22/10/08 Research Fortnight - News
Laura Hood
Physicists and astronomers were surprised by news last week that the Science and Technology Facilities Council is to reinvest £9 million over the next two years in its research grants. The community has claimed a victory in its campaign to get the council to reverse its original plan to cut 25 per cent of postgraduate grants, following a spending review settlement that left it short of cash.
However, many are surprised that the money was recovered from a pot that was reserved to balance the variable costs of international subscriptions. This was thought to be one of the tightest parts of the STFC budget - thanks to the continued drop in value of sterling against the euro and Swiss franc, the cost of subscribing to facilities such as Cern is more expensive.
The STFC told Research Fortnight that it had not received any extra money from the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skill or from the Treasury to cover these costs, but it had been able to move money within its own budget.
The extra cash should reduce the cuts by about half and will allow the council to retain around 40 extra three-year posts in astronomy and particle physics. This will go some way to healing the rift between the council's executive and STFC scientists over the handling of the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review.
The council says that the change of plan has been prompted by discussions with DIUS about how it can `manage risks' in its budget rather than by any desire to appease angry academics. But a statement released on 16 October by the Royal Astronomical Society, stating that the council had raised the money following `intensive and high-profile campaigning' from the community, made it clear that the move has been taken as such.
Despite warmly greeting the news, Mark Bailey, who is a vice-president of the RAS but spoke to Research Fortnight in his capacity as director of the Armagh Observatory, warned that allowing funds to be shifted in this way was less than desirable.
`Scientific research enterprise is buffeted by many factors outside of its control and it's not really a terribly good way to support fundamental science and research,' he says. Nevertheless, Bailey says that the move shows that the council and DIUS are listening to their community and is relieved to see an element of stability returning to the grants line.