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Feb 2020
1:52pm, 22 Feb 2020
9,583 posts
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rf_fozzy
Of course, there's still a massive hole in the science infrastructure caused entirely and exclusively by brexit and our involvement in the EU science streams.
Yet to see how this is going to be replaced.
They've talked about "access" to some things but it will fall massively far short of what we had (the UK effectively drove something like 60% of EU science) and we cannot replicate it on a national scale (so much for sovereignty).
And of course then there's the money...
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Feb 2020
2:48pm, 22 Feb 2020
6,432 posts
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jda
rf_fozzy, the only bit the govt can potentially control there is the review process and since that relies on volunteer work from busy academics, it's hard to see how they can materially shorten it unless they just don't bother with a proper review. Which I suppose is one possibility but would bring its own difficulties...
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Feb 2020
2:57pm, 22 Feb 2020
9,585 posts
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rf_fozzy
Not now they've changed the way the funding bodies operate - now they all come under UKRI, which has more govt involvement, which means they can change some things.
But yes, the review process is the review process - what I've seen is that it'll now be a 2 stage process where you do the project outline and bits in stage 1 and the full costings etc in stage 2.
Writing a 2-3 page outline is so much easier than having to go through the rigamarole of costing and impact statements and so forth.
Of course, this would only be of use if there is an objective first stage review that thins out the proposals such that if it gets through to stage 2, you have a >50% chance of it being awarded.
The review process as it currently stands does also have flaws though....the fact that it is solely reliant on academics finding time (unpaid) to review grant proposals (and for that matter, papers) is to my mind, totally ridiculous. Research councils & journals should be paying universities for the academic time. That would then allow universities to employ more academic staff and reduce the burden.....
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Feb 2020
3:09pm, 22 Feb 2020
6,433 posts
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jda
Oh so they are copying the EU system  It might lead to quicker rejections for many, but of course also means that the grant winners have to go through two consecutive stages. We actually did this not long ago, and after getting one of the highest rankings on the first stage, didn't get the grant from the full proposal The full procedure took just over a year from initial discussions to final rejection for us, would have been a few more months to start up if we'd got it.
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Feb 2020
9:19am, 23 Feb 2020
1,696 posts
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stuart little
As far as I can tell, it appears the model is to try and fund true research in specific silos, such as AI, automation, batteries, etc. and spend the rest on part funding tech transfer projects to industry. I sincerely hope that I'm wrong, but I'm yet to see much evidence that proper exploratory research is going to be well funded across science
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Feb 2020
11:12am, 23 Feb 2020
293 posts
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deslauriers
Talking about Cummings' musings: from my own branch (neuroscience), he does have some understanding, but speaks in generalities.
He seems to regard himself as a polyglot, when in fact he's just a guy who has read a couple of popular science books.
Nothing wrong with that, but it doesn't make you a modern day Leonardo, nor should it mean you get to try out your ideas on a population.
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Feb 2020
11:37am, 23 Feb 2020
6,436 posts
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jda
It's real country of the blind stuff, that everyone surrounding him seems overawed by someone who is actually just as you describe.
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Feb 2020
2:22pm, 23 Feb 2020
8,395 posts
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simbil
Yep, I guess at the end of the day he fits the common archetype of an Oxbridge classics/humanities educated Tory but seemingly without the fear and disdain for techies/engineers that some others seem to suffer from.
Something that has always struck me as a very grounded general attitude in the US is how they respect engineering/research at least as much as other professions. Could use more of that over here.
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Feb 2020
3:11pm, 23 Feb 2020
294 posts
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deslauriers
Simbil- that really is an English (not British)affliction.Somehow, knowing about the battle of Lepanto or Pliny the Elder's aphorisms makes one superior to somebody who understands DNA transcription or who can design a bridge.
An engineer wouldn't presume to not need to listen to experts in, say Virgil, but here some people who've studied Eng Lit somehow know more than those who have a PhD in Molecular Biology.
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Feb 2020
6:08pm, 23 Feb 2020
23,064 posts
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Johnny Blaze
I read the Tim Shipman "All Out War" book about the referendum and my abiding impression of Cummings was not so much that he was super-smart but that he was smarter than many of the posh boy golf club bores who formed part of the Vote Leave campaign. He was a dumb guy's idea of a smart guy.
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