • Competitive research funding • Enabling scientific research to excel • Competition and selection through peer review • Knowledge utilisation • Funding of more than 5000 scientific researchers

  3. NWO’s role in research funding Ministry of Education, Culture and Science universities (incl. medical centres) Direct government funding Indirect government funding Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation NWO institutes other ministries (e.g. Health, Foreign Affairs, Infrastructure & Environment) other knowledge institutes private sector

  4. ‘Outreach’ by NWO • Who? • Why? Need support fromand a basis in society/politics • How? Publications/public presentations (the usualthings, but kept up to date and ‘innovated’ from time to time) But most important of all: a clear, convincing and relevant strategic plan

  5. Strategy ‘Growing through knowledge’ • Strengthening talent and response-mode research • Investing in societally-inspired themes • Encouraging and facilitating knowledge utilisation • Strengthening international cooperation • Promoting access to high-quality research facilities • Strengthening the national role of NWO research institutes

  6. Economic Priority Areas Recently introduced new government policy relevant for science policy and for NWO policy but not replacing it! Purpose: stimulate Public-Private partnerships; stimulate private funding of research Life sciences and health; AgroFood; Creative Industry; High Tech Systems and Materials; Logistics; Energy; Chemistry; Water; Horticulture

  7. Themes • Healthy Living • Water and Climate • Cultural and Societal Dynamics • Sustainable Energy • Connecting Sustainable Cities • Materials: Solutions for Scarcity • Creative industry • High-tech systems & materials • Agro, food & horticulture

  8. The challenge: convince politicians (and industry!) that funding should not be limited to immedeately applicable (‘useful’) research and should not be limited to research relevant for the designated ‘priority areas’; that even within these areas an open scientific competition (including peer review) should be organised to stimulate excellence that ‘bottum up’/fundamental/curiosity driven research (including the social sciences and humanities) is essential for progress and discoveries Spell out and repeat as many examples as possible (and there really are very many!)

  9. Look for objective indicators to find problematic areas (in science funding) and argue on the basis of these KIA: ‘Knowledge and Innovation Alliance’ (or ‘Knowledge and Innovation Agenda’), including VNO-NCW (employers’ organisation) Publishes an annual Knowledge and Innovation Photo

  10. Op het merendeel van de terreinen zijn we echter nog ver van het doel en in veel gevallen gaat de beweging zelfs de verkeerde kant op. Zo schiet de professionalisering van leraren tekort, stijgt het aantal zeer zwakke middelbare scholen, krijgen veel excellente studenten nog steeds geen uitdagend programma, komt een leven lang leren niet echt van de grond, daalt het toch al lage aantal onderzoekers sterk en blijft onze innovatiekracht op alle fronten – van technologie tot marketing en organisatie, in de industrie en in de dienstensector – achter bij die van andere landen. De private onderzoeksinvesteringen blijven achter en de Nederlandse overheid is geen topinvesteerder in onderwijs en onderzoek . KIA

  11. KIA

  12. KIA

  13. Tactics: start from a convincing strategy; be open to signals from society/politics; emphasize independence (responisibility); be flexible and be clear: there should always be sufficient (ample) space for funding ‘fundamental’ research The positive and large media attention for neutrinos (they are not superluminal!), the Higgs boson (it has not been discovered in the available data!), polar research (the NL shipped labs to Antarctica the day before yesterday) is very stimulating. People are interested in research But really great (even if not entirely correct...) is how former president Clinton concluded after a one hour long interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos last year:

  14. http://www.nikhef.nl/~h02/clinton_davos_2011.wmv

  15. Conclusion: as long as we produce excellent science we will manage to convince the politicians to fund us and as long as the politicians fund us we will produce excellent science excellent and relevant and indispensable for facing ‘the grand challenges’ A continuing dialogue leading to a relationship of trust and respect between researchers (the research councils), government and industry is the best basis for a successful research policy

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